Site remediation is necessary for redevelopment of land previously used by a chemical or industrial plant.
Site remediation is a very important step towards repurposing and redeveloping land that was at one time used for a plant. After plant decommissioning and demolition, a site needs to be remediated before new building can commence on it. Property owners looking to redevelop a brownfield or other site will require a specialized team to undertake the site remediation process.
Step One: Determining Contamination
The first step in remediation is determining whether or not the site is contaminated. Property owners that are looking at getting EPA cleanup grants will go through a process called All Appropriate Inquiries to obtain the funding. This involves looking at a site’s history to ascertain the possibility of contamination. An experienced environmental professional team will interview former owners and occupants to determine the past uses, as well as review historical sources, public records, and any possible environmental cleanup liens. Next, the soil itself is tested to determine whether contamination is actually present on the site. Possible contaminants that may be present include arsenic, chromium, dense nonaqueous phase liquids, mercury, and others.
Step Two: Strategic Cleaning
Once a particular site’s contaminants have been identified, the professional team will design a remediation solution that complies with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Luckily, for some site remediations, a proven process for dealing with contaminants is known through past experience. Some of the proven methods include:
- Cap and Cover: effective for heavy metal contaminants, this method involves burying them in situ and capping the site with a building, parking lot, or 1-2 feet of clean soil.
- Hog and Haul: non-heavy metal contaminants are generally extracted and carted away to an EPA-approved disposal site.
There are also more sustainable solutions for site remediation which use the power of nature to break down pollutive materials naturally. Bioremediation only works on non-heavy metal contaminants but uses natural processes to rid the soil of contaminant compounds. While these processes happen naturally, human intervention is often used to nudge and encourage the process along.
We can help property owners with site remediation. Contact us today!
No matter what kind of environmental issue you may have, AEG Environmental can help. We handle every situation with care, dedication, and a commitment to exemplary customer service. When you have an emergency, you can rely on us! Need training? We can handle that too! We train in a wide variety of environmental management areas so that your company can remain compliant with EPA, DOT, and OSHA. Make sure to check out our blog for the latest and greatest in the waste management world! You should also follow us on social media for updates.
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