Aquaterra is keenly aware of our role in helping clients understand their risks and liabilities associated with regulatory compliance and interpretations of regulations, quantification and reporting of liabilities associated with blighted or contaminated properties (e.g., liability accrual requirements under Sarbanes Oxley), and the need for meaningful, transparent characterization and communication of risks to human health and the environment from various activities, sites, and scenarios. Aquaterra employs a number of professionals with backgrounds in environmental management, toxicology, business administration and other key fields that enable risks to be understood and accounted for – and most importantly, to ensure that the most effective and efficient mitigative approaches are identified when action is needed. Aquaterra has a history of success in communicating risk to the public for various types of industrial permits and proposed actions, in using Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) to enable regulatory closure and/or implementation of engineered or instituational controls at sites slated for redevelopment, and in providing key information regarding benefits, costs and pitfalls to decision makers, thus enabling the selection of a clear path forward on various types of endeavors.
Aquaterra was engaged as forensic environment and engineering experts to evaluate the economic impact of fugitive carbon black from a manufacturing facility on a local community for the purpose of developing a comprehensive remedial plan. The impacted area involved several hundred residences, commercial and institutional facilities in and around the surrounding community. Aquaterra staff performed extensive site reconnaissance with a national commercial cleaning company to evaluate effective methods to remove or encapsulate the carbon black contamination from the impacted surfaces and thereby remove the inhalation, dermal and ingestion exposure pathways. As a result of the methodology research and site reconnaissance, the following methods were chosen to effect remediation:
- High pressure washing of durable exterior surfaces such as masonry, weatherproof siding, pavement and roofing with rinsate capture,
- Solvent wipe of high gloss interior surfaces,
- Over paint encapsulation of rough and/or non-gloss surfaces,
- Removal and replacement of impacted components,
- Commercial dry cleaning of fabric and upholstered surfaces,
- Commercial carpet and hard floor cleaning,
- Mowing, removal and bagging of impacted vegetation,
- Selected demolition and replacement, and
- High volume vacuuming of selected external and interior surfaces.
Following the development of the detailed component remediation strategy, Aquaterra performed a comprehensive survey of a sufficient number of various impacted residences, commercial and institutional facilities to identify surface type, quantity and degree of impact so as to allow extrapolation across the entire population of impacted properties. In all, approximately 150 residences and over 20 commercial and institutional facilities were evaluated by Aquaterra staff. Ultimately, the information garnered from the condition surveys was used as basic data for the development of a detailed engineering cost estimate on the probable cost of remediation of the impacted properties across the entire community. This cost estimate was used by the interested parties as the authoritative document for establishing the funding mechanism to effect the community clean up and Aquaterra, as part of our role, provided expert testimony and deposition.
