Sovereign Begins Thermal Remediation Project for the Maryland State Highway Administration
Sovereign Consulting Inc., in conjunction with teaming partner TRS Group, recently began installing a thermal remedial system at a former Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) property in Easton, MD. Sovereign received a $1.1M performance-based contract to perform thermal remediation with electrical resistance heating (ERH) for the SHA. Work is taking place on the one-half acre commercial site to remove an industrial solvent, Trichloroethylene (TCE), that was used for asphalt testing in the 1960s and 1970s. The property was purchased by SHA in 1963 and converted from an auto repair shop into a regional laboratory. Steel electrodes will be bored into the subsurface and a current induced between the electrodes, which will heat the subsurface. TCE will be volatilized from the soil and groundwater and captured by a vapor recovery system. The remedy will treat a total of 3,400 cubic yards. Project success will be measured by a combination of reaching temperature goals and confirmatory soil sampling. The ERH system is expected to achieve the performance goals within months of operation and all work should be complete by early Fall 2012.