Soil Remediation

Soil remediation begins by understanding the sources and types of contamination. AEL’s team of scientists and engineers will start with a review of available information and will typically ask if any available environmental reports are available for the property. If additional information is required, a site investigation designed specifically to provide the information necessary to support remedial design will be proposed.

Where impacts are present in soil, the potential also exists for groundwater contamination. A Phase Two Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) will typically test both soil and groundwater to determine if contamination exists in either or both soil and groundwater.

Once soil contamination is adequately characterized, AEL’s team of engineers and scientists collaborate to design a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) for the site. A RAP may vary depending on your needs and can be a short, high level cost estimate, or an in-depth review and assessment of all potentially applicable remediation strategies to help achieve site-specific standards.

Methods of soil remediation that are practiced by AEL include:

• Excavation and Disposal: This traditional remedial method, (sometimes referred to as “dig & dump” soil remediation) involves delineating the impacted area, removing contaminated soil from a site, and bringing it to a licensed landfill or approved re-use site for proper disposal, including excess soil testing per Ontario’s soil management regulations (O. Reg. 406/19).
  In some cases, excavation and disposal is the most viable option to satisfy short timelines, or if the soil is non-hazardous and not easily treated using alternative methods. However, in other cases, significant cost can be saved using alternative soil treatment methods
• Bioremediation: uses microorganisms such as bacteria to metabolize and thereby break down contaminants, and is typically completed in-situ.
• Chemical Remediation: typically uses oxidation or reduction reaction to destroy or chemically transform contamination into non-hazardous end products.
• Non-Destructive Mass Transfer: involves enhanced removal of contaminants from the soil, and includes technologies such as soil washing, vapour extraction, and more.
• Thermal Remediation: uses heat to either destroy, immobilize or enhance mass transfer of contaminants.
• Containment/Immobilization: a physical barrier is put in place to limit the area of contamination and prevent its spread.

An Innovative Approach to Soil Remediation

AEL believes that remediation of impacted soil doesn’t have to be a guessing game.

While traditional soil remediation techniques have long served the industry, they typically made assumptions regarding the boundaries of soil contamination based on borehole-to-borehole calculations, resulting in larger excavations than necessary, added time and costs.

AEL reduces overall remediation project costs by using precise on-site screening to precisely delineate the boundaries of soil contamination from the outset, reducing the overall area requiring remediation.

Our innovative approach combines field-proven methodology with portable, high-tech laboratory equipment, all operated by AEL’s experienced team of field scientists and engineers. The result is a more informed, data-driven remediation strategy—delivered with confidence.