2020 SMART Ottawa – February 6th, 2020

SMART Remediation talks have focused on innovative technologies for remediating contaminated sites, approaches for site characterization, project case studies, regulatory and industry perspectives, and other related topics.

The 29th SMART Remediation conference was held in Ottawa on Thursday, February 6th, 2020. Details on the speakers and presentations are provided below.

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Speakers

Chris Lompart, MECP
Excess Soil Regulation Update
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Frank Oliva, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) and the separate Northern Abandoned Mines Reclamation Program (NAMRP)
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Michael Hebert, Mann Lawyers, LLP
Current Environmental / Legal Intersections To Be Aware Of
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Albert Ho, First Capital Realty
Environmental Risk Management in Real Estate
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Jessica Boily, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
Science on Trial: What Environmental Consultants Need to Know About Giving Evidence in Court
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

George Boire, Marsh
Buying, Selling and/or Redeveloping Commercial Real Estate
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Paul Nicholson, Geosyntec Consultants International Inc.
A New Model for Sub-Slab Mitigation for Vapour Intrusion
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Brent Pautler, SiREM
Waterloo Membrane Sampler: Passive Sampling in Remediation Projects; Soil Gas, Outdoor Air and Implications for Vapor Intrusion Studies
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Jean Paré, Chemco inc.
Benefits of Combining In Situ Chemical Oxidation with In Situ Stabilization: Synergies and Solutions for Complex Sites
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Benefits of Combining In Situ Chemical Oxidation with In Situ Stabilization: Synergies and Solutions for Complex Sites

Background/Objective. In situ solidification/stabilization (ISS) has been used at many manufactured gas plant (MGP), brownfield, and Superfund sites. ISS mixes cementitious reagents with contaminated soils reducing the bioavailability and leachability of contaminants. ISS can also be optimized to control certain ll soil characteristics, such as compressive soil strength and reduce hydraulic conductivity. Various reagents are used to promote ISS including Portland cement, blast furnace slag, lime kiln dust, etc. Several of these reagents contain calcium oxide (CaO), also known as quick lime. For example, Portland cement (PC) consists of 60% to 68% CaO by weight. ISS is often applied at highly contaminated petroleum hydrocarbon sites decreasing the leachability of BTEX, naphthalene (NAP) and other organic contaminant in soil. Cementation reactions also decrease hydraulic conductivity (K), which diverts groundwater flow away from the solidified/stabilized soil. ISS treatment also increases unconfined compressive strength (UCS), often critical for redevelopment. However, high concentrations of organic contaminant can interfere with cementation reactions requiring excessive application of amendments increasing both amendment and disposal costs of the displaced soil. This ISS limitation can be minimized by utilizing a combined remedy approach like In Situ Chemical Oxidation to degrade some of the organic contaminants present. ISCO combined with ISS has been found to be able to achieve the same or better leachability and compressive soil strength values with less overall reagent addition and displaced soils. Combining one or more remediation technology generates synergies by exploiting the strengths and minimizing the weak- nesses inherent in individual technologies. When successful, combining remedies enhances performance and/or reduces costs compared to each technology used alone. Approach/Activities. This presentation will review the advantages and limitations of using the combined ISCO/ISS remedy on a contaminated soil from different petroleum hydrocarbon sites.. The presentation will review current literature and explore both bench and field data demonstrating the successes of ISCO-ISS as a combined remedy. The objectives of this study generated by Srivastava et al. were to quantify (1) the ability of a wide range of doses of ISS-activated SP to degrade BTEX and PAH (2) the impact of BTEX and PAH removal from chemical oxidation during ISCO/ISS treatment on synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) measurements, compared with a wide range of ISS doses alone (3) the effect of activated PS on other ISS performance parameters, such as hydraulic conductivity and unconfined compressive strength Results/Lessons Learned. Activated SP chemically oxidized a significant portion of the COCs for all the ISCO/ISS treatments, and the mass of COCs oxidized increased with increasing SP dose. The lowest molecular weight contaminants were preferentially oxidized. For the same PC dose, combined ISCO/ISS treatment was more far effective in reducing contaminant leachability than ISS treatment alone, because of the COC removal achieved by the ISCO (activated SP) component.

Gerren Feeney, Premier Environmental Services Inc.
Case Study: New Delivery Method to Inject Remedial Amendments into a Difficult Aquifer
Bio | Abstract | Presentation

Case Study: New Delivery Method to Inject Remedial Amendments into a Difficult Aquifer

Delivery of remediation amendments may be the most important aspect of a successful in-situ remediation project. “It’s a contact sport” is often used when describing in-situ remediation. The industry’s current preferred delivery approach is the use of temporary injection points advanced by direct push methods. This method allows for excellent distribution of remedial amendments both horizontally and vertically. Unfortunately, direct push delivery has significant limitations when it comes to deep treatment zones, cobbled sites, and weathered bedrock. With regards to deeper injection into bedrock, a viable injection method utilizes pressure packers to deliver remedial amendments into bedrock boreholes. But what about those “in-between” treatment zones? Those zones that are inaccessible for direct push injection but not competent enough for pressure packer systems? At some project sites, this transition zone is where much of the contamination may be present and yet it is also the most difficult zone to properly use the standard in-situ delivery methods. This talk will showcase recent advances in the in-situ delivery of remedial amendments to remediate this “in-between” treatment zone. The talk is based on a real-world case study site with a deep treatment zone that proved inaccessible using industry-standard delivery methods. Case study project components to be profiled include: • Data review and gap analysis for the site; • Bench-scale proof-of-concept treatability testing; • Overview of historical remedial activities; • “In-between” zone pilot-test results; • Detailed design for the full-scale in-situ remediation program; • Completion of the full-scale in-situ injection into the “in-between” zone; and, • Follow-up performance monitoring of treatment effectiveness. This talk will present the methods, observations and results of each step of the remediation process, and will detail the current state-of-the-art in these regards. Lessons learned on in-situ treatment of the “in-between” zone will be presented.