2004 Case Earth
Awards - SA Winner - Category 1
2004 SA Case Earth Awards – Penrice Soda
Products Soil Bioremediation
Environmental Excellence: Category 1, up to
$2 million
South Australian winner: Penrice Soda Products Bioremediation of
TPH Impacted Soils
Contractor: McMahon Services Australia Pty Ltd
Principal: IMC Global Inc
The Case Earth Awards for Environmental Excellence
The Case Earth Awards recognise and reward best practice and innovation
in the field of environmental management of civil construction and
its related projects.
Its 17 selection criteria are categorised under
the headings:
• Environmental Management
• Environmental Impact
• Project Management
• Construction Practice/Technique
Judges’ comments on the winning Soil Bioremediation
project
…effective management and enhancement of existing technology
on a difficult site to rectify a long standing environmental problem
to improve site amenity…
Overview
This Case Earth Award-winning project from McMahon Services resulted
in the remediation of a site that has rested on contaminated soil
for over 60 years.
Penrice Soda Products is Australia’s sole
producer of soda ash, an important ingredient in various products
including washing powder and window glass. Soda ash has been produced
at the site in Osborne, a western suburb of Adelaide, since 1940.
In the 1930s, above ground fuel oil tanks were
located in an area of the plant near the current co-generation plant.
An accident at the time resulted in 5000 tonnes (500,000 litres)
of bunker oil leaking out and causing extensive soil contamination.
The existing gasoline underground storage tanks also leaked and
caused further contamination of the surrounding soil.
McMahon Services remediated soils in the areas
of the former above ground storage tanks for fuel oil and around
the existing underground storage tanks for gasoline. This was achieved
by the excavation and stockpiling of clean soil to access, excavate
and stockpile the contaminated soils.
Stockpiled contaminated soil and added organic
matter were used to create biopiles in specially prepared areas.
These biopiles were then equipped with systems to maintain moisture
and nutrient conditions within them, and to extract and safely discharge
the gases produced by bioremediation.
The excavations were then backfilled with the
clean excavated soil and other suitable soils.
On completion of bioremediation, the biopiles
were dismantled and the remediated soil stockpiled for Penrice’s
later use. The remediation project undertaken by McMahon Services
had a budget of one million dollars.
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