Soil and Water Remediation
Remediation strategies and proposals
Soil & Water Solutions Ltd specialises in soil and groundwater remediation, waste recovery and materials management.
Soil & Water Solutions’ remediation strategies and proposals are always based upon environmental assessment reports. Should a report not be available we are able to offer a professional environmental assessment through either in-house or independent consultants. Our remediation strategies for contamination problems and our subsequent actions are always bespoke, developed on a case by case basis.
Soil & Water Solutions remediation technology
Soil & Water Solutions Ltd has wide ranging remediation programmes to suit both the site and client requirements. Our available remediation technologies include, but are not limited to:
- Asbestos Remediation & Management
- Soil Vapour Extraction
- Air Sparging
- Bio Venting
- Bio Slurping
- Pump & Treat
- Bioremediation
- Oxidation
- Waste Management including Haulage & Disposal
- Soil Declassification
- Off-site Treatment/ Recycling
- Invasive weed control and disposal
Soil remediation is generally associated with heavy diggers, dumper trucks, landfill charges and tonnes of replacement soil. Sometimes this may be the only solution. However, Soil & Water Solutions’ in-situ remediation can, often offer a competitively priced and environmentally sustainable alternative. Our uniqueness comes from our experienced in-house teams coupled with the latest specialist plant and innovative design solutions.
Soil & Water Solutions Ltd holds the appropriate Environmental Permits (Waste Carriers, Mobile Treatment Licences etc.) to cover these technologies. The company works closely with the regulatory authorities through all stages of the remediation process. We also have close relationships with many independent consultants and between us we can offer a full investigation, remediation and validation package if required.
Technologies
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Asbestos Remediation & Management
According to figures from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) there are currently in excess of 2,000 lung cancer deaths each year in Great Britain that can be attributed to past asbestos-exposure. Asbestos is still found in many buildings, including factories, offices, hospitals and schools. Asbestos is a contaminant present on many former industrial sites either in the ground, following previous poorly managed demolition, or through lack of awareness historically when sites were redeveloped. Soil and Water Solutions have been dealing with asbestos in soils for many years and our specialists trained staff can help devise a cost-effective solution to ensure that the asbestos is correctly identified, classified and treated to remain or appropriately removed so that existing and future site users are protected. We will obtain all necessary approvals to keep the development schedule on target.
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Pump and Treat
Pump and treat is a simple technique for remediating contaminated groundwater. Pumps are used to bring contaminated groundwater to the surface where it can be remediated more easily. Groundwater pollution can be either a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) that will sink to the bottom of the aquifer e.g. chlorinated solvents, or it can be a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) e.g. petroleum hydrocarbons, that will float on the water surface. The abstracted contaminated water is then passed through a treatment unit to ‘clean’ it sufficiently to allow either off-site disposal or discharge into a foul sewer under a licensed discharge consent.</p> <p>Our pump and treat groundwater systems can be used in conjunction with Air Sparging, Soil Vapour Extraction (SVE) or Oxidation technologies to accelerate the achievement of the remediation criteria. More often than not the removal of the contaminant source will also be required prior to the installation of a pump and treat system to ensure that rapid closure of the project is achieved and Soil & Water Solutions offer this service as part of a packaged remediation solution.</p> <p><strong>Dual Phase Pump & Treat</strong></p> <p>A slightly more sophisticated pump and treat solution for LNAPL utilises a dual phase system whereby the groundwater pumps are deployed at sufficient depth to recover relatively uncontaminated groundwater, pumping at a sufficient rate to create a cone off depression on the water table. A second skimmer pump is installed at the air/ water interface to skim off free product, or light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), thereby reducing the costs associated with treating large volumes of contaminated water. Once this ‘free product’ has been removed, the remaining dissolved phase contamination can be remediated via one of our other solutions.
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Bioremediation
Bioremediation uses microorganisms, often readily available in nature, to degrade organic contaminants in soil or groundwater usually at considerably lower costs compared to chemical treatment or off-site disposal.</p> <p>For bioremediation to be successful certain critical parameters must be established or maintained within the soil or water to be remediated. These are primarily moisture, nutrients and sufficient oxygen (for aerobic biodegradation) along with the optimum temperature. The correct conditions allow the microbes to grow and multiply digesting the target chemicals. When the conditions are not right the microbial population falls and remediation efficiency falls with it and so it is important that only an experienced contractor, such as Soil & Water Solutions, is used for the deployment of this technique.</p> <p><strong>The three main types of bioremediation Soil & Water Solutions offer are as follows:</strong></p> <p><strong>Biostimulation</strong> – Nutrients and oxygen are added in a liquid or gas form to ex-situ contaminated soil or in-situ soil or groundwater to stimulate the growth and activity of indigenous bacteria. The creation of a controlled environment ensures that the degradation of the contaminants is monitored and maintained for rapid remediation.</p> <p><strong>Bioaugmentation</strong> – Microorganisms that are specifically chosen for remediating particular contaminants are added to the contaminated soil or water. Soil & Water Solutions have a range of available strains. Our products can be used to treat, amongst others, PAH’s, BTEX, Diesel, Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and Creosotes. Our trained experts will advise on their suitability.</p> <p><strong>Intrinsic Bioremediation</strong> – Sometimes referred to as natural attenuation, this type of bioremediation occurs naturally in contaminated soil or water. This natural bioremediation is the work of indigenous microorganisms and is often already established at hydrocarbon contaminated sites which have been contaminated for a long period of time, such as old petrol stations with leaking underground oil tanks. This technique requires close monitoring of contaminant degradation to ensure that the environment and human health are protected. Should a faster solution be required then up scaling to one of the other techniques detailed above can be offered.</p> <p><strong>Chemical Oxidation</strong> – An alternative method for accelerating the natural attenuation process is by the addition of a chemical oxidation product.<br />
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Invasive Weed Control and Disposal
The annual cost of the impact of invasive non-native species in Europe is estimated as at least 19.1 billion Euros a year. Responsibility for dealing with invasive weeds rests with individual landowners. Invasive non-native weeds can engulf derelict and brownfield sites and wreck ecosystems. Common amongst these invasive weeds are Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed and they require specialist control and eradication. Soil and Water Solutions provide effective treatment and control solutions for all invasive and nuisance weed species.</p> <p>Soil & Water Solutions offer a fully managed excavation and clean backfill service, providing the plant and operatives needed to deliver a remediated site within a defined timescale.</p> <p>In the case of Japanese Knotweed and where space allows, it might be possible to bury the impacted soils within a prepared cell to fully encapsulate the rhizomes.</p> <p>Soil and Water Solutions can also offer membrane and root barrier systems to prevent invasive weeds spreading onto a clean site once treatments are complete. Root barriers can be installed vertically or horizontally, and are usually used in partnership with a treatment programme.