Waste Disposal In Salt Caverns

Overview

Well head at a West Texas oil field waste disposal cavern

Caverns have been proposed as repositories for various types of wastes, but relatively few disposal caverns have ever been permitted

• Several proposals have been made for disposing hazardous waste in domal salt caverns, but all proposals to date have been rejected



• Some U.S. and foreign salt producers dispose of impurities from the brine purification process into caverns.



• See International Cavern Disposal Practices for practices in other countries.

Disposal of Oil Field Wastes

Follow the links below to learn more about disposal of oil field wastes in salt caverns.

• Types of waste



• Emplacement of wastes



• Regulatory issues



• Costs for disposal



• Risks from cavern disposal

Oil field waste being pumped into a West Texas disposal cavern