A417 – Remediation of Asbestos Contamination
Challenge
The A417 upgrade scheme included the construction of new dual carriageways, bridges, associated junctions and supporting infrastructure.
Site investigations undertaken before SOCOTEC UK & Ireland's involvement were too limited in scope and failed to identify significant contamination along critical construction pathways.
Asbestos was subsequently discovered at numerous locations along the route, together with heavy metals and hydrocarbons, requiring a thorough assessment given the tight construction timeframes governing the scheme.
Project Description and Background
SOCOTEC stepped in to deliver a wide range of services across the A417 scheme, which included the assessment of contamination and the provision of advisory and supervisory support for remediation works, primarily relating to asbestos.
Boreholes and trial pits were carried out to enable representative sampling of impacted soils, with samples analysed for a broad range of contaminants. SOCOTEC then interpreted the resulting data and recommended appropriate remediation across multiple areas of the site, several of which contained heavy metals, hydrocarbons and licensed asbestos.
Solution
SOCOTEC's rapid response and turnaround enabled large areas of the site to be remediated and verified, allowing the project to move forward with minimal delay.
While certain materials were assessed as suitable for reuse, the majority required removal owing to the tight construction timeframes driven by a lack of data at the pre-construction phase. SOCOTEC's technical expertise further enabled specific soils to be treated, segregated and disposed of as non-hazardous waste, reducing costs across the scheme, including in relation to licensed asbestos-in-soil remediation.
In addition, a targeted programme of boreholes identified further, previously unknown areas of hydrocarbon contamination, enabling additional remediation works to be planned and delivered at key locations.
Project Description and Background
SOCOTEC stepped in to deliver a wide range of services across the A417 scheme, which included the assessment of contamination and the provision of advisory and supervisory support for remediation works, primarily relating to asbestos.
Boreholes and trial pits were carried out to enable representative sampling of impacted soils, with samples analysed for a broad range of contaminants. SOCOTEC then interpreted the resulting data and recommended appropriate remediation across multiple areas of the site, several of which contained heavy metals, hydrocarbons and licensed asbestos.
Solution
SOCOTEC's rapid response and turnaround enabled large areas of the site to be remediated and verified, allowing the project to move forward with minimal delay.
While certain materials were assessed as suitable for reuse, the majority required removal owing to the tight construction timeframes driven by a lack of data at the pre-construction phase. SOCOTEC's technical expertise further enabled specific soils to be treated, segregated and disposed of as non-hazardous waste, reducing costs across the scheme, including in relation to licensed asbestos-in-soil remediation.
In addition, a targeted programme of boreholes identified further, previously unknown areas of hydrocarbon contamination, enabling additional remediation works to be planned and delivered at key locations.
Conclusion
SOCOTEC undertook a wide-ranging site investigation at short notice across the A417 scheme, assessing multiple areas of contamination and subsequently managing remediation across the site, much of which was affected by licensable asbestos amongst other contaminants.
The project demonstrated SOCOTEC's ability to deliver rapid, expert technical assessment and remediation advisory services under demanding timeframes, safeguarding the client's project timeline and budget while ensuring the safe and compliant handling of hazardous materials.
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