Cleanup & Remediation
Remediation
Remediation can be defined as the cleanup, abatement or other method to contain or remove a hazardous substance or petroleum product from the environment. Cleanup and remediation become necessary if Recognized Environmental Conditions are identified in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and then pollutants are subsequently confirmed during a Phase II Contaminant Investigation. However cleanup may occur independently of the Phase I/II process if the nature and extent of the problem is well-understood or if the release of a hazardous substance or petroleum product has occurred suddenly such as in a failed fuel underground storage tank test or a spill from a 55-gallon chemical drum.
Get an Estimate With No Obligation
Remedial Action Plan
Before remediation can be implemented, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is prepared and submitted to a regulatory agency for concurrence and approval.
The goal of the RAP is to identify and weigh reasonable alternatives:
- Timely and cost effective;
- Protective of life, health and the environment;
- Least burdensome
A site-specific Health and Safety Plan (HASP) is prepared for each RAP and put into effect for all tasks at the work site. Although the cleanup site may be as large as a former military base or as modest as a neighborhood gas station or dry cleaner, the anticipated end result is to obtain regulatory closure and receive a “No Further Action Letter.”
All cleanup and remediation activities completed by OGI are conducted by or under the direct supervision of Nevada Certified Environmental Managers as required by Nevada statute. OGI professional and technical support personnel have acquired extensive experience in soil and groundwater remediation. They have completed or have underway hundreds of investigations/remedial actions including the full range of site characterization, risk assessment, remediation system design and installation, system operations/maintenance, and monitoring. OGI combines technical expertise and creative remediation strategies with known treatment technologies to provide a variety of methods for resolving environmental contamination problems. Our cleanup plans and strategies are designed to meet regulatory, budgetary, and time constraints.
Examples of Remedial Projects Completed by OGI Personnel
- Groundwater pump-and-treat(GWPT): GWPT is a process of pumping groundwater and contaminants to the surface where it is treated to remove contaminants and then disposed of accordingly. OGI performed remediation for a gasoline service station that resulted in the removal of Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) from the groundwater surface and reduction of dissolved benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene components in groundwater.
- In-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), a.k.a. ChemOx, a.k.a PulseOx: ISCO, a form of advanced oxidation process, is an environmental remediation technique used for soil and/or groundwater remediation to reduce the concentrations of targeted environmental contaminants to acceptable levels. OGI peformed the design, installation and operation and maintenance of a “PulseOx” system to remediate petroleum contaminated groundwater from a UST release at a rental car facility. After approximately 3 years of operation, the dissolved petroleum constuents in groundwater were reduced to below regulatory action levels.
- Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE): Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a physical treatment process for in situ remediation of volatile contaminants in vadose zone (unsaturated) soils (EPA, 2012). SVE (also referred to as in situ soil venting or vacuum extraction) is based on mass transfer of contaminant from the solid (sorbed) and liquid (aqueous or non-aqueous) phases into the gas phase, with subsequent collection of the gas phase contamination at extraction wells. OGI designed and performed O&M for an active service station in southern Nevada. Within approximately 2 years, the SVE remediation was successful in reducing volatile contaminants to safe levels and the site was eventually issued closure.
- High Vacuum Dual-Phase Extraction (HVDPE): HVDPE is a form of vacuum extraction using a high vacuum pump to remove both soil vapor and groundwater from collection wells. The vapor and groundwater are treated at the surface and then discharged accordingly. OGI has designed, installed and conducted O&M for HVDPE at a site in southern Nevada that resulted in the reduction of dissolved PCE in groundwater to regulatory acceptable levels. This is an ongoing project that OGI is currently monitoring groundwater.
- OGI has also conducted air sparge/SVE, ISCO, HVDPE at other sites through southern Nevada, including other dry cleaning operations that have resulted in PCE impacts to soil and groundwater and other gasoline stations that have resulted in petroleum impacts to soil and groundwater.
