Industries of all kinds face the risk of harming the environment around their worksite. Even if your business doesn’t use hazardous chemicals or produce a lot of waste, it is still possible for it to negatively impact nearby land and water. Although environmental remediation may sound unsettling, consider the key steps in the process so that you might know what to expect and feel more at ease.
- Legal Requirements
Unless your company notices an obvious environmental risk on your property, it is likely that you will be contacted by a government official who will alert you to the changes that must be made. At this point, you may need to hire the services of a company that specializes in environmental remediation Boston MA. Be sure that this company follows the guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency as they complete the process.
- Assessment
Before any hands-on work occurs, a technician will need to assess the extent of the problem at your site. This will likely involve taking samples of water and soil to determine contamination levels.
- Extraction
Remediation at your site may begin rather coarsely; smaller details will be attended to later. This will often involve removing large amounts of soil and transporting them to a safe disposal site. The counterpart for this process in bodies of water is dredging.
- Treatment
Once any large, visible contaminants have been addressed, there may be additional treatments needed to clean the surrounding soil and water. These techniques may include things like chemical oxidation and steam-enhanced extraction. There will likely also be a final assessment that will take place once the remediation process is complete in order to determine whether the problem has been sufficiently contained.
While no business hopes to have to undergo a process like environmental remediation, it is a necessary task to protect the soil and groundwater that support life. Be sure to find a good remediation team and to commit to the process if this responsibility comes knocking on your company’s door.
