Remediation Resource by ReRem

The insurance thing..

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:46:31 +0000

A quality client contracted ReRem Equipment to perform a series of sparge & vent tests at an industrial facility; easy. One of the stakeholders insisted that we (nearly) quadruple our coverage; not so easy. The policy was quoted and pre-pay was required; not so easy.
Modifying the proposal to reflect the cost was not accepted, pre-pay for the binder was not possible.
Our safety record is impeccable, our training is current
and our insurance is strong; we declined the work.

Travel, far & wide

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:44:49 +0000

We are (increasingly) fielding requests for pilot-test services across the eastern US, with this conversation comes the request for discounted mob and/or on-site time. While we appreciate the work from diverse clients my response is the same; three (3) consecutive days will earn you a discount mob/demob, site-time is fixed.
ReRem has entered service agreements with several large environmental engineering firms to reduce the on-site unit costs for a fixed quantity of annual work. We welcome these opportunities.

Carbon Conservation

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:17:20 +0000

A local pump & tank contractor teamed up with a reputable environmental consultant for a large(r) dewatering and processing contract. Process flows of 50 GPM and high VOC’s meant 600# of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) per day, plus the labor. You do the math.
We suggested air stripping prior to GAC, with a calculated efficiency of 95%; ie. the carbon will last 20X longer. The reduced material & labor costs have MORE THAN paid for the rental / permitting / oversight / sampling for the project.
The client (as of this date) is please as more than 200,000 gallons have been pumped in April and no GAC changeouts have been required (based on samples from the primary GAC).
The tank-crew is pleased since the job is proceeding; the consultant is pleased as the on-site services are cleaner and more profitable; ReRem is pleased to add value and reason to the job.

It’s only a decimal point..

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:24:35 +0000

A new client called inquiring about scaling the capacity of a NEEP Systems air stripper. During the discussion I discovered the issue: the designer had ASSUMED a flow-rate of 100 GPM at the loading rates from the hottest monitor well! Now, one year and $200k later the actual flow and loading are known; 15 GPM and 30% of the anticipated VOC’s. A unit with 1/8 the size will do.
ReRem recommended downgrading the air stripper to meet the site conditions. We swapped for an appropriate-sized NEEP, assisted with the mob / demob, saved the RP 90% in power and saved-face for the consultant.
Feasibility tests are inexpensive, especially compared to the electricity and efforts to backtrack and resize a system. Knowing the ACTUAL flow and loading range is the only way to size a stripper.

used air strippers

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:14:34 +0000

Our inventory of used low-profile air strippers can help reduce your clients’ project costs. With flow rates from 15 to 550 gallons per minute, poly or stainless steel construction, full systems or parts; we can save you time and money. Purchase, rental or lease-to-own; your options are wider at ReRem.com!

NEEP Systems, Carbonair, Bisco & PRM.

Too expensive?

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:53:02 +0000

When my clients change employers I usually follow. One such client, a VERY able and talented environmental engineer, switched companies and contacted ReRem for several feasibility studies for remediation design. The work was proposed and scheduled. At the last minute the management cancelled the studies citing costs.

Fast forward; this client just contacted ReRem to conduct a study at these same sites. The equipment deployed has proven ineffective, the plume is now offsite, and two years has been lost. The management must now explain the off-site and vapor-intrusion issues to an unhappy client. Significant additional capital will be required to retrofit the site with an appropriate technology.

The dollars required to provide a proper study and design is less expensive than recovering trust and reputation.

Remediation equipment rental programs

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:38:45 +0000

Many environmental remediation projects can be quickly implemented and dynamically-scaled using a phased technology and capacity approach. Typically, initial response requires large, high-capacity technologies during the ER / Investigation / Interim Solution period of the project. As the concentrations and areal extent are delineated and attenuated smaller, more specialized equipment is deployed.

This is where ReRem can help. Our warehouses contain a variety of commonly required remediation technologies and hardware, ready to go. We can save your client the lead-time and capital-expense of short-term hardware. The consultant can address the issue while we provide the horsepower for the initial mass-removal, then de-escalate as the equipment needs change.

