Aragonite Hazardous Waste Incinerator facts for kids
Aragonite Hazardous Waste Incineration facility on I-80, Aragonite Utah
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| Coordinates | 40°44′34″N 113°0′10″W / 40.74278°N 113.00278°W |
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The Aragonite Hazardous Waste Incinerator is a special facility that safely gets rid of dangerous waste. It is run by a company called Clean Harbors. You can find it in a place called Aragonite in Tooele County, Utah, in the western part of the United States.
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What is Aragonite Like?
Where is Aragonite Located?
Aragonite is in a quiet, open area. To its west is the Utah Test and Training Range. The Dugway Proving Grounds are to the southwest. You can reach Aragonite from Interstate 80 at exit 56. The Cedar Mountains are southeast of the site. The low Grassy Mountains are to the north.
Aragonite's Past
Aragonite is along the Hastings Cutoff. This was a famous route used by pioneers in the 1800s. The town of Aragonite started in the early 1900s. People came here to mine a mineral called aragonite. But mining stopped a long time ago. Today, the area is mostly empty. Most of the old buildings are gone. It's almost like a ghost town. Some old mine shafts and a few small bunkhouses still remain.
How Hazardous Waste is Handled
What is Hazardous Waste?
Hazardous waste is trash that can be harmful to people or the environment. It can be things like certain chemicals or medical waste. It needs to be handled very carefully.
The Incinerator Facility
Just east of the old town of Aragonite is a big facility. This is where they burn hazardous waste. It was built in 1991. The area around it was set aside for industries that handle dangerous materials.
This facility was first known as the Aptus Incinerator. It was the first place in Utah to burn hazardous waste. In 1992, it could burn about 70,000 tons of waste each year. Most of this waste came from outside Utah. Over the years, different companies have run the incinerator. These included Westinghouse, Rollins, Laidlaw, and Safety-Kleen. Now, Clean Harbors operates it.
Keeping Things Safe
The facility has faced some issues over time. The EPA is a group that makes sure companies follow rules to protect the environment. The Aragonite facility has sometimes had to pay fines. These fines were for things like not reporting information correctly. They also paid fines for storing waste improperly. Sometimes, small amounts of air pollution were accidentally released. The facility works to fix these problems.
