Emergency & Rapid Response Contracts Regions 3, 4 and 5
As an EPA Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractor since 2000, KEMRON has completed more than 100 projects ranging from small emergency response actions to the $25 million cleanup of the Former Woolfolk Chemical Works Superfund site. Working in the 20-state area of EPA Regions 3, 4 and 5, has constructed landfill caps, excavated contaminated soil, built and operated water treatments systems, decontaminated structures, responded to natural disasters, demolished equipment and structures, unearthed and removed buried drums, captured spills, responded to sunken vessels, responded to fires, treated hazardous waste sludge and conducted removal actions.
Selected experience includes:
Greenwood Chemicals Remediation, Greenwood, VA. KEMRON conducted a removal action at the former Greenwood Chemical Superfund site. There were two phases to this project. During Phase One of the project, treatment, transportation and disposal measures were employed on drums and cylinders collected from around the site and staged at a central location. The containers were sampled, hazcatted and placed into their appropriate waste groups. One hundred thirty-two containers were collected. Materials found included, acids, bases, flammables, oxidizers, and gas cylinders. All materials were packaged and transported offsite for disposal.
During Phase Two of the project, KEMRON was tasked with the remediation of three waste water lagoons contaminated with arsenic. A field office was established as part of this phase. Remedial actions included the dewatering of the lagoons, in-situ stabilization of sludge, and transportation and disposal of the material to an approved landfill. Over 400,000 gallons of water was pumped and treated through the onsite water treatment plant. After dewatering, the sludge was stabilized with quick lime and transported to a staging area. More than 8,200 tons of arsenic contaminated material were transported and disposed off-site.
Brewer’s Gold, SC. The USEPA Region 4 initially tasked KEMRON to perform wastewater treatment activities and to maintain erosion control measures. Wastewater is generated from two sources at the mine: (1) the former Brewer’s Pit and (2) the sedimentation pond. Wastewater is transferred to a lined 20 million gallon holding pond prior to treatment. Wastewater treatment at the site consisted of utilizing hydrated lime to make a slurry and inject it into the wastewater stream for pH adjustment and also allow for flocculation of heavy metals in the northwest trend (a former mined pit). Field Testing of wastewater was performed to determine slurry injection rates. Wastewater is treated in 5-6 million gallon batches. KEMRON operated and performed maintenance on all site equipment including wastewater treatment system and construction equipment and process piping. After the water settles, the super nantant is transferred to the fresh water holding ponds and then discharged into Little Fork Creek. KEMRON collected influent and effluent wastewater samples on a monthly basis to determine effectiveness of wastewater treatment activities and also to determine creek loading rates for discharge to Little Fork Creek. Approximately 80 million gallons of wastewater was treated during the first year of operation.
The historical utilization of storing sludge in the northwest trend started to pose a threat of breaching free board space. KEMRON performed a treatability study to determine if the sludges could be treated onsite. KEMRON determined that drying the sludge was the most cost-effective treatment. KEMRON engineered a sludge pumping system that allowed sludge removal while not interrupting wastewater treatment operations. KEMRON engineered, designed and constructed six drying beds at the site and engineered a pumping system to transfer the sludges to the drying beds. KEMRON removed and treated approximately 7.1 million gallons of sludge at the site. The removal of the sludges created greater free board space and allowed for larger batch treatment of wastewater. The advantage of on-site treatment has resulted in a cost savings of approximately $250,000 when compared to off-site removal and disposal.Additionally, KEMRON was tasked with construction of a 12-inch cap over a five-acre area. The deposits of metals that were in the run-off from this hill side were contributing to erratic spikes in the Ph levels andre-treatment prior to discharge was quite costly. KEMRON excavated and placed 67,000 yards of clay material on the cap area. A drainage ditch at the base of the cap was installed and encompasses the pond footage of approximately 2,970 feet.
Lead Remediation, Portsmouth, Virginia. Under its Region 3 ERRS, KEMRON completed remediation of lead contaminated soil from residential and commercial properties located in Portsmouth, VA. Lead limits exceed 5000 ppm in some areas and lead was removed to 270 ppm to meet state requirements. EPA established vertical and horizontal delineation of lead in affected properties prior to KEMRON mobilization. KEMRON was responsible for removal of contaminated soil to the predetermined horizontal extent and depths. Work was completed with mini excavators and skid steer loaders and by hand due to close quarters around houses and in back yards. Soil was loaded into dump trucks and disposed of at a local Subtitle D landfill. Clean backfill was brought to the sites and placed within four inches of original grade. The top four inches was finished with topsoil to restore the site to its pre-remediation condition. Sod was placed and maintained by KEMRON until one mowing occurred. A water trailer was used to irrigate the grass until it was firmly established.
Work was coordinated with USEPA’s START contractor providing confirmation sampling once the excavation was complete followed by the backfill crew once sample confirmation released the property in order to backfill the sites as quickly as possible. Residents were relocated to near temporary housing locations to limit exposure to dust generated during remediation activities. Digital photographic records of all sites, pre and post remediation, were made along with documentation of the access agreement,actual work completed, disposal documentation, and restoration activity records.
Emergency Response (Marine Operations), Showboat Lounge Marina Fire, Deland, FL. KEMRON was tasked with mitigating the impact of a marina fire on the St. John’s River that resulted in the sinking of 27 vessels. KEMRON crews placed hard and soft boom across the entrance to the marina and other slips preventing the fuel from impacting other boats in the harbor. Once the spill was contained, crews used vacuum trucks to remove product caught behind the booms. Realizing the source of much of the fuel and oil was the sunken boats, the EPA decided to recover the fuel tanks from the sunken vessels. An underwater salvage diving company was contracted and a 125-ton crane was brought to the site to remove the boats. Because of heavy damage, the boats were brought to the surface where crews removed the fuel prior to disposal.
Swainsboro Electroplating Facility, GA. KEMRON under contract to the USEPA Region 4 was issued a task order to perform facility decontamination and dismantlement at the Swainsboro Electroplating facility located in Swainsboro. This 60,000 square feet metal electroplating facility contained numerous vats, drums, carboys, totes and miscellaneous small containers of acids, caustics and cyanide contaminated solids and liquids. KEMRON was tasked with sampling, testing, bulking and disposal of the materials. The interior of the building was initially stabilized by checking all containers for leaks and potential weep points, pumping and cleaning of the trenches and sumps and removal of floor debris from walk areas. Approximately 300 containers were sampled and haz-cat tested, including; 91 drums, 53 carboys, 4 liquid totes, 20 totes of solids, 11 pails and 140 vats. KEMRON performed bulking operations of compatible material that included 32,500 gallons of acid waste, 19,500 gallons of caustic waste, and 4,700 gallons of cyanides. All containers that were empty were pressured washed and poly and fiberglass containers were tripled rinsed and cut up for disposal as non-hazardous. Approximately 5,000 liner feet of primary process piping were pumped out and flushed with water, dismantled and shipped to a recycling facility. All small process lines from vat systems were dismantled and the lines cut to less than 3 feet for disposal as hazardous waste. The wash water was collected in a temporary storage tank and approximately 15,000 gallons was shipped for wastewater treatment. The stabilized sludge once it passed paint filter was loaded into 25 cubic yard roll off containers and shipped as hazardous waste. The waste water treatment plant was emptied of all contents and cleaned and destroyed. All sumps were pumped down and 1 foot of sludge was removed. The 10 drums of non cyanide lab pack containers were shipped off site. The majority of all work was performed in Level B personnel protection.