Appendix B: Column Settling Test and Effluent Elutriate Procedures

Appendix B

Column Settling Test and

Effluent Elutriate Procedures

B.1 Introduction

This appendix provides detailed step-by-step procedures for conducting tests

for evaluation of confined disposal facility (CDF) effluent. The background,

rationale, and tiered framework for application of these procedures are discussed in

Chapter 4 of the main text of the Upland Testing Manual (UTM). Three test

procedures are included in this appendix:

a. Effluent elutriate tests for water quality evaluations.

b. Effluent elutriate tests for water column toxicity evaluations.

c. Long-tube column settling tests used to evaluate effluent total suspended

solids (TSS) concentrations and total concentrations of contaminants of

concern (COC) in effluent.

B.2 Effluent Elutriate Tests for Water Quality

Evaluation

The effluent elutriate test1 is designed to simulate the quality of water

discharged as effluent from a CDF and accounts for geochemical changes

occurring in the CDF during active disposal operations. Test procedures allow for

estimates of dissolved contaminant concentrations in milligrams per liter and

fractions of contaminants in the TSS in milligrams per kilogram suspended solids

The effuent elutriate is also called the "modified elutriate" in the literature to distinguish

the procedure from the "standard elutriate" test, which is applicable to open water

discharges. To avoid confusion, the term "effluent elutriate" is used in this manual and

the Inland Testing Manual (ITM), and the term "open water elutriate" has been adopted

for open water evaluations described in the ITM.

Appendix B Column Settling Test and Effluent Elutriate Procedures