Client – PXP West Midlands Limited Partnership
Principal Contractor – Ash Remediation Management
Consulting Engineer – Wardell Armstrong
Location – Bromsgrove
Contract Value – £200K
The site was previously occupied by an electricity substation and site investigations identified elevated concentrations of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons. This lead to the formulation of the remediation objective “ to ensure future site occupants are not exposed to unacceptable levels of soil and groundwater contamination and that risks to controlled waters are reduced to an acceptable level”.
Ash Remediation Management was appointed the Principal Contractor and the objective was addressed via a two stage demolition and remediation programme. Firstly, the decommissioning of the substation was completed and secondly, the hydrocarbon impacted material underwent aerated ex-situ bioremediation.
Ash Remediation Management is committed to WRAP’s initiative ‘Halving Waste to Landfill’ and throughout the project huge emphasis was placed on recycling and reuse. During the decommissioning work >95% of material was recycled on site and the bioremediation process again proved to be a successful, more sustainable alternative to landfill.
The bioremediation programme was completed ahead of the anticipated schedule in a little over 10 weeks. During the bioremediation treatment phase numerous parameters were monitored and controlled to maximise the contaminant breakdown rate. This high degree of management also had the indirect benefit of controlling the geotechnical properties of the material undergoing treatment. This was demonstrated by the ease at which the treated material was reinstated and compacted to achieve the required plate bearing and nuclear density gauge levels.
The project was completed on time, on budget and continued Ash Remediation Management’s zero health and safety accidents record. Ash Remediation Management strive to minimise the impact of their work on residential and commercial neighbours by completing projects in as sensitive an approach as possible. The Bromsgrove remediation scheme was no exception to this and the project was completed without causing disturbance to the public or others users of the industrial park.
