Environmental Considerations When Demolishing a House
Demolishing a house sounds pretty straightforward – grab a sledgehammer or rent a piece of equipment and begin tearing things down. It’s not quite that easy, though. Many environmental and health consequences can come from demolishing a house. We will examine some of the most important things you should pay attention to during the next house demolition you may be involved in.
Pre-Demolition Inspection
While you most likely want to jump on your demolition project as soon as possible, taking a step back and getting a pre-demolition inspection is one of the smartest things you can do. This inspection can pick out things you need to know before demolition; factors like what kind of materials you are dealing with and what needs to be removed before the demo can even begin. Environmental problems that need to be handled and/or monitored can also be examined in an inspection.
Sometimes, a pre-demolition inspection is required and is not a choice. Be sure you know the regulations in the location of demolition so you don’t do harm to the environment and don’t get hit with some hefty fines! Submit any required forms, and get those permits and any other approvals you need before your demolition begins.
Mode of Demolition
There are a few different modes of demolition, and usually, the choice of what approach you use depends on the demolition sites and what is being torn down at each location. In addition, the type of building materials that are in place in these structures is also considered.
Some of the approaches that are taken include a sledgehammer, bulldozer, wrecking ball, excavator, and more.
Asbestos Presence
Asbestos is a dangerous substance made up of several minerals that naturally occur in nature and fibers that resist heat. Asbestos was installed in thousands of homes across the United States before the dangers of asbestos and its links to cancer were discovered. Sadly, asbestos has been found to cause lung, ovarian, and laryngeal cancer and is the primary cause of mesothelioma, which is cancer that forms in the lining of the lungs or abdomen.
If asbestos is present in a home or building, it needs to be removed by a professional that knows exactly how to remove it and dispose of it. Asbestos found in demo or renovation work often causes the most dangerous exposure, and state and federal regulations need to be closely followed to maintain a healthy environment.
Soil Contaminants
During a large demo like a house demolition in NJ, the soil will be disturbed either because of the demo itself or the traffic of heavy equipment and trucks that come and go from the work site throughout the demolition process. When the soil is disturbed, there can be dirt and sediment carried away by rain and snow, taking it to waterways and polluting it in the process.
It’s important to know that the law requires you to take precautions to avoid such water contamination through sediment control measures. This is where your contractor can help you make sure that such precautions are being met.
Oil Tank Disposal
If you are removing an above-ground oil tank, the process can become fairly complex. You need to hire a pro that knows all about oil tanks and the disposal process that goes with them. While regulations regarding oil tank disposal are different in every state, there are most likely forms, permits, and inspections that need to happen. Do what you need to in order to get your oil tank emptied, cleaned, and removed properly to avoid leaky oil tanks making a mess and resulting in contaminated groundwater, polluted soil, and more. What might seem to be a simple project can lead to something much more involved and costly if not handled properly.
Salvage, Reuse, and Recycle
If you are undergoing a house demolition, New Jersey homeowners should consider exactly what they will be removing. Can you salvage, reuse, or recycle anything? It may take more time, but these small choices can add up to how the environment is impacted.
Things like appliances, cabinets, wood, stone, and more can all be taken from a home and reused in amazing ways in a rebuild or in other homes or buildings. Every bit that is reused or recycled is a little bit that is kept out of the landfill.
Choose Mikula Contracting for Your Demolition Project
Mikula Contracting knows how important your New Jersey house demolition is to you. However, we also know what a negative environmental impact it can have if it’s not carried out in the right way. Our team is experienced in demolition and works hard to obtain the required inspections, permits, and more, so you don’t have to think about it.
Mikula Contracting has you covered if you are getting ready for a house demolition, small or large. Learn about what we can do for your home. Call us at 973-772-1684 to learn about the demolition services our team provides in the New Jersey area.
How Long Does Soil Remediation Take?
How Long Does Soil Remediation Take?
Soil remediation is the process of removing or replacing the soil to get rid of contamination. Soil contamination occurs when toxins get mixed with the natural compounds of the soil.
