Services > Environmental Testing Services
Contaminated Sites & Remediation
Contaminated Sites and Remediation
Environmental contaminant monitoring to support the remediation and restoration of contaminated sites is a vital part of the work we do.
Contaminant measurement:
- Provides reliable concentration data for site investigation, remedial investigation (RI) source attribution, risk assessment, and remediation
- Helps regulators identify primary responsible parties (PRPs)
- Helps agencies perform Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs)
- Assesses both well-benchmarked and novel remediation approaches as the site moves from investigation to cleanup
- Provides routine ongoing monitoring to ensure the restoration is complete
Regulation
In the US, major contaminated sites are managed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). However, depending on the type of contaminant and size of issues, many other state and federal regulations come into play.
In Canada, contaminated sites are primarily governed by provincial law based on guidelines and objectives from the federal government. Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act and the British Columbia (BC) contaminated sites regulation are examples of provincial laws. In addition, federal contaminated sites are managed by the federal government
Case Study
Our support of complex PCB and dioxin measurement to support the remediation of the Newtown Creek Superfund site was detailed in a study published by Chitzaz et al. (2024), Newtown Creek is a superfund site affected by multiple industrial and government activities including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, metal refining, raw sewage and incinerators. Our work to support this site involved the measurement of close to 500 soil/sediment samples for dioxins and PCBs, tissue analysis and more. Our commitment to low reporting limits and high-data quality enabled the identification of the metals smelter and/or incineration as the main sources of dioxins at this site. Work on this site is still ongoing.
Why SGS for Contaminant Monitoring?
- Experience: Contaminated sites can sometimes take decades to restore. Working with a trusted global partner with >150 years of operation and continent-wide services is key to success.
- Quality: Contaminated sites can be contentious. Our quality means your data can survive scrutiny, litigation and more. For decades, we have been trusted by parties on both sides of the fence for our third-party excellence.
- Scope: When it comes to PFAS, ultratrace persistent organic pollutants, emerging contaminants and specialty support, our highly technical team is unparalleled in knowledge, capacity, customization and reach. We can support high-capacity aqueous, soil/sediment testing, tissue measurement, passive sampling and most general and special needs in one network
