WEBINARS

[Image credit: Gas chromatography vial, syringe and column by Geoffrey Whiteway. Available at https://www.stockvault.net/photo/195160/chemistry#] This webinar was presented by Dr Ian Bishop, One Touch Data. Most of us are either asking our lab for a particular “TPH” test or receiving “TPH” results specified by someone else. What most people are not asking is whether the received ”TPH” results are fit for their intended purpose, whether that be for human health risk assessment, waste classification, passing WAC and/or finding out what the actual source of the hydrocarbons might be. This talk will explain • The basics of 1D and the new 2D gas chromatography and the analysis of hydrocarbons • What a clean-up step does and why it is important • The impact that getting the wrong test can have on your analysis – for example, increased disposal costs • How we have addressed the problem: the introduction of the HWOL Acronym System across all the UK labs. This system provides a description of the type of TPH test (eg EH_1D_Total) and whether the test includes a clean-up step (eg EH_CU_1D_Total) • Using more than one “TPH” test to get more information about the nature (source) of your hydrocarbons Ian is Founder & Managing Director of One Touch Data who produce and support the industry standard hazardous waste classification software, HazWasteOnline™. His background includes geology, geophysics and environmental data management and 16 years working for Golder Associates. He started One Touch Data in 2008, just as the banking system crashed; the crisis leading to a change in direction and the development of HazWasteOnline™ which has become the go to software for waste classifiers in the UK and Ireland. Today, he spends a lot of time working with stakeholders to help improve standards and understanding across the industry.

This webinar was delivered by Jack Shore, REGENESIS and focuses on integrated remediation strategies to expedite the remediation of groundwater impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons covering: •The augmentation of physical treatment systems such as Pump and Treat •In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), enhanced aerobic biological degradation; and •Combined adsorption and accelerated biological degradation using electron acceptors. Jack is the Senior District Manager for REGENESIS in the UK and Scandinavia. In this role, he is responsible for the business development, solution creation and customer support for a range of environmental consultants, remediation contractors and problem holders. Jack has over a decade of experience in the remediation industry and is responsible for the first ever in situ PlumeStop treatment of PFAS in Europe. His expertise spans supervising site investigations, creating in situ remediation strategies, overseeing site applications and enabling extensive remediation projects involving multiple stakeholders.

The webinar had 2 presentations: Use of qPCR testing in contaminated land projects - by Thomas Aspray, Technical Manager, ERS Ltd Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a molecular biology technique which can be used to assess the potential for, and subsequently monitor, bioremediation of contaminated sites. Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques and has recently setup a qPCR service at ERS Ltd for internal and external clients. This webinar will provide an introduction to qPCR - how it works, what assays can be used, and the ways it can be used in contaminated soil/groundwater projects. Installation and operation of an injectable in situ permeable reactive barrier to prevent the advection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at two UK airports - by Gareth Leonard, Managing Director, REGENESIS Ltd This presentation will discuss the installation of two injectable Permeable Reactive Barriers (IPRB) at two UK airports, using Colloidal Activated Carbon (CAC) in order to prevent the advection of per- and polyfluoroalklyl substances (PFAS). At the first location, a regional airport is divesting a large area at the edge of their site for residential housing development. At the fire training area, aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) containing PFAS have been used. PFAS was identified in the groundwater (PFOS observed at 320ng/L and PFOA up to 6,320ng/L) which presented an environmental risk. The second location is an international airport seeking to reduce their potential offsite liability by reducing the egress of PFAS from their fire training ground at the edge of the site. The contamination was found to be migrating beyond the site boundary and potentially effecting a downgradient spring and surface water. Geological, hydrogeological and engineering/injection testing was conducted at each location to provide accurate and detailed information on contaminant flux zones. This was then used to design the appropriate installation approach, including dose, spacing, depths and pressure. Two pilot studies were completed at each site using direct push injection was used to emplace the colloidal activated carbon within the target flux zones. Emplacement testing was completed to ensure the IPRB installation had been completed as desired. This was followed by six months of validation monitoring using multi-level wells. In both cases, the treatment was shown to be effective, reducing the contamination PFOS and PFOA below performance criteria. Following further engagement with the regulator, two full scale barriers were installed. The first barrier is 277m long and was completed by summer 2022. This site required remedial targets and the barrier was provided with a warranty to ensure ongoing efficacy and that the airport's off-site liability costs are defined and fixed. The second barrier is currently being installed along a length of 76m at the site boundary. A description of the activities and resulting measurements of the design verification testing will be shown, as well as how these informed the pilot test approach. Validation results from the pilot will be shared and discussed. A description of the on-site practicalities of installation and commissioning of the IPRB will be provided, including any issues encountered.

