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KLEINFELDER <br /> Sugar beets were transported from the farm to the processing plant via trucks and railcar. The <br /> loaded trucks and railcars were weighed at the scales, and the beets were unloaded at the <br /> unloading station. The Spreckels Manteca plant most recently used a series of conveyors, but <br /> formerly utilized an underground beet flume which utilized water to transport the beets from the <br /> unloading area to the factory. After unloading the beets were washed. The wash water contained <br /> soil and other substances (possibly agricultural chemicals) and was transported to the mud ponds <br /> for disposal. <br /> After washing, the beets were sliced and placed into the diffusion towers. The diffusion towers <br /> used hot water to remove the sugar from the beets. The beet pulp was then separated from the <br /> raw sugar water. At the Spreckels Manteca plant, the beet pulp was dried and stored in the pulp <br /> warehouse pending use as cattle feed. Several different feedlots have been present on the <br /> Spreckels property for this purpose since the plant was constructed. Prior to the installation of <br /> pulp dryers, the wet pulp was pumped into a large holding pond, formerly located to the east of <br /> the existing pulp warehouse, and allowed to dry prior to use as cattle feed. The pulp dryers were <br /> installed to reduce odors emanating from the plant. <br /> The raw sugar water or "juice" was purified by adding "milk of lime" and carbon dioxide to <br /> precipitate out the impurities. The milk of lime is produced by "calcining" the lime in the lime <br /> kiln and then adding water. The kiln was lined with a refractory material to withstand the high <br /> operating temperatures. The "used" lime was regenerated for reuse by activated carbon. <br /> Eventually the spent lime was disposed of at the lime ponds. <br /> After the precipitation of impurities using lime, the raw sugar juice was passed through a series <br /> of filters to further purify it. Sulfur dioxide was used to inhibit discoloration of the sugar. After <br /> filtering, the raw sugar juice was sent to the evaporators to thicken it. The thickened juice was <br /> then sent through a series of centrifuges to crystallize out the sugar. The syrup left after <br /> crystallization is molasses. The sugar was then dried in granulators and stored in the sugar <br /> warehouse or silos, or ground into powdered sugar. According to Mr. Tucker, the sugar <br /> produced at the Manteca plant was shipped off site in bulk. <br /> The various heating and evaporating processes utilized steam produced by the boilers. The <br /> boilers on site were fired using fuel oil and/or natural gas. The heated water was cooled in <br /> cooling towers. According to Mr. Tucker, the cooling towers on site have never used hexavalent <br /> chromium as a scale inhibitor. <br /> Process water generated during the manufacturing process was discharged to the wastewater <br /> ponds. The waste stream included boiler blowdown, acidic and caustic wastes, and scrubber <br /> wastes. After sediment had settled out of the wastewater, the water was reclaimed for use on the <br /> crops grown on site. <br /> The manufacturing plant equipment required lubrication in the form of industrial greases. <br /> Hydraulic oil was also likely used in the plant equipment. The processing equipment was <br /> cleaned using acid or caustic solutions. Solvents were used in the machine shop for parts <br /> cleaning. Cutting oils were also commonly used in the machine shops. <br /> 20-3978-01.W32/2017P 110 Page 2 of 7 <br /> 1997 Kleinfelder,Inc. August 28, 1997 <br />