Project Background
Dayton, Ohio was a significant manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. One of Dayton’s most significant industrial enterprises operated from the study site from 1887 until the late 1970s. Manufacturing operations included foundry operations, metal- and woodworking, assembly, disassembly and repair, printing, plating and enameling. The company demolished most of the property buildings by 1980; a number of environmental investigations were conducted from the 1990s through 2012.
The site was deeded to the University of Dayton in 2005; the University subsequently enrolled the property in the Ohio EPAs Voluntary Action Program (VAP). The site was closed under the VAP program; however, the Risk Mitigation Plan (RMP), to be implemented to protect construction workers during site development, is an active requirement. Several years later, the University of Dayton and Emerson Climate Technologies (Emerson) created a partnership which included plans for Emerson to develop a unique research and training hub on the site. Emerson contacted Bowser Morner to manage implementation of the RMP and to provide inspection services during the voluntary installation of a vapor intrusion mitigation system.
Project Approach
To comply with the RMP, soils excavated for the building foundation, sewer systems and other site features needed to be segregated into two parts: uncontaminated surficial soils and contaminated subsurface soils. Reuse of the uncontaminated soils as backfill was not limited; however, the contaminated subsurface soils could be used as backfill only from the horizon from which they had been excavated, or removed from site for disposal. Soils brought on-site from other sources needed to be characterized to ensure that no additional contamination was brought to the project. In addition, due to the contaminated groundwater beneath the site, proper installation of a vapor intrusion mitigation system needed to be monitored.
Project Solutions
Even before Emerson broke ground, Bowser-Morner was busy developing a management system to meet the complex requirements of the RMP. Since compliance to the RMP was dependent upon a thorough understanding of the construction plans, development of a strong communications system with the construction crews was critical. This system included special conditions for stormwater pollution prevention, daily planning, review and documentation and was implemented for 50 days during the project. At the end of the construction project and based on Bowser-Morner’s activities, UD was able to certify that the RMP was implemented during the construction project.
As is typical, this construction project generated excess soils that could not be used as backfill on the property. In this case, the excess soils had some degree of contamination and had to be managed in accordance with environmental requirements. By leveraging our knowledge of the selected landfill’s operations and permits, Bowser-Morner was able to cut the cost of managing the excess soils by close to $66,000.
During installation of the vapor intrusion mitigation system, the Bowser-Morner environmental team identified the placement of off-specification material in one of the system-critical components. Bowser-Morner subsequently worked with the contractor to remove and replace the inappropriate material that would have decreased the efficiency of the mitigation system.
