Posted by Dr. Paul D. Tinari on July 03, 1998 at 22:54:05:
In Reply to: bioremediation and contaminated site clean-up posted by Blaise MacNeil on June 28, 1998 at 10:15:02:
: I would like anyone to give me some direction as to information comparing in detail ALL the true costs of utilizing bioremediation to clean up a contaminated site compared to incineration.
: I live in Sydney, Nova Scotia noted for having North America's largest contaminated site known as the Sydney Tar Ponds. The site contains over 700,000 tonnes of contaminated sludge produced during 90 years of steel making and about 45,000 tonnes contain PCBs. The provincial government has allowed 10 years to pass and more than $50 million dollars to be spent with very little accomplished to date. The more research I conduct on bioremediation, the more I am convinced it is the way to go, but it ultimately boils down to how much will it "cost".
: My second requestis about funding that may be available to small business to clean up contaminated sites. A local charitable, non-profit, environmental organization has an opportunity to acquire a new location, owned by one of the "banks", to house its environmental activities centre and carry on with its many projects. This new location would give the organization much needed exposure and greater recognition in the community. The site however, is contaminated with what I suspect is furnace oil from an underground tank owned by a neighboring convenience store. The bank is hesitant to release the property until it is cleaned up. I know forcing the store to pay for the clean-up will put them out of business and put people out of work. Hence, the dilemma.
: I would like to know if there is a win-win solution here for both the store and the organization. They want to build the community, not tear it apart. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
: Blaise MacNeil, CET
Dear Blaise,
The reason that the tar ponds have not yet been
cleaned up is because they are a "political site"
and on such sites the goal is to study the
problem to death for ever without ever actually
taking any concrete action
to solve the problem. I bid $20 million to use a
combination technology to clean up the site
more than three years ago, and in spite of the
fact that I have more expereince than anyone else
in Canada in the cleaning up of such sites, I was
completely ignored ! I came to the conclusion that
no one there really wanted a viable solution, they
simply wanted to keep on studing the problem without
ever really solving it. If someone out there is
REALLY interested in a solution to the problem,
my offer still stands ! I have the proven
technology to clean up the Tar Ponds within two
years (or you don't pay).
Dr. Paul D. Tinari
Director, Pacific Institute for Advanced Study
pacific@imag.net