Part 2 - Due to technical difficulties, Part 2 featuring Tom Aspray, ERS will be coming soon!! This presentation was given by Jude Huggan, Business Development Manager, NCIMB Molecular Tools in Bioremediation NCIMB (www.ncimb.com) is a specialist microbiology CRO providing services to customers who are either developing or using microorganisms to create new products and processes or have a need to identify and quantify microorganisms from a range of different environments such as in manufacturing facilities, from water, soil or other environmental niches. By employing a variety of techniques, including molecular based tools such as sequencing and PCR, NCIMB can help companies comply with environmental regulations, to monitor areas of particular concern over time or after appropriate intervention and to identify and quantify microorganisms across a range of environments. In addition to providing molecular based tools, NCIMB also provides chemical analysis services on a range of solid and liquid samples as well as an ecotoxicity testing service on whole effluents and leachates. Our microbial ecotoxicity tests have also been employed to assess the efficacy of biocides and bioremediation processes. The webinar introduces SCLF members to NCIMB and the services on offer for organisations in the environmental sector and will highlight case studies/customer projects where molecular and analytical tools have been used to solve problems in this sector. Jude Huggan is Business Development Manager at NCIMB. A medicinal chemist by training, Jude has experience working with both academia and industry across the Life Sciences, Industrial Biotechnology and Chemicals sectors. Jude's role at NCIMB involves showcasing the range of products and services available at NCIMB to both existing and new customers across multiple sectors. NCIMB have an active customer base across many sectors including Pharma, Food & Drink, Oil & Gas, Environmental, Research and Academia.

This webinar was delivered by Simon Firth and has been designed to follow on from SoBRA's Introduction to CLEA webinar from April 2022. It will provide greater detail on the principles behind the CLEA model and how it can be used for conducting DQRA for human health. The webinar will use worked examples (for lead, hexavalent chromium and TCE soil contamination) to illustrate how CLEA might be used for DQRA in different situations. The webinar will include a brief introduction to toxicology and give pointers on where to find health based guidance values. It will also give some specific advise to those working in Scotland. Simon is an independent environmental consultant with 27 years’ experience in land contamination. Starting out as a hydrogeologist he has since developed significant expertise in human health and environmental risk assessment both in the UK and internationally. Simon routinely conducts and peer reviews land contamination risk assessments and is a scrutineer for SoBRA's risk assessor accreditation scheme. He has been instrumental in the development of published generic soil and groundwater screening values for protection of human health in the UK (including the C4SLs and SoBRA GAC) and has contributed to various UK guidance documents on risk assessment.

BS 10176 "Taking soil samples for determination of volatile organic compounds" came into effect on 31st May 2020, but how do you know when to use it and which preservative to use? This presentation will go through the different options. The webinar will be delivered by Kate Wiley, Technical Director at Element and a graduate chemist who has worked in environmental laboratories for the past 25 years in commercial, operational and technical roles.

We had 2 presentations during this webinar: Automation in site data collection and processing by using Ambilytics software - by Anna Ward, Ambisense (https://ambisense.net/) Environmental Data Management and Industry 4.0 - by Dr Marianne Broadgate, Earthsoft (https://earthsoft.com/) Own the workflow, make better decisions! EarthSoft is the recognized leader in providing environmental data management systems and support worldwide. We provide more than two decades of focused experience on automated workflow solutions for public and private entities in the areas of chemistry, biology, geology, limnology, water, air quality, soil, sediment, waste, and associated compliance monitoring data. EarthSoft has been dedicated to enriching the capabilities of our EQuIS product line and our clients’ experience for more than 25 years. EarthSoft’s commitment to innovation has cultivated a large and diverse client base of laboratories, consultants, industry, and government agencies. Question Clarification: Q. Is there a data volume threshold for these systems? A. When it comes to Industry 4.0 this does generally involve larger and more diverse datasets at the moment, but in time this will probably encompass all data sets and involve small organisations as well as large ones, particularly from the EDMS perspective. In terms of EQuIS we have plenty of smaller customers and with our cloud solution can offer a very cost effective solution for small organisations, but we are very scalable so our solution works well for very large multisite customers too.

Our previous speakers from the Ground Gas mini series, Matt Askin (GGS) and Steve Wilson (EPG), are joined by Sarah Hamill (West Dunbartonshire Council) and Esther MacRae (The Highland Council) in a panel discussion chaired by Alex Lee of WSP. The purpose of the panel session is to get the conversation going on some of the issues and approaches that have been highlighted in the previous webinars. The panelists share their experiences in undertaking, submitting and reviewing gas risk assessments and protection measures for new developments.

In 2019 Geoff Card, James Lucas and Steve Wilson published a paper on ground gas risk assessment in Ground Engineering. The industry needs to move away from a preoccupation with gas concentrations and really move towards a risk based approach based on likely flows from the ground. This webinar was delivered by Steve Wilson, Environmental Protection Group. Steve is a Chartered Engineer and SoBRA Accredited Risk Assessor who has been pleading with people for over 20 years to consider the CSM in gas risk assessment. He regularly undertakes gas risk assessments that demonstrate gas protection is not required on low risk sites, even though gas concentrations in monitoring wells are elevated.