If
you need help with an EH&S issue, call August Mack
Environmental! Here are some people to call to explain your need,
and then they will get the best resources in touch with you:
Mike Ogburn (317-916-3111) -
compliance issues such as permitting (water, air, waste, etc), plan
development (SPCC, SWPPP, etc), report preparation (Tier II, TRI /
Form R, air reports, etc), outsourced compliance
Kent Johnson (317-916-3177) - phase
I environmental site assessments, asbestos surveys, mold...
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Over the years, the August Mack
Pennsylvania office has expanded services to include compliance,
environmental due diligence, site investigation, and remediation
services. Similar to the expansion of services, the client
base has expanded and includes a wide variety of industrial and
service industries. Numerous clients were served by the
Pennsylvania office in 2012 and projects included compliance
audits, MSDS database development and maintenance, litigation
support, air permits, MACT...
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The purpose of a Phase 1
Environmental Site Assessment is to identify conditions indicative
of an existing release, past release, or material threat of a
release of any hazardouse substances or petroleum products on a
property. So what defines a release?
The Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) defines a
"release" as "any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or
disposing into the...
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A Phase II Environmental Site
Assessment (Phase II ESA) is conducted to determine whether
chemicals of concern are present in environmental media at a
property, mainly through chemical testing of soil and/or
groundwater samples collected from locations where chemicals of
concern are most likely to be present, and if present, to gain
sufficient information regarding the chemical concentrations to
meet the objectives of our clients.
Our extensive experience with
subsurface investigations can help...
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Historically,
the use of Institutional Controls (ICs) was associated with large,
complex sites involved in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) cleanup programs, such as Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) Corrective Action and Superfund. The ICs were
commonly used in conjunction with removal actions, soil and
groundwater remediation, and risk assessment to reduce potential
for exposures over the long-term. However, there has been
increasing use of Institutional Controls in...
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Historical
Recognized Environmental Conditions (HRECs) are often identified
during Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. A HREC is an
environmental condition which in the past would have been a
recognized environmental condition (REC), but which may or may not
be considered a REC currently. The final decision rests with the
environmental professional and will be influenced by the current
impact of the HREC on the commercial property in question. If a
HREC is determined to be a REC at the time...
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The Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS)
is a list of sites compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) that the EPA has investigated or is currently investigating
for potential hazardous substance contamination. CERCLIS sites
are investigated for possible inclusion in the National Priorities
List (NPL), a list of properties with the highest priority for
cleanup.
For more information, call
800.579.0770 and ask to speak to one of...
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During Phase I Environmental Site
Assessments (Phase I ESAs), we often encounter underground
hydraulic lifts (or cavities where they once existed) at
automobile repair facilities. To alleviate concerns with
hydraulic oil releases associated with underground lifts, make
sure to take appropriate soil and groundwater closure samples when
removing old underground lifts. If subsurface sampling is not
conducted during the lift removal, a Recognized
Environmental Condition (REC) may be identified...
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Are you involved with a property that has environmental concerns
or Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) associated with it?
Whether the environmental concerns were identified in a Phase I
Environmental Site Assessment or another type of site assessment,
August Mack Environmental can help!
Our extensive experience with subsurface investigations can
help confirm or disprove suspected environmental concerns and
remediate environmental contamination. For more information,
call 800.579.0770 and...
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The primary purpose for most of
August Mack’s newsletter articles is to provide useful information
related to environmental, health & safety issues. Many times
this will take the form of discussing existing, new or proposed
regulations. Or it could describe an approach or technology to
solve an environmental or safety problem. But as I travel to and
visit many of our clients, I realize that many clients have put us
into a “box of services” and don’t realize the full breadth of our
expertise...
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During Phase I Environmental Site
Assessments (Phase I ESA), we often encounter concrete holding
tanks that accept discharge from floor drains located in car wash
bays, automobile service garages, etc. To prevent holding tank
contents from impacting the soil and/or groundwater beneath your
commercial property, make sure to:
- Prevent hazardous
materials/petroleum products from entering floor drains
- Hire a waste service company to
REGULARLY pump out floor drains/holding tanks and properly dispose
of...
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The purpose of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (or
lesser level of due diligence assessment) is to identify Recognized
Environmental Conditions (RECs) associated with a site. An REC is
defined in ASTM E1527-05 as:
The presence or likely presence of any hazaradous substances
or petroleum products on a property under conditions that indicate
an existing release, a past release, or a material threat of a
release of any hazardous substances or petroleum products into
structures on the...
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Did you know that August Mack is a
self-certified small business? We can provide many different
services as a small business under the environmental remediation
NAICS code (562910). These services include preliminary
assessment, site inspection, testing, remedial investigation,
feasibility studies, remedial design, remediation services,
containment, removal of contaminated materials, storage of
contaminated materials or security and site closeouts to
restore or directly support the restoration...
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August Mack Environmental offers
safety services to our clients. We can help develop your
lockout/tagout program, perform a safety audit, as well as numerous
other types of safety projects. But safety is also very important
in many of the environmental jobs we perform for a
client. Since many of our projects include environmental
remediation activities, we must keep safety at the top of our
mind. These projects have hazards that must be identified and
a health & safety plan must be developed...
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Many times problems have
multiple solutions. The goal is to determine the best solution for
your set of circumstances. So if you have a remediation
project, August Mack can evaluate if there are multiple solutions
and give you all the necessary information to determine the best
course of action.
Be sure and
register here for the August Mack webinar on March 2, 2012
titled "How Do You Manage Your Safety Risk in Environmental
Remediation Projects?" When you have an environmental remediation
project, there are many aspects that you need to consider. For
example, what technologies or approach will you be utilizing?
Regardless of the answer, safety should always be an important
component of any project. This webinar, which will be co-presented
by August Mack and EFS (Environmental Field...
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One month from today August Mack
Environmental will be co-presenting a webinar entitled "How Do
You Manage Safety Risk in Environmental Remediation Projects".Although the goal in environmental remediation is to get a property
to a regulatory acceptable clean-up level, safety must always be at
the forefront of these projects. Depending upon the site and site
conditions, the workers on-site many times must have special
training. To learn more, click on the photo icon below to
register for the...
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August Mack Environmental started
as a company in 1988 and was actually named Hoosier Environmental
at that time. The name was changed in 1992 after more and more work
was extending beyond the borders of the Hoosier state. Now
nearly 24 years later, we have worked in over 40 states as well as
in Canada and Mexico. In our infancy, we concentrated on
environmental remediation and that still remains one of the
cornerstones of our business. But since those early days, we have
many other services...
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Taken from our newsletter
files:
Vapor intrusion (VI) is one pathway for building occupants to come
in contact with chemicals of concern, occurring when vapors from
contaminated soil and/or groundwater migrate into the indoor air of
overlying structures. The American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) Standard Practice for Assessment of Vapor
Intrusion into Structures on Property Involved in Real Estate
Transactions E 2600-08 has been developed based on an industry
need to address the VI...
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Phase 1 Site
Assessments are done for a number of reasons. Below are
common examples of why you would order a Phase 1:
- Purchase of real property (property or personal
property) by a person or entity not previously on title
- Contemplation by a new lender to provide a loan on the subject
real estate
- Partnership buyout or principal redistribution of
ownership
- Application to a public agency for change of use or other
discretionary land use permit
- Existing property owner's desire to understand toxic...
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