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the beets were washed. The wash water contained soil and other substances (possibly <br /> agricultural chemicals) and was transported to four mud ponds for disposal. After washing, the <br /> beets were sliced and placed into the diffusion towers. The diffusion towers used hot water to <br /> remove the sugar from the beets. The beet pulp was then separated from the raw sugar water. <br /> At the Spreckels Sugar site, the beet pulp was dried and stored in the pulp warehouse pending <br /> use as cattle feed. Several different feedlots were also present on the Spreckels Sugar site for <br /> this purpose since the plant was constructed. Prior to the installation of pulp dryers, the wet <br /> pulp was pumped into a large holding pond, formerly located to the east of then existing pulp <br /> warehouse, and allowed to dry prior to use as cattle feed. The pulp dryers were installed to <br /> 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 pumped out to storage in the lime ponds, located north of the <br /> subject property. <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. The thickened juice was <br /> then sent through a series of centrifuges to crystallize out the sugar. The sugar was then dried <br /> in granulators and stored in the sugar warehouse or silos, or ground into powdered sugar. The <br /> sugar produced at the Spreckels Sugar site was shipped offsite in bulk. <br /> The various heating and evaporating processes utilized steam produced by boilers located <br /> onsite. The boilers onsite were fired using fuel oil and/or natural gas. The heated water was <br /> cooled in cooling towers, which were reported to have never used hexavalent chromium as a <br /> scale inhibitor. Process water generated during the manufacturing process was discharged to <br /> the wastewater ponds located on the subject property and northeast of the subject property. <br /> The waste stream included boiler blowdown, acidic and caustic wastes, and scrubber wastes. <br /> After sediment had settled out of the wastewater, the water was reclaimed for use on the crops <br /> also grown onsite. <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 of the facility. <br /> Maintenance activities at the Spreckels Sugar site also included the repair of motor vehicles <br /> such as cars and farm machinery, and the maintenance of locomotives operated onsite by the <br /> Spreckels Sugar Company. The locomotive maintenance was not conducted at a specific <br /> location but was done on the tracks wherever necessary. The Spreckels Sugar site also <br /> contained a large amount of cropland, mostly almond orchards and grain crops. The cropland <br /> served two purposes: providing a buffer zone between the factory and the adjacent community, <br /> and providing a means of disposing clarified wastewater from the plant via irrigation. The <br /> sediment, which would accumulate in the wastewater ponds, was periodically removed and <br /> spread on the feedlot. Beet chips, organic material and dirt removed from the beets were also <br /> spread on the feedlot where cattle consumed the edible portions. <br /> Project No. 297376 AEI <br /> June 22, 2011 <br /> Page 13 <br /> Consultants <br />