TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN FLUE GAS DESULFURlZATION WASTEWATER FROM THE JIM BRIDGER POWER PLANT, SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING

The coal-fired Jim Bridger Power Plant near Rock springs, Wyoming uses soda liquor from nearby trona (soda ash) processing plants to neutralize the acidity of water used in their flue scrubbers. Analyses of this Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) liquor by Western Wyoming College Water Quality Laboratory shows high concentrations of sodium, chloride, sulfates, carbonates and bicarbonates. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had samples of the FGD wastewater analyzed for sodium, chloride, sulfates, carbonates and bicarbonates as well as trace metals. Trace metals were not present in concentrations known to pose adverse impacts to wildlife. Sodium concentrations, however, were excessively high. The FGD wastewater is discharged into an evaporation pond which attracts migratory aquatic birds. The FGD wastewater poses a hazard to aquatic migratory birds through exposure to elevated sodium concentrations. The risk to migratory birds could be averted by: (1) eliminating or reducing the sodium concentrations in the FGD pond water; (2) eliminating the FGD pond; and, (3) preventing migratory birds from using the FGD pond