Many times, these chemicals come from industrial activity or hazardous waste such as heavy metals and/or pesticides. However, contamination can come from many places including:
- Livestock manure runoff
- Farming chemicals
- Failure of a septic system
- Improper waste disposal
- Failing underground oil tanks
- Nearby industrial activity
If toxins are present in the soil, you must be proactive with soil remediation to eliminate the contaminants and restore the safety of your land.
Some common soil remediation strategies include bioremediation, soil washing, and thermal desorption. The effectiveness of these options depends on the specific type of contamination in your soil as well as how extensive it is.
These soil remediation technologies can be used to separate out the chemicals, but sometimes it may be necessary to remove the contaminated soil and replace it with clean fill.
How Long Does Soil Remediation Take?
Excavating contaminated soil can take one day or several years. The actual time it takes to excavate the contaminated soil depends on several factors including:
- Large contamination area
- Depth of contamination
- Contamination below the water table
Time by Type of Soil Remediation
Each type of soil remediation strategy takes a different amount of time. However, in all strategies, one of the primary factors is how much soil is contaminated.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation occurs by stimulating the growth of certain microbes to use contaminants, such as oil, as a source of food and energy. As a byproduct, the microbes release water, carbon dioxide, and other non-harmful amino acids. The microbes secrete enzymes similar to the way the human body makes saliva and stomach bile. The enzymes break down the contaminants into smaller pieces. Then, the microbes can consume the broken-down contaminants.
Ideal environmental conditions are necessary to start the bioremediation process including a balance of temperature, surface pH, available moisture, and other factors. In the right environment, with ample food supply, the microbes reproduce. More microbes can then further aid in the removal of additional contaminants. The cycle repeats until the food source is depleted.
Due to the need to maintain environmental conditions, it can take weeks, or even months for microbes to clean up a site. The primary consideration is the number of contaminants present in comparison to the number of microbes present.
Soil Washing
Soil washing is a remediation strategy that removes contaminants by washing the soil with a liquid (often a chemical additive), scrubbing the soil, and then separating the clean soils from contaminated soil and wash water.
The concept of soil washing is based on the idea that contaminants will bind with fine-grained soils like silt and clay. These—in turn—are prone to bind with coarse-grained soils like sand and gravel. The main goal of soil washing is to separate the contaminated fine-grained soils and wash water from the cleaned coarse-grained soils.
The contaminated soils and wash water can be treated or disposed of. The washed soils may be reused as a backfill at the site if all contaminants have been successfully removed. Soil washing can be broken into six steps:
- Pretreatment
- Separation
- Coarse-grained treatment
- Fine-grained treatment
- Process water treatment
- Residuals management
Soil washing is a very fast method. The process can be run at a very high rate of around 100 cubic yards per day. Soil washing is often also used in conjunction with another remediation method because it can concentrate the contaminants down into a smaller volume of soil which can be easily treated by another strategy.
Thermal Desorption
Thermal desorption removes organic contaminants (including volatile organic compounds and some semi-volatile organic compounds) from soil by heating it in a machine called a thermal desorber to evaporate the contaminants. Semi-volatile organic compounds require higher heat than volatile organic compounds. The contaminants are evaporated separated from the solid material.
Thermal desorption may take a few weeks to a few years. Cleanup time will depend on several factors, including:
- The contaminated area is large or deep.
- The desorber is off-site.
- A lot of debris must be crushed or removed.
- The desorber is small.
- Contaminant concentrations are high.
- The soil contains a lot of dust, clay, or organic material.
Most thermal desorbers can clean over 25 tons of contaminated soil per hour.
Benefits of Faster vs. Slower Soil Remediation Methods
Bioremediation is the slowest method while thermal desorption and soil washing are much faster.
One difference in the strategies is how the contaminants are disposed of. With soil washing the contaminated soil and wash water must be processed.
The wash water must be treated in order to be reused in the soil washing process or to be disposed of in sewers. Disposing requirements are stringent, so recycling the water back into the system is the preferred choice as long as it does not interfere with the washing process.
