Rhodia Helps Restore Ecosystem
Article originally from American Chemistry magazine.
Specialty chemicals group Rhodia completed the restoration earlier this year of Peyton Slough, a previously toxic area of Contra Costa County, Calif.
The Bay Area slough runs more than a mile in length, has curved banks and associated tributaries, and leads shore birds to more than 200 acres of wetlands. Its cleanup was ordered by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board in 2001, after studies found the area suffered copper sediment concentrations of up to 180 times the state’s limit—and nearly 18 times more zinc.
The pollution dated back to the early 20th century, when Mountain Copper used the site for smelting copper ore. Waste sank over the years, with zinc and copper leaking into the groundwater, entering the slough, and settling into the soil.
Rhodia did not cause the contamination, but paid for the cleanup as the area’s current landowner.
“I think we’ve demonstrated our commitment to take care of the problems here at the site professionally and conscientiously,” President Jim Harton told the Contra Costa Times.
The site restoration is expected to drain the upstream wetlands and allow saltwater tidal flow into the local ecosystem. Officials at Rhodia will monitor the slough over the next decade to ensure the process occurs smoothly.
“It’s been many years for us to bring it to this point,” Harton told the Times. “Throughout the project, there’s been a lot of cooperation and I think that will continue over the next 10 years.”
