As the population grows and land becomes a further premium, site remediation addresses the need to restore contaminated land to provide land for development or public space particularly in an urban environment. Remediation is essential to mitigate health risks, enhance urban aesthetics, reclaim usable space, and promote sustainable development. Effective remediation improves environmental quality and supports community well-being by ensuring safe, functional urban environments for current and future generations.
Remediation also considers adjacent land and offsite sources of potential contamination.
Onsite containment
Following regulatory approval, onsite containment must manage and consider:
- Hydrogeologically appropriate
- Direct and indirect beneficial uses
- Environmental and planning approvals
- Buffers or set backs
Methods for onsite containment may include:
- Engineered stockpiles (capped/ bunded)
- Inground repositories capped and covered
- Engineered liners and cells
Contaminated material lining generally composes of impermeable materials such as welded HDPE, geomembranes and engineered clay. This serves as a barrier and if properly engineered and maintained, capping can significantly reduce the infiltration of rainwater and can help protect local surface and groundwater. This approach is the most common and sensible for large quantities of soil and other solid materials.
The benefits of onsite containment include:
- Significant cost saving for offsite disposal costs of contaminated soil
- Adherence to the EPA hierarchy of control
- Carbon savings in the form of a significant reduction in truck traffic by reducing the requirement for offsite disposal
- Freeing up limited landfill space
Site specific gas mitigation measures
Landfill gas mitigation measures must be undertaken when there is a risk of landfill gas entering your site. Landfills have a minimum of a 100m buffer zone from them, all development within this buffer zone must consider landfill gas risk and may construct a physical barrier to address this risk.
Often the approach is site specific, with a common approach to build a lined trench backfilled with more permeable material than that of the local geology. The trench is topped with a biofilter and can have with passive venting in the form of screened piping constructed throughout the trench to further vent any captured landfill gas. These measures can capture or intercept any landfill gas prior to it entering the site.
As dedicated environmental remediation contractors specializing in lining and capping, we understand our role in preserving environmental integrity. Our team combines technical expertise with a commitment to sustainability backed up by our ISO14001 accreditation, ensuring that every project adheres to the highest standards of safety and environmental protection. Whether it’s constructing a robust lining system or capping, we prioritize precision and efficiency to deliver results that exceed expectations.
SLE Environmental, retaining your future
