O’Connor Associates was retained by an electrical utility distribution company to assess, evaluate and implement remedial options to address arsenic impacted stormwater effluent.

Arsenic impacted soil was identified in shallow soil at a transmission station site from the historic application of arsenic trioxide. Stormwater from the site, impacted with arsenic, discharges offsite to a cold water surface water body. In addition, arsenic impacted sediment was found over 700 m along the stormwater drainage route. The onsite soil impacts could not be easily remediated (due to the live electrical environment) and various technologies were evaluated to address the stormwater effluent but no currently available cost effective commercial technologies were identified. As a result, O’Connor Associates, in cooperation with a world renowned University in Ontario, Canada have installed a patented basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag pilot scale stormwater treatment system. The system has been effective at reducing arsenic concentrations in the stormwater to acceptable levels. The study is ongoing.

More projects...