A different tack on site remediation
February 12, 2010
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/720758
Experts say they can't estimate costs of cleaning up the west harbour stadium site without knowing more about the substances there, but a Hamilton consultant says the city might not have to remove all the contaminants.
Luc Piccioni, a planning consultant specializing in brownfield redevelopment, said the stadium site might be treated like the new parking lot at Hamilton General Hospital, built on the site for a former Stelco nail factory.
That approach involves an assessment, in which a risk calculator determines if the risk of exposure to, or off-site migration of, toxic substances is low enough to leave them in place, perhaps subject to continued monitoring.
"I wouldn't venture to say what might be there (on the stadium site), but it would require remediation to commercial-industrial standards (not as strict as residential)," he said.
Piccioni noted the Giants' stadium in New Jersey was built on swampy landfill.
The west harbour site includes a former Stelco plant, the former Rheem hot water heater plant and a scrapyard. Such uses could leave behind heavy metals, solvents, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and other volatile organic compounds, asbestos and any number of other substances. Surface soil would almost certainly have to be replaced and ground water tested to determine the extent of contamination.
Mark Dunn of the Ontario Environment Ministry said the first phase of a site assessment is "where you do a file search and a walk-around, probably the equivalent of kicking the tires a little. That's what Deloitte may have done.
"Phase 2 is where you dig a little, perhaps drill a few test wells and get a handle on the things you might have to address. Phase 3 is where you define the areas needing remediation and remove some of the stuff that needs to go (buildings, stored scrap, etc.)"
He said risk assessment identifies materials that can -- or can't -- be managed on site. Some materials, for example, can be capped and contained safely under a structure. But a stricter standard would apply to a kids' play area.