A Remediation Strategy can only be designed once sufficient information has been obtained; e.g., without enough pieces of the jigsaw you’ll only be guessing at what the picture might be…!
So, to avoid wild guesses and wasting lots of time and money you do need to do your homework.
Firstly, a detailed Phase 1 (Desktop Study) and Phase 2 (Intrusive Site Investigation) must be completed with adequate information to inform the strategy decision making process. One of the failings of a lot of consultants is that they ‘talk a good game’ but are not fully up to speed with remediation techniques and when undertaking a Phase 2 do not collect additional pertinent information. This leads to uncertainty and hence increased remediation risk profile, and where there is increased risk this can only mean one thing – more cost…!
As an example, we have yet to come across a consultant who obtains a microbial count when it is blinding obvious from the outset that bioremediation will be a major remedial option consideration.
Secondly, there are many other factors to take in to account, such as; timescale for completion, available space, climatic conditions, regulatory concerns, local receptors (you don’t want to be injecting chemicals right next to a sensitive receptor…do you…!), site end use, financial constraints, etc.
Thirdly, you really need to have a lot of experience in remediation implementation. By this I do not mean having a lot of Environmental Consultancy experience, but practical hands on, ‘getting your boot dirty’ remediation experience. Without this you’ll probably spec a pump not man/woman enough for the job in hand, end up with a machine to big to fit on to the site or book too many lorries and end up with standing time charges.
So, to answer the question at the beginning of this post the only real answer is to speak to a specialist who knows what they are talking about paying them for their time and effort, as you would for your accountant, solicitor or landlord…!
We’re always happy to provide a little bit of free advice at the beginning of your journey cleaning up your site so why not go ‘old school’ and give us a call. Or if you prefer drop us an email or launch your pet carrier pigeon in our direction…free bird food for every enquiry received this way…!
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Soil remediation guide
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