Chicago Chem Consultants Corporation - Remediation and Treatment Project Profile; cleanup, remedial design, superfund, wastewater, PCB, waste oil, used oil, emulsion, groundwater, soil

Project Profiles

CHICAGO CHEM CONSULTANTS CORPORATION
REPRESENTATIVE REMEDIATION AND TREATMENT ENGINEERING PROJECT PROFILES

SUPERFUND TREATABILITY STUDY/REMEDIAL DESIGN/ENGINEERING
Designed complete Superfund Remedial Action Approach for cleanup involving used lube oil, sulfuric acid, and chlorinated soil contamination. Lube oil concentrations in soil averaged 48% in some areas. Project included review of applicable technologies, design/supervision of on-site field and off-site laboratory treatability testing programs, and Remedial Design for three technical alternatives. Resource recovery approach and team building interaction with regulatory agencies, remediation contractors, public, and client broke regulatory logjam when previous cleanup approach proposed by others was rejected by State of Montana. Ongoing remediation contracting and oversight. See profile in pilot/treatability project profiles and project profile immediately below for more information.

SUPERFUND REMEDIAL ACTION - CLEANUP
Subcontracted and provided field supervision/oversight for a $10 million budgeted cleanup involving used lube oil, sulfuric acid, and chlorinated soil contamination in Montana. Designed novel system to recover and treat for reuse 500,000 gallons of waste lube oil, sulfuric acid, 3,000 gallons of chlorinated solvent, and 1,000,000 gallons of water Worked with vendor to modify thermal desorption unit to condense and recover liquid fractions for recycling at lube oil and solvent refinery. Project's scope encompasses all aspects of specifying, procuring and project oversight. Negotiated performance based contract which protected client from cost overruns and liability. 23,000 out of 29,000 tons have been remediated. Final phase to be completed pending approval of revised Work Plan. CCC's mobile laboratory performed treatability, compliance, and production support testing (see pilot/treatability studies for more information) that led to development of successful treatment processes. First of kind project emphasizing pollution prevention/resource recovery at a Superfund Site. See the project profile immediately above for more information.

CATALYTIC OXIDIZER MARKETING STUDY
Led marketing team of engineers and marketing specialists on catalytic oxidizer market study. Study included review of existing and upcoming regulations, determination of market size and projected growth, identification of competitors and promotion methods, comparison with competing air pollution control technologies, determination of product requirements, review of product technologies, and identification of good catalytic oxidizer applications and emerging trends. Client stated "money [for marketing study] was well spent."

WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM STARTUP AND TROUBLESHOOTING
An improperly designed $3 million waste water treatment plant (WWTP) failed compliance testing at new food facility due to fat, oil, and grease (FOG) emulsions resulting in potential for facility shutdown. CCC directed independent laboratory, chemical additives company, and client's personnel in developing successful treatment process now in use. Developed procedures and trained WWTP operators in operating, sampling, and analyzing. Demonstrated compliance during week long inspection by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago through operator supervision and oversight, and measurement of FOG with CCC installed instrumentation. Recommendations were also implemented in a sister plant.

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE CLAIM REVIEW
Reviewed costs and environmental effectiveness of $500,000,000 environmental damage claim by oil refiner. Identified 76% of claim as excessive or unnecessary. Made presentation as part of settlement negotiations between insured and insurer. Litigation continues.

CONTAMINATED WELL DRINKING WATER SUPPLY TREATMENT SYSTEM
Provided engineering support for the design of a contaminated well water treatment system. The ground in the vicinity of a drinking water supply was contaminated with methylene chloride and other chemicals. The water was also used in chemical plant processing applications. An existing water conditioning system consisting of sand filters was modified to include activated carbon adsorption and micron sized fine particle filtration. Included a review of designs and specification of filter system.

GOVERNMENT SUPERFUND TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Conducted a Superfund technology review and evaluation for the United States Congress' Office of Technology Assessment. This was part of a major report to the US Congress on the status of Superfund implementation and impending reauthorization. It involved an examination and field- review of thermal destruction technologies applicable to Superfund cleanups..

PROPERTY TRANSFER AND REAL ESTATE LIABILITY REDUCTION
Supervised the removal of contaminated soils for a Chicago area generator. Contamination had migrated from the clients site to an adjacent facility. Permission was obtained from the next door neighbor to perform the removal activity. The work involved pre and post removal sampling, special waste disposal permits, heavy equipment operations and other activities required to provide clean closure for our client.

FEASIBILITY STUDY - PCB-CONTAMINATED SOILS REMEDIATION
Assisted one of the largest hazardous waste firms in the country in an evaluation of available and developing technologies for the treatment of PCB-contaminated soil and sludge at a Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF). An exhaustive literature search and interviews with process equipment manufacturers was conducted, leading to the timely completion of this US EPA mandated Superfund site study.

CONTAMINATED SOILS AND GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION DESIGN
Designed a complete remediation scheme for soils and groundwater contaminated with various chlorinated solvents. The contamination resulted from a leaking underground chemical storage tank. The final cleanup cost is estimated to be in the $1 -2 million range and will extend over a period of 3 - 7 years.