Contaminated fine-grained soils may be disposed of in a landfill. If they are still considered contaminated, they may require further treatment before disposal.
When it comes to thermal desorption, gas collection equipment captures the contaminated vapors. The vapors often require further treatment, like removing dust particles. The remaining organic vapors are usually destroyed using a thermal oxidizer.
The thermal oxidizer heats the vapors to high enough temperatures to convert them to carbon dioxide and water vapor. At sites with high concentrations of organic vapors, the vapors may be cooled and condensed back to a liquid form. The liquid chemicals may be recycled or incinerated. If the concentrations of contaminants are low enough, and dust is not an issue, the vapors can be released without treatment into the atmosphere.
While bioremediation takes much longer, once the process is complete, the microbe population will naturally decline. The microbes also do not create any residual waste that needs to be processed or treated. The carbon dioxide, water, and other amino acids they produce absorb naturally into the environment without any negative impact.
Need Soil Remediation Services? Contact Mikula.
At Mikula Contracting, we offer both residential and commercial soil remediation services in New Jersey. Contact us today for a quote.
Using Test Pits for Soil Exploration
Using Test Pits for Soil Exploration
Surface exploration can provide you with many clues about the stability of the ground. However, it doesn’t provide you with the full picture. For that reason, many contractors and engineers will utilize test pits for soil exploration.
Just as the name would imply, a test pit is a hole dug into the ground that allows you to test the soil. They often aren’t very deep, but they provide great insight into the composition of the soil and its layers. Not to mention, a soil pit is one of the most affordable options for soil exploration.
That’s not all!
In this article, we’ll cover the purpose of soil testing so that you can better understand how a test pit is used. We also cover some of the different options for soil exploration methods so that you can compare them to test pits and trenches.
Purpose of Soil Exploration
Geotechnical engineers and contractors in New Jersey often want to explore the soil for safety reasons. They give you the opportunity to:
- Look for Soil Properties That Could Impact Construction: When you explore soil, it’s important to look for any soft matter, such as clay or sand. These materials create instability. You should also look for sandy loam soil as it exhibits great drainage properties.
- Determine Materials for Construction: More often than not, you won’t find the perfect soil composition in your test pit. That’s okay, however. There are many ways you can adjust the type of construction materials to fit your land’s soil. Soil exploration allows you to see which materials will work best and the extent of adaptations you will need to make.
- Locate and Check Groundwater Conditions: Groundwater can be a blessing when it’s in the right place and a curse when it’s in the wrong place. If you are building a home in an area with a high water table, you will have to be cautious of foundational issues and basement flooding. On the other hand, a water table can be great if you need to put in a well!
- Diagnose Cause of Existing Structural Failures: In some cases, soil exploration might be done after construction. If an existing structure shows signs of structural issues, including shifting or cracked foundation, you might need to examine the ground beneath it.
Soil Exploration Methods
When you are testing ground conditions, there are several factors you must consider. These factors can help you determine which tests to perform. They can also aid in making predictions about your soil and its stability. To make sure you get the most out of your soil tests, you should consider:
Excavated Test Pits
Test pits are one of the most common methods of soil exploration. They are perfect for looking at shallow depths as they are simple and fast to dig. You can do so manually with the help of local labor. When done by hand, a test pit is one of the most economical soil exploration methods. In some cases, you may prefer to hire contractors to use heavy equipment excavation tools.
We also find this method especially useful because it allows you to observe the soil profile up close. You can easily see the variation in each layer, and you can examine the different materials. This view can help you diagnose any fill material that may pose a threat to the stability of the ground.
Auger Boring
If you need to reach more depth, auger boring is another option. It is a method used for shallow or deep collections. It is done by using an auger to drill into the soil. As it makes its way down into the ground, the auger fills with soil, and it brings the samples to the surface where soil experts can examine them.
While this method allows you to reach greater depths, it is more costly. Not to mention, the process causes a lot of disturbance while collecting the samples. That means that it can be challenging to see changes in the soil strata. Using this equipment can also be much more expensive than manually digging a pit.
