Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
about the Matrix Enhanced Treatment System™ (METS) for remediation of
contaminated soils:
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What is
the Matrix Enhanced Treatment System?
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What
makes METS different from other soil remediation methods?
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How
does METS work?
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Why
does METS work?
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Is METS
an ex-situ or in-situ process?
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Does
METS work with soil that has not been excavated?
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What
happens to the contamination during the METS process?
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Is METS
a bioremediation process?
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Is METS
environmentally safe?
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Is METS
state approved?
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Questions
about using METS to solve your specific soil contamination problems:
-
How
does METS treat different contaminant types and concentrations?
-
Is METS
suitable for a very large project?
-
Is METS
suitable for a very small project?
-
Is METS
suitable for treating very high concentrations of contaminant?
-
Can
METS treat more than one contaminant at a time?
-
What if
the soil cannot be excavated for one reason or another?
- Are
there any environmental or safety considerations involved with using
METS?
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Questions
about the Matrix Enhanced Treatment System™ (METS) for remediation of
contaminated soils:
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1. What is the Matrix
Enhanced Treatment System™?
The Matrix Enhanced Treatment
System (METS) is a major breakthrough in the practical science of
remediating contaminated soils. METS was designed and developed by
EarthWorks Environmental, Inc., after extensive research into other
advanced and alternative remediation technologies. Most of these
predecessor technologies have significant limitations, making them too
costly to operate and often unreliable when confronted with extensive
contamination and/or diverse soil conditions.
METS overcomes these drawbacks to
a degree no other commercially available remediation system can match.
Moreover, METS is simple in design and application. It is based entirely
on proven contamination treatment products and soