Mercury Remediation in Virginia's South River

The DuPont factory in Waynesboro, Virginia spilled or leaked over 50,000 pounds of mercury into the South River throughout the 1930s and 1940s. This dangerous toxin has remained in the water ever since, with mercury levels remaining stable over all this time. The chemical is a byproduct of rayon manufacturing, which was made in large quantities here starting in the 1920s.

Mercury is highly toxic to humans, affecting the immune system, altering genetic and enzyme systems, and damaging the nervous system. Small children and pregnant women are particularly at risk from the harmful effects of the metal. The environmental effects of mercury are quite damaging as well, affecting not only fish populations but birds and mammals as well. Native fish in the river contain dangerous levels of the neurotoxin up to 125 miles downstream of Waynesboro into the Shenandoah RIver watershed, which poses particular risk to humans and other animals. Removing mercury from sediment in and around the waterway would be a major step in reducing fish contamination levels, allowing local residents and tourists alike to make better and safer use of the South River, Waynesboro’s best asset and Virginia’s first designated Urban Trout Stream. The remediation efforts will also significantly decrease the likelihood of residents coming into direct contact with mercury deposits in riverfront land adjacent to the plant and in downtown Waynesboro.

South River Restoration is a mercury remediation project for the contaminated portions of the South River in Waynesboro, with the focus being on the downtown portions of the river closest to the former Du Pont plant and thus the most highly polluted. The project will utilize a variety of cutting-edge techniques including bioremediation and electrochemical remediation technologies to stabilize, destroy and remove the toxic metal from sediments around the river which are continually leaching into the river and entering the food chain. Various state and national government and non-profit organizations exist which provide funding for environmental remediation and toxic spill clean-up, including the EPA, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Potomac Conservancy. Additionally, private landowners in the target area along the river would be able to make use of our services.

While other projects exist to study and mitigate the mercury problem, many of these efforts focus on bank stabilization, which leaves the toxic metal in place in the ground and only slows leaching into the waterway. Others focus more on studying the geohydrological dynamics of mercury contamination, but have offered little in the way of practical solutions and have provided no definite plans for such. In contrast, this project aims to physically remove mercury from the sediment layers and/ or render it completely inert and harmless, allowing gradual recovery of the downstream aquatic ecosystem that is not threatened by periodic flooding and the large mercury loads that such flooding induces. Working with scientists at UVA and other universities nationwide, the project aims to make use of the latest research and methodology for mercury remediation.

Successful completion of this project would see the Consumption Advisory for fish in the South River lifted, and see people from Waynesboro to Front Royal able to safely catch and eat fish and enjoy the recreational possibilities available. It would see the restoration of bird and animal populations that have been affected all along the river ecosystem. In this way, Waynesboro would be able to fully promote and be proud of a resource that is integral to its past and future, and bring positive publicity to the town for its commitment to conservation.