Wash Boring
When dealing with softer materials like clay and sand, wash boring is the better option for soil exploration. The name comes from the jet stream of water sprayed through a hollow drilling rod. The fragments then separate from the water and collect in soil samplers attached to the bottom of the drill rod.
This quick and straightforward method is relatively inexpensive. It’s perfect for gathering undisturbed soil samplings. You can even use it in areas with limited accessibility. For example, it’s ideal for testing in swamps or on water.
Percussion Drilling
The percussion drilling method is also known as cable tool drilling. It is often used to dig wells. However, it is also a popular method for examining soil in areas with boulders and rocks. You can even locate cavities and weaknesses in the rocks by comparing drill rate changes. It’s important to keep in mind that the blows of the chisel in percussion drilling cause disturbances to the soil at the bottom.
Rotary Boring
Lastly, you can use rotary boring. It is one of the fastest methods. Despite its speed, it doesn’t disturb the soil as much as some of the other methods. Unfortunately, the cost and bulkiness of the equipment deter contractors and engineers from using it. The drill also doesn’t do well with soil that contains large pieces of gravel.
Use a Test Pit to Explore Soil at Your NJ Construction Site
If you would like assistance with digging a test pit or trench, Mikula is happy to help. Our contracting company has over 75 years of experience with excavation services. Therefore, you can count on our experts to dig a safe test pit for you and your geotechnical engineering crew.
To get started with your soil test pit excavation, give us a call. We are happy to schedule a consultation before we dig to discuss your soil testing needs. You can also reach out to our service representatives by submitting our online quote form.
Why Are Test Pits For Soil Testing Important for Construction Projects?
Why Are Test Pits For Soil Testing Important for Construction Projects?
Whether you’re building a large retail shopping center or a home, soil testing should be one of the first steps you take. Site investigations help you better understand the soil on which your building will stand. If it happens to have a low bearing capacity, you could find yourself having several foundation and structure problems immediately or down the road.
Not only can soil determine potential safety hazards, but it can also raise awareness of financial risks. After all, you won’t want to invest money in building a house that could come crashing down one day. Even in less severe cases, you could find yourself constantly spending money to maintain the foundation.
When you hire a team of geotechnical engineers, they use test pits to examine the site’s soil closely. From there, they can take that information and determine many design aspects. In fact, your soil test can dictate:
- Building Feasibility
- The Type and Depth of Foundation
- The Type of Materials Used
- Height, Size, and Weight of Building
- Any Modifications or Improvements to Soil
That’s not the only reason that you should examine ground conditions before you build. A soil test can help you identify many potential problems. However, there are also many factors to consider when you look at your soil. We know it can be overwhelming to take in all of this information, so read on to learn more about the importance of using test pits for soil testing.
Find Potential Problems Before You Start
With the help of geotechnical engineers, you can diagnose complications before they even occur. Test pits provide valuable insight into issues that could cost you more money in the future. The following are just a few of the potential problems you can spot with a soil exam.
Soil Contamination
Unfortunately, oil spills, chemical leaks, and other events can lead to soil contamination. Not only can this impact the properties of the soil, but it can also be a danger. For example, homes that rely on wells for water shouldn’t be built in an area where the soil has been polluted, as it could be a sign of possible water contamination. Testing the ground can help you decide whether you want to go through with remediation or if it’s better to abandon the project site.
Water Table Location
You can also use test pit excavations to determine the water table location. The water table is underneath the soil layer. It is typically where you would find more compact soil. The water then fills in the gaps in this area to create the water table.
It’s important to understand that the water table can rise or lower depending on rainfall. Therefore, its location would impact how deep your foundation could go. If you build in the water table, foundation shifting and basement flooding can occur.
Underground Oil Tanks & Structures
Did you know that many homes used to heat their home with an underground oil tank? Sometimes these tanks were left behind, so it’s important to dig a test pit to locate these systems. A soil trench can also help you find filled-in underground pools or other structures that might impact your construction plans.
