Risk-Based Assessments
An area in which environmental issues can have a significant impact is in industrial or commercial property transactions. Before a sale is closed, all parties should assess the potential for cleanup liabilities associated with contaminated properties. Liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, 1980; EPCRA, 1986) make either the current owner or purchaser responsible for cleanup of contaminated properties. Further, the U.S. EPA can bring lawsuits against past or present owners for improper handling and disposal of hazardous wastes.
Significant cleanup costs can result from the following problems found on contaminated property:
- Soil and groundwater contamination from leaking underground tanks
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from transformers
- Asbestos-containing materials in walls, ceilings, and insulation
- Release of volatile organics to the air from hazardous waste sites
- Urea-formaldehyde foam insulation
- Leaching of metals from tailings and piles of material
Aerocomp helps expedite the transaction process by performing a risk-benefit analysis and an environmental audit to determine if trace residues exist on commercial property. Then we can recommend risk-based remedial action and also monitor the progress of the cleanup.
Science-based (ASTM) environmental risk assessments may include any or all of the following actions:
- Air and water quality sampling
- Meteorological data acquisition
- Industrial hygiene
- Soil, groundwater, and industrial waste analysis
- Source testing of stacks and ducts
- Cost/benefit analysis
- Exposure studies
- Abatement and control systems
- Soil and groundwater remediation
- Site cleanup and decontamination
For risk assessments, Aerocomp scientists collect samples, process, analyze, and archive the necessary health and environmental data as well as fully utilize these data in the assessment. We calculate exposure and risks using the latest assessment tools (chiefly ASTM’s) as approved by the states and federal government.
