Just short of 12 months at Landserv as a graduate, I’m able to reflect on the various projects I’ve been a part of. From complex groundwater monitoring and site remediation projects, to straightforward test pit and soil sampling jobs, it has definitely been a year of learning and development.
Within the field of environments, things are not always as easy as they seem. Some of the more interesting projects Landserv has completed since I’ve been here are those which appear simple, and turn out to be a bit more complicated.
A site in Dandenong required an underground storage tank removal, which seemed like a trouble-free job. Underground storage tank (UST) systems on a range of sites were used to store heating oil. These tanks were made from steel and likely to corrode over time, leading to contamination of the soil. Development projects at the school, along with Victorian EPA guidelines, required the tank to be removed. Once we removed the UST and associated pipework, the soil which surrounded the tank was stockpiled. When sampled and tested, the soil presented high levels of volatile organic compounds. With its level of contamination, simply disposing it to an appropriate landfill was going to be expensive and not ideal. BioSolve was used to remediate the soil, lowering the level of contamination and sent to an appropriate landfill.
Now completed, this project gave me an insight into the complexity of the field of environments, as well as the opportunity to apply my theory into practice.
