Environmental Site Investigation and Risk Assessment

YearClientDescription of Project
2004-2006UNEP Post-Conflict BranchWorked as one of 3 key team members who collectively prepared and delivered 5, 2-3-day capacity building Workshops in Amman, Jordan and Geneva for UNEP to introduce the theory and practice of Environmental Site Assessment to Iraqi environmental professionals delegated by the Iraqi Ministry of Environment. The programme was delivered over an 18-month perion from May 2004 to August 2005. Workshop 2 included a one-day ‘hands-on’ initial environmental assessment of a quarry and cement manufacturing plant near Amman. Workshop 3 included training in the use of field monitoring and testing equipment for use by the delegates at 5 selected pilot conflict-damaged contaminated sites in Iraq. Key involvement in the identification and procurement of field monitoring and sampling equipment. The training took place at a Swiss Government research facility near Berne in Switzerland.
Sampling and analysis plans for the pilot sites were jointly prepared early in 2005. Selected the short list of suitable analytical laboratories to provide analytical services for the soil, water and unknown chemicals sampled by the site teams. The first samples from the field were analysed at the contracted international laboratory in May 2005. A 5th workshop on risk assessment took place in late August 2005 in Amman. The preliminary clean-up of 2 of the pilot sites took place during 2006.
2004TSCIPhase II site investigation of 2 sites in the area of Aberdeen Harbour

Phase I pre-acquisition audit and & Phase II site investigations of two properties to be leased and redeveloped for the bulk storage of drilling muds and brines (oil & gas sector) on two quaysides in Aberdeen. The investigation utilised three drilling techniques. A field PID instrument was used to aid the selection of soil samples for laboratory analysis. One of the two properties was heavily contaminated by hydrocarbons that appeared to have leaked from a nearby waste oil bunker.
2002ISLPreparation of Environmental Impact Statements, Mitigation and Monitoring Measures for a Decontamination Project Bid in Hong Kong

Member of a specialist team that developed detailed technical proposals for the remediation of a contaminated site that is designated for development of the new Disney World in Hong Kong. Undertaken for a major Hong Kong group. Contaminants present included dioxins, heavy metals and hydrocarbons which were present at different locations throughout the length and depth of the 60ha site. Specific tasks included the specification of the environmental impact of each decontamination activity along with proposed mitigation measures and monitoring regimes. The bid was second overall losing out narrowly on cost grounds.
2002MWHConduct a programme of routine field sampling and monitoring of groundwater and soil gas at three sites in England

Utilised field sampling and monitoring equipment to measure groundwater quality and soil gas concentrations at three sites over a six month period. Prepared a final report on gas presence and water quality trends and their significance.
2001-2002MWHEnvironmental Assessment Site Investigations at three Lattice Property Holdings Ltd. and Transco Properties in Southern England

The principal acted as Team Leader and site Competent Person on environmental assessment site investigations at three Lattice Property Holdings Ltd. and Transco Gas Holder and Depot properties in Southampton, Shaftesbury and Winchester. The Health, Safety and Environmental Plan for the larger two of the three properties followed the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, 1994. The projects included groundwater sampling and monitoring both groundwater and gas in the field using field instruments on four occasions over an eight-week period following well installation. The projects were also written up using a standard reporting template.
2001Benside HoldingsExpert Support in the valuation of a 21-hectare brown-field property in central King’s Lynn, England for the property owner

The principal was retained through a local firm of solicitors acting for the owner of half of a highly contaminated 21 hectare property located in an inner city area and bisected by the River Nar following the recommendation of a quantity surveyor. The task involved independently assessing the large amounts of site investigation and analytical data available and giving an expert opinion on data quality and interpretation, the proposed remediation strategy, clean-up costs for the whole site and the apportionment of costs to the client’s property. Ultimately the difference in value between the remediation costs of the whole site and its redevelopment value into a mixed residential and commercial land-use will enable the local district council to negotiate a fair price for the purchase of the client’s land.
1991-1996Solvay InteroxProject managed the full delineation of organic contamination in the soils and groundwater underlying a large (200,000 m2) operational chemicals manufacturing site in Merseyside over a progressive two-year period. The investigation was followed by the production of a groundwater model and a full toxicologically based risk assessment. A remediation plan was then devised and put into practice with the introduction of a product recovery pumping system to remove non-aqueous, free phase liquids. Acted subsequently (1996-1998) as an Appointed Expert for the company in a post-demerger arbitration dispute with the former merger partner that involved this facility and a second chemicals manufacturing facility located just north of London.