
How to Manage a Contaminated Site
We use a lot of strong chemicals in the modern for a wide variety of purposes. Sometimes, their use can grow out of hand and lead to a decontaminated site.
If that does happen and there is a major chemical spill on your premises, it is up to you to manage the contaminated site. It is a daunting task especially if you are doing it for the first time.
In such a situation you should definitely call professionals such as Oates Environmental. However, you will have to contain the situation first.
Managing a contaminated site involves the following:
A Site Investigation (Phase I Assessment)
The first step you have to take is conduct a site investigation. This should help evaluate the extent of the contamination. It will also help establish exactly which contaminants are on the site.
Moreover, the investigation can find out if there have been past spills or and what kind they were. The site’s history could have a significant impact on the actions you take if there is a history of contamination.
If there is evidence of site contamination, prior or present, then you will have to move on to Phase II of the process.
A Site Assessment (Phase II Assessment)
A site assessment is what comes after a site investigation once it has been determined that the site has been contaminated. It is Phase II of assessing the site.
A site assessment involves mainly testing the water and soil on the site to ascertain the composition and level of contamination on the site. It will also involve the analysing of the contaminants found on the site during the site investigation.
The most important part about the first two steps is hiring the right people for the job. Without them, there are many mistakes that can be made at a very crucial juncture.
Submit Results
After conducting a site investigation and a site assessment, a report should be generated by the professionals. The report is very detailed and technical.
You are required by law to submit the results to your local authorities. This is so that if there any communal areas that are at risk, they can take steps to curb the spread of the contamination.
The local authorities will then review your site’s contamination report and give it due investigation. They will then contact you in case of any issue to discuss what to do going forward.
Clean Up
The final step of managing a contaminated site is the clean-up. You will first have to come up with a restoration plan for the site before you begin any sort of cleanup.
There are specific standards and methods for cleaning up a contaminated site. They need to be followed to the letter or you risk leaving contaminants on your site which can have deadly consequences.
You should consult comprehensively with the professionals when planning the clean-up. Ensure you have all the bias covered during the planning stage and execution will be easy.
Once you have done the clean-up, you are free to restore the contaminated site.
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