HomeAmazingWhy Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore?
Why Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore?
862
Why Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore? – When World War II ended, the United States Army had surplus metallic sodium left over from the catastrophic war, which was used in the manufacture of incendiary bombs. The initial plan was to sell off the excess quantity, and when the material was advertised for sale it aroused the interest of quite a few companies.
But when the metal drum where the sodium was stored was inspected, it was found that the containers had deteriorated to such an extent that handling and shipping were exceedingly dangerous. Sodium reacts sadistically with water producing a lot of heat and hydrogen gas, which regularly ignites from the generated heat causing explosions.
Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore – When World War II ended, the United States Army had surplus metallic sodium left over from the catastrophic war, which was used in the manufacture of incendiary bombs. Photo Credit – Steve Voght
Therefore, to avoid an incident railroad companies negate to handle the material in the substandard containers, thereby leaving the Army with a mystifying problem: how to dispose of more than nine thousand tons of extremely reactive sodium.
After extended thinking by War Assets Administration, it was decided to dump the sodium into a Lake in Washington. To diminish the environmental impact of dumping surplus sodium in water, the Army chooses Lake Lenore in Grant County because of its alkaline waters and lack of fish.
Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore – After extended thinking by War Assets Administration, it was decided to dump the sodium into a Lake in Washington. Photo Credit – Steve Walser
In 1947, a newsreel was published, that describes that one can see the Army rolling down barrel after barrel of metallic sodium from a cliff onto the frozen lake. Once in the water, the drums were shot by machine guns to cause punctures and let the sodium come in contact with the water. When the sodium reacted with water, as expected nearly 162,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas was produced, which caught fire producing a series of profligate explosions.
In 1958, a paper published the article about throwing sodium into Lake Lenore, the waters of the Lake are already rich in sodium salts of sulfate, carbonate, bicarbonate, and chloride. The lake is highly alkaline with an average pH of 9.9, therefore the dumping of over 9,000 kg of sodium would have produced “less than a rounding error of pH change.”
Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore? When the sodium reacted with water, as expected nearly 162,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas was produced, which caught fire producing a series of profligate explosions.
These days, Lake Lenore is no longer devoid of fish. From the early 1980s onwards, the state had been filling Lenore Lake with Lahontan cutthroat trout, which thrive in alkaline water. The Lahontan is currently the best fish in the water of Lenore and also in some other lakes with alkalis throughout North America.
It was manufactured by companies such as Olin and DuPont. It is still being made nowadays. Now it often travels by tank cars (rail and road) and 55 gal drums. About 25 years ago a rail tanker packed full of it ended up in the Delaware River. Although, the chemical was so well sealed that nothing happened and it was gotten rid of effectively. Even tiny bits of it cause impressive explosions.
Sodium was Disposed of in Lake Lenore – Lake Lenore is no longer devoid of fish. From the early 1980s onwards, the state had been filling Lenore Lake with Lahontan cutthroat trout, which thrive in alkaline water. Photo Credit – Wikimedia
This film clip shows US Army disposing of drums of metallic sodium into Lake Lenore
