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ARQUIPÉLAGO
conducted
the
environmental
assessment
of a
20,000
m2 industrial
plant.
The
site
had
been
operational
for
more
than
20 years.
During
this
period
frequent
disposal
of organochlorinated
solvents
to the
soil
occurred.
The
primary
goals
of the
assessment
were:
to delimitate,
vertically
and
horizontally,
the
extension
of the
impact
to the
local
soil
and
groundwater;
to identify
the
source-areas;
and
to build
a database
for
the
implementation
of a
remediation
system,
aimed
at containing
the
flow
of contaminants
towards
residential
receptors
and
at reducing
the
concentrations
to levels
that
did
not
pose
risks
to the
human
health.
Services
Provided
- Document
Review
-
This
task
encompassed
the
review
of
reports
from
previous
environmental
investigation
efforts,
of
drawings
and
of
old
photos
of
the
area,
in
addition
to
interviews
with
employees.
The
data
obtained
during
this
stage
allowed
for
the
definition
of
the
areas
of
concern
for
the
investigation
and
for
the
determination
of
the
location
of
potential
sources
of
contamination.
- Environmental
Assessment
-
This
task
was
aimed
at
identifying
the
potential
contribution
of
offsite
sources,
and
at
determining
the
extension
of
the
plume
of
contaminants.
Approximately
70
boreholes
were
drilled,
with
soil
sampling
and
the
installation
of
the
same
number
of
monitoring
wells
for
groundwater
sampling.
Multilevel
monitoring
wells
were
also
installed
for
the
vertical
definition
of
the
contamination.
The
soil
and
groundwater
samples
collected
onsite
were
shipped
to
a
laboratory
for
VOC
and
SVOC
analyses.
- Identification
of
Source-Areas
-
The
investigations
included
the
collection
of
soil
and
groundwater
samples
at
pre-defined
depth
intervals.
The
areas
of
potential
impact
were
selected
based
on
the
plant's
operational
background
and
on
the
analytical
data
generated
during
previous
assessments.
Investigative
excavations
were
made
at
the
selected
locations
,
and
semi-quantitative
measurements
were
obtained
with
a
handheld
PID,
aimed
at
assessing
indications
of
contamination.
Results
Two
VOC
plumes
were
identified.
Both
plumes
had
reached
beyond
the
plant
area
towards
sensitive
receptors,
with
their
centers
of mass
located
within
the
plant
area.
All
wastes
generated
during
the
field
work
were
characterized
and
disposed
of,
according
to the
best
environmental
practices.
The
remediation
actions
are
currently
being
designed,
and
their
implementation
is foreseen
for
2006.
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