Groundwater Pooling
For solid construction, you need to avoid areas that get oversaturated. This could cause the soil to shift and sink, which could crack and damage your foundation. Along with structural issues, it can also lead to flooding. Fortunately, your soil test can help you uncover areas with poor drainage.
Landslide Potential
Site investigations help engineers determine landslide risk. This type of test is especially important if your construction site sits close to a mountain or hillside. While these sites might provide beautiful views, they could be dangerous for construction. Even if you are able to build the home, it could be hazardous to live there if landslides are likely.
Factors to Consider When Testing Ground Conditions in New Jersey
When you are testing ground conditions, there are several factors you must consider. These factors can help you determine which tests to perform. They can also help you make predictions when you add them to your findings. To make sure you get the most out of your soil tests, you should consider:
- The Project Type: Not all construction projects require the same testing. For example, if you are building a mine, the analysis would be much different from that of an amusement park site. The same could be said for comparing an apartment building site to a single-family home location.
- General Soil Classification: A quick preliminary test before digging trenches can tell you the general classification of the soil and rock. With this information, you can look at those soil properties and determine what type of further testing might be necessary.
- Groundwater Variation: As we mentioned, water tables can rise and lower. These changes can greatly impact the stability of the ground. Therefore, you should always keep groundwater variations in mind.
- Costs for Testing: If you are working with a limited pre-construction budget, you might not have the option to run every imaginable soil test. For that reason, you should prioritize the ones that would provide the most valuable information for your project.
- Variation in Soil: You should never expect that soil is uniform throughout one site, especially if it is large. Instead, it would help if you dug multiple test pits for soil testing to give a more accurate reading. Still, you should always keep in mind that things may be different in unexcavated areas.
Hire Experts to Dig a Test Pit for Your NJ Construction Site
If you would like to hire professionals to dig test pits for soil testing, you’ve come to the right place. At Mikula Contracting, we have plenty of experience with excavation for soil evaluations. Therefore, you can count on our contractors to carefully dig holes throughout your construction site. You can call our helpful service representatives to learn more about our excavation services, or you can submit our online form to request a free quote.
What is Contaminated Soil?
Contaminated soil is soil infused with a chemical substance that is not good for the environment and not good for the growth of plants and vegetation. Oftentimes, it is an accident to spill the substance into the soil. Other times, it is an effect of using pesticides or other substances used to kill weeds. Unfortunately, people who live near contaminated soil suffer dire consequences. Read on to learn more.
What is considered contaminated soil? Any soil that is tested and comes up with harmful chemicals or substances inside is considered contaminated. But that doesn’t mean the soil is worthless. You can look into soil remediation services to clear out the toxicities from the soil and make it clean again.
If the soil contamination has something to do with an oil spill, then environmental cleanup services are required. An oil spill can spread quickly, hurting plants and animals, seeping into the groundwater used for irrigation, and showing up on surface waters in oceans and lakes.
While we look at what is considered contaminated soil in the United States, we can start with the causes of soil contamination and how it can be prevented.
Causes of Soil Contamination
The causes of soil contamination come from hydrocarbons PAHS, which are a class of chemicals found in crude oils and gasoline. These hazardous wastes seep into the natural soil and cause contamination that doesn’t just flush out with the rain. Therefore, soil remediation is required to make the soil uncontaminated and clean.
Pesticides
What is considered contaminated soil? Pesticides used for growing crops are considered a contaminant to the soil. This is because large amounts of pesticides seep into the soil and make it contaminated. In many countries, the use of pesticides is highly regulated.
Pesticides are used to deter pests from ruining the crops while growing. While the pesticides keep the bugs away, they also create toxicity to the soil in large amounts. It is vital to limit pesticides so that the soil can be used to grow more crops.
Herbicides
Herbicides are also used to aid in the growth of crops and keep weeds from destroying the growth of vegetation. Again, the amount of herbicides used is vital to keep under control. What is considered contaminated soil? Large amounts of herbicides will lead to contaminated soil.
Improper Disposal of Waste
Another way that soil can get contaminated is when hazardous materials are poured into the soil by mistake or illegally. The contaminated sites cause detrimental effects to the environment and the people who live nearby.
