Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Significance Of Environmental Land Remediation Services

By Bill Bailey


Primarily land remediation services are used to remove unwanted pollutants from a site in order to protect the environment and, more importantly, human health. Several different services can be used in order to achieve this but it isn't as simple and moving everything off the site and developing a new building on top. Depending on what the site was initially used for, contaminants and pollutants will need to be eradicated in order for that land to be declared safe for redevelopment and future use.

To identify what will need to happen during the land remediation project, an initial assessment will first need to be carried out. This assessment will help to establish the history of the site and how it may have been used before. Chemical analysis and sampling will be conducted as part of this assessment to find out what pollutants and materials on the site will need to be cleaned up and removed so that it can be safely redeveloped.

There are two key ways of performing land remediation services - firstly by excavating pollutants in situ and secondly by doing so ex-situ. Basically, in situ removal involves the the treatment of of groundwater and soil to ensure that all identified toxins are removed without having to take any of the soil off site. During ex-situ removal, contaminated soil is excavated and removed to a land fill site and in its place clean soil can be used for the redevelopment.

When pollutants are released into the ground they will also pollute the groundwater, that can make the water supply unsafe for wildlife or humans. For this reason it's essential for groundwater remediation to be completed so the site could be safe for reuse. There are lots of various methods for cleaning up the groundwater including adding in situ heating systems to remove the pollutants swiftly or the more traditional form of pumping and treating the water.

Remediation professionals may also be asked to clear up landfill sites in addition to the cleaning up of groundwater and soil for redevelopment. Tighter laws and controls over how waste is treated now mean that contemporary landfill sites are run more like complex engineering operations to make sure that they do not pose any threat to future generations. The ultimate aim would be to reduce disposal of waste and reduce the need for landfills, however because this is not always possible, landfill remediation is the next best solution.

Depending upon what a site was used for in the past and how it will be redeveloped in the future, any land remediation assignment has the potential to be long winded and drawn out. Local people and stakeholders may need to be consulted and the health risks associated with not carrying out remediation will also have to be carefully evaluated so that accurate information can be presented to anyone who might be affected by the redevelopment of the new site. At each stage of this process, remediation specialists will need to be involved to ensure the overall project is finished satisfactorily for everyone - including developers, future land owners or users and the local community.




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