Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0074-0493
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2004-02-04T05:00Z

?
Need
to
return
call
by
/
at/
between
and
.
Signature:
Project
No.:
0172.01.005.061
DISTRIBUTION
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Project
Name:
304m
National
Strategy
TELEPHONE
CALL
RECORD
Outgoing
Call
Date:
11/
25/
03
Time:
5:
30
pm
Company
Name:
Naval
Facilities
Engineering
Service
Center
Contact
Name:
Richard
Lee,
Ph.
D.

Phone
No.:
(
805)
982­
1670
Name:
Cortney
Itle
Eastern
Research
Group,
Inc.

GENERAL
SUBJECT
:
Sodium
Nitrite
TOPICS
DISCUSSED
AND
ACTION
TAKEN
After
some
introductory
e­
mail
correspondence,
I
called
Dr.
Richard
Lee
of
the
Naval
Facilities
Engineering
Service
Center
to
discuss
sodium
nitrite
as
a
water
pollutant
and
the
removal
of
sodium
nitrite
from
water.

Dr.
Lee
explained
that
the
Navy
uses
sodium
nitrite
mainly
as
a
corrosion
inhibitor
in
ships
with
steam
boilers.
Solutions
with
high
concentrations
of
sodium
nitrite
are
placed
in
the
boiler
tubes
when
the
ship
is
out
of
commission
for
periods
of
time
to
prevent
corrosion.
This
is
the
main
use
of
sodium
nitrite,
although
minor
amounts
are
used
to
test
for
leaks;
the
boiler
tubes
are
filled
with
a
sodium
nitrite
solution
until
the
leaks
are
detected.
Other
uses
include
hydroblast
cleaning
and
rinsing.

Dr.
Lee
told
me
that
the
Navy
was
producing
wastewater
with
high
concentrations
sodium
nitrite.
The
nitrite
would
oxidize
to
nitrate,
and
the
wastewater
treatment
plant
would
not
accept
the
Navy's
wastewater.
The
Navy
had
to
pay
to
have
the
waste
hauled
off­
site.
This
was
expensive,
and
the
Navy
wanted
to
develop
a
treatment
method
to
allow
for
the
reuse
of
the
sodium
nitrite
and
the
removal
of
the
sodium
nitrite
from
the
water.
Dr.
Lee
helped
to
design
a
system
that
performed
these
tasks.

Dr.
Lee's
treatment
system
stores
sodium
nitrite
for
reuse
and
prevents
it
from
oxidizing
to
nitrate.
The
system
also
removes
the
nitrite
from
the
water
by
converting
it
to
nitrogen
gas.

I
asked
Dr.
Lee
if
he
thought
that
the
Navy
had
unique
uses
of
sodium
nitrite,
and
if
sodium
nitrite
use
could
be
expected
in
any
other
industries.
Dr
Lee
responded
that
he
had
no
knowledge
of
industries
outside
of
the
Navy,
but
he
mentioned
that
other
industries
might
use
chemicals
other
than
sodium
nitrite
to
prevent
corrosion
and
extend
boiler
life.
He
was
not
sure
what
those
chemicals
might
be.

Dr.
Lee
thought
that
there
were
other
systems
in
use
similar
to
the
one
that
he
helped
design.
He
did
not
know
exactly
how
many
systems
there
were,
or
if
any
of
them
were
still
operational.
He
was
also
unsure
of
any
person
to
contact
for
more
information.