Entries by hazzmatt1

Serving ‘Rough Justice’: Assessing Remediation Costs And Liability Allocation Pursuant To The British Columbia Environmental Management Act

November 21, 2019 in , /by

Written by Menka Sull and Samuel Kim, Alexander Holburn Law Firm The British Columbia Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, and the Contaminated Sites Regulation, B.C. Reg. 375(96) (CSR), provide the framework for identifying, remediating, and determining responsibility for the remediation of contaminated sites in British Columbia. There has been relatively little case law considering the EMA; however, […]

U.S. EPA Green Remediation Best Management Practices

November 21, 2019 in , /by

Excavation and Site Remediation Excavation of soil, sediment or waste material is often undertaken at contaminated sites to address immediate risk to human health or the environment; prepare for implementation of remediation technologies and construction of supporting infrastructure; and address contaminant hot spots in soil or sediment. The excavation and subsequent backfilling processes rely on […]

Greener Cleanup Metrics

November 21, 2019 in , , , /by

The United States Environmental Protect Agency (U.S. EPA) “Principles for Greener Cleanups” provide a foundation for planning and implementing cleanups that protect human health and the environment while minimizing the environmental footprint of cleanup activities. The U.S. EPA has developed 14 greener cleanup metrics that may be used to quantify specific portions of the footprint, […]

What are the safety risks when transporting radioactive materials?

November 21, 2019 in , , /by

Written by Stephen Pike, Argon Electronics Radioactive materials have a wide variety of applications within the fields of medicine, power generation, manufacturing and the military – and just as with any other product, there are times when these materials may need to be moved from one location to another. In the US, the Environmental Protection […]

Ontario aerosol manufacturer fined for violating Environmental Emergency Regulations

November 21, 2019 in , , /by

Written by Paul Manning, Manning Environmental Law As of August 24, 2019, the Environmental Emergency Regulations, 2019 replaced the existing Environmental Emergency Regulations, which require industry to take steps to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the accidental release of harmful chemicals. The Regulations require that any person who owns, has the charge of, manages, or controls a regulated substance […]

Researchers scaling up technology that destroys PFAS contamination

November 15, 2019 in , , /by

Researchers from the University of Purdue recently received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to scale up a patent technology that can destroy poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater. PFAS include perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and are found at more than 600 military training sites across the […]

Nova Scotia announces plan to remediate two abandoned gold mines

October 14, 2019 in , /by

The Nova Scotia provincial government recently announced it plans on spending $47.9 million (Cdn.) to clean up two former gold mines in the province.  The two mines – Goldenville, near Sherbrooke on the Eastern Shore, and Montague Gold Mines, in Dartmouth – are deemed to be the most contaminated of dozens of abandoned sites in Nova Scotia. […]

Second Opinions Can Offer a Distinctly-Different Path Forward

July 24, 2019 in , /by

Written by Alan Hahn, Dragun Corporation A story in the Washington Post from a year ago discussed why second medical opinions can be very important.  In one case, a young man, at his mother’s behest, got a second opinion and received life-saving surgery for cancer that he would not have otherwise received.  The other case […]

Environmental Site Assessments: In Search of Better Conclusions

July 24, 2019 in , , /by

Written by Bill Leedham, P. Geo., CESA, Down 2 Earth Environmental Services Inc. Environmental consultants sometimes struggle with reporting their Phase One Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) findings and conclusions, especially for properties with limited available data, or where the identified environmental issues are deemed to be of low to moderate concern. Environmental consultants are often […]