It is important to look out for signs of improper disposal and report it if you see any illegal activity surrounding the disposal of oil or gasoline. If you have oil you need to discard, you can take it to any mechanic shop or recycling center, and they will take it for you. Oil should never go out in the garbage can, even if it is in an airtight container.
Health Effects
The problem with hydrocarbons getting into the soil doesn’t only lie with plant growth. Here are other ways improper disposal and contaminated soil are a risk to human health:
- Contaminated Drinking Water: An oil spill can get into the pipes and come out in the drinking water. If your drinking water has an oil sheen to it, do not drink it. Get it tested immediately to find out if your drinking water is dirty from polluted soil.
- Toxic Fumes: If hydrocarbons are in your soil, you may be breathing in toxic fumes inside the house—oil and gas and strong contaminants that let off a poisonous gas as well. Be aware of these smells, and do not ignore the fragrance of oil or gas inside your home. Instead, investigate and find out what is causing the problem. What is considered contaminated soil? You may find out that your soil is contaminated by tracing the cause of a toxic smell.
Health problems can occur when humans ingest or breathe in chemicals like oil or gasoline. In addition, when the spill is in the soil, it is likely to seep into a place where humans will be affected by the contaminated lands. What is considered contaminated soil? Any soil that is infused with industrial wastes is deemed to be contaminated and a threat to human health.
Ecosystem Effects
Clean soil is essential for keeping a healthy and robust ecosystem. The last thing we want is the spread of contaminated soil, leading to health problems and dirty water, plants, and food sources.
- Contaminated Ground Water: As the oil leak spreads through the soil, it can seep down into the groundwater. This water is used for irrigation and should not be poisoned by oil. However, contaminated groundwater could spread the contaminant around the community.
- Spread of Contaminated Soil: If the oil spill is on your property, it’s important to take care of it right away. Oil spreads through the soil and can go into to your neighbor’s property and be a cause for litigation.
- Damage to Animals: Contaminated soil also has an effect on animals in the surrounding areas. They also rely on clean water and healthy vegetation to live and thrive. Animals that live in water that is contaminated by oil are covered in the sticky substance and get sick and die.
Contaminated soil has significant effects on the ecosystem. When you learn of industrial activity that leads to soil contamination, you must take quick action to remediate the problem. No matter the type of contamination, clean soil is vital to our ecosystem.
You can do your part by reporting any suspicious activity surrounding hydrocarbon disposal. Also, be sure not to drop your oil into the trash can and hope no one notices. This has severe consequences and can result in fines and punishment. If you don’t know where to dispose of your oil, contact your local recycling center to find the proper place to dispose of hazardous materials.
Soil Remediation Solutions in NJ
At Mikula Contracting, we can work with our trusted environmental firms to identify what is considered contaminated soil and help you resolve the issue. Our services include test pit excavation and our environment firm partners excel at soil remediation. Let our team help you with your soil remediation project today.
Our family-owned business has been serving members of the New Jersey community for over 75 years now. The combined experience in our team amounts to more than 200 years. We have seen it all and learned from our experiences. You will get the best in quality of work and customer service when you choose Mikula Contracting.
What is Environmental Remediation?
What is Environmental Remediation?
Have you recently purchased property that chemicals have contaminated? If so, it’s easy to let that stop you from moving forward with your construction project. However, soil contamination isn’t the end of the world. While it should be taken seriously, there are several soil remediation methods you can use to restore your soil to a healthy condition.
No matter the cause of contamination, you should seek out environmental remediation services. It is important that you eliminate the chemicals, not just for your own human health. The United States has strict standards for environmental standards and dumping practices. Therefore, you could be responsible for contaminated soil even if you did not cause it.
The Basics
Soil remediation refers to the process of purifying and revitalizing soil by removing any contaminants. These contaminants can come from a variety of sources. However, they typically result from human activities, whether they are direct or indirect.
Why is soil remediation so important?
Pollutants in your soil eventually can cause groundwater contamination. If you use a well as your water source, this could cause you to directly ingest dangerous chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic.
Even if you don’t drink groundwater, contact with contaminated soil can still cause exposure symptoms. Depending on the type of pollutant, you could experience everything from skin rash to neuromuscular blockage.
Examples of Soil Contamination
The key to moving forward with soil remediation is identifying the pollutant. If you live next to a chemical plant, it might be easier to figure out the culprit. However, there are many cases where your soil could be contaminated without your knowledge. You could even be causing the pollution without realizing it.
The following are just a few of the most common types of soil contaminants that require soil or groundwater remediation:
- Solid or Liquid Industrial Waste
- Excessive Pesticides and Fertilizer
- Septic System Failure
- Improper Disposal of Waste
- Leaching from Landfill
- Damaged Storage Tanks Underground
How to Check for Contaminated Soil
Unfortunately, many of these chemicals are difficult to detect. If you suspect that your soil and groundwater may be affected by pollution, we recommend a site assessment. Hiring a professional can ensure the most accurate results because they do thorough inspections and testing. In fact, they carefully check for contaminated areas by:
- Taking a Soil Sample: To start, a soil expert comes to your property to take a sample. From there, the sample gets sent off to a lab, where it will be tested to see if there are any chemicals or unwanted compounds. The test also tells you the level of contamination in the soil.
- Undergoing Additional Tests: If the results indicate that you may be dealing with pollution, your soil expert will recommend more tests. These findings can show you the extent of contamination on the property. Experts often will want to check groundwater and surrounding areas to see how much contamination has occurred.
- Checking the Land’s History: Your soil inspector will also need to look at the history of your land. If it was on or near an industrial site, it could need more in-depth testing, which can check for a wide variety of contaminants. You should also check to see where most of your surface water comes from.
Common Soil Remediation Methods
If your test results indicate that you are dealing with any kind of pollution, soil remediation is the next step. Your soil expert can help you to contact a remediation team. These professionals put together a treatment plan for the removal of contaminated soil.
Your remediation plan typically depends on the type and severity of the pollution, but there are four main methods: soil washing, air sparging, thermal desorption, and bioremediation.
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Soil Washing
As the name implies, this method of remediation involves washing the soil to clean it. You could compare it to the pump-and-treat process of cleaning contaminated water. It can only be done off-site as it requires the soil to be washed with a liquid before it is scrubbed. From there, the clean soil is separated from the contaminants and wash water. While it is effective, it is often impractical and expensive for homeowners.
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Air Sparging
This method works best for contaminated sites with toxic gas or vapor. Unlike other remediation technologies, you don’t have to extra the soil for treatment. Instead, large volumes of pressurized air are injected into the ground to remove compounds typically filtered by carbon. You can make it more effective by combining it with soil vapor extraction.
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Thermal Desorption
Thermal remediation is another ex situ method, which means you must remove the soil from contaminated sites. It is then sent to a facility where it is fed through an oven on a conveyor belt. The heat helps to extract contaminants subject to evaporation, such as polluted water or water-based compounds.
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Bioremediation
If you prefer the convenience of in situ techniques that don’t require excavation, bioremediation might be your best option. It differs from other remediation projects because it doesn’t rely on mechanics. Instead, it combats the chemicals with biological organisms.
What does that mean?
Your remediation team applies a carefully engineered combination of aerobic and anaerobic bacterium. The bacterium is chosen based on their ability to feed on the pollutant. You don’t have to worry about the bacterium becoming a separate problem, however. Much like yeast, they die off once they consume all the contaminants. Keep in mind that this method requires specific conditions to be effective.
Dig a Test Pit for Your NJ Construction Site
If you and your remediation crew have selected an ex situ method, Mikula Contracting is happy to help you with your soil remediation project. We have several skilled contractors ready to help excavate your site. We can even help you with soil test pits if you are in the beginning stages of environmental remediations.
You can get started with your soil remediation project by calling our helpful representatives. We also have a simple online form that you can fill out to request a quote for our services.