This prompt response can save the RP through plume minimization and initial equipment costs. It aids the consultant in providing time for a thorough investigation and proper long-term system design. WIN-WIN.

Construction dewatering

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:25:15 +0000

Tank installers commonly encounter ‘high water’ during the UST upgrade process. Removal of the groundwater is required to proceed with the project. In some cases the groundwater is ‘clean’ and discharge is authorized to a storm or municipal sanitary sewer system. In most cases the tank pit water is contaminated with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s), sometimes dissolved and sometimes free-phase.

Field crews will commonly underestimate the water volume and its infiltration rate. Tanker trucks are a typical (and costly) solution to the problem. On-site treatment is a less costly remedy for quantities in excess of 10,000 gallons.

With proper planning the installers or consultant can reduce costs, increase margin and maintain the schedule. Sampling, regulatory approval and permitting good for everybody. By staging the liquids in a frac-tank (BAKER), samples are analyzed and proper treatment may be applied. Discharge as clean water saves time and money.

ReRem Equipment Corp provides modelling and treatment equipment support services.

Power, provided

admin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:19:59 +0000

A new client requested a sparge & vent pilot-study to assess an operational retail petroleum facility. ReRem proposed a positive-displacement (PD) SVE skid with VFD, vane compressor, interconnects, labor and generator. The proposal was accepted, without the generator. This was a cost-saving measure. We were assured the facility had ample electricity near our test location and on-site electrician.

Test day: we arrived at 0700, i setup the equipment while they collect base-line measurements. By 0900 we were ready to start. No electrician and the distance to power was under-estimated. We waited. The electrician arrived at 1100 and promptly left for additional materials. He returned and completed his work by 1300.

We began the test and collected 4-hours of data, shut-down was prompted by darkness and Health & Safety requirements. As the test is prescribed for 8-hours, the client was face with a decision: accept a truncated test or continue the following day. The budget precluded a second day and the unit-cost structure did not acknowledge shorter periods… We conducted a second, half-day test to meet the criteria and the client spent the remainder to the day awaiting the electrician to undo our power supply.

ReRem Equipment provides a truck-mounted diesel generator and pretests all equipment prior to mobilization. This step assures prompt start-up and timely project execution. The cost for the generator: $250/day.

Typically, these tests are completed in 10 to 12 hours, including 8 hours of data. Labor for that site was two-days for the PM, geologist, tech, ReRem’s equipment specialist, and the electrician. I don’t think the ‘unit cost’ will cover his proposed savings.

MORAL: Don’t step over dollars to save dimes.

Phased and progressive remediation

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:40:11 +0000

An ‘alpha client’ contacted ReRem Equipment looking for options to address the LNAPL and VI issues in a VOC release he was managing. A 1000-gallon release of gasoline was impacting soil, groundwater and several adjacent structures. Drilling and investigation were on-going.

ReRem immediately deployed two (2) trailer-mounted SVE units to reduce the VI impacts on the structures, we also provided a pneumatic pumping system to depress the groundwater in the vicinity of the release. As the plume was delineated we moved one SVE trailer to the depression well to start VEGE recovery. During this three-week period VOC removal rates dropped by 70% and 400 gallons of LNAPL were recovered, product thickness was reduced to a ’sheen’.

Six weeks into this ER a HVE trailer was delivered and connected to the recovery well, the pneumatic pumping system and SVE trailers were removed. As dissolved-phase constituents attenuated the need for dual-phase recovery was deemed unproductive, so the HVE trailer was removed and a small SVE skid was used to assure the VI issues were resolved.

Though rapid response and flexible treatment the consultant was able to eliminate the VI vectors, recover the NAPL, reduce the concentration of the dissolved-phase plume and de-escalate to a small SVE system. This approach reduced the clean-up timeline, reduced the clients’ total costs, while satisfying the regulators and owners of the adjacent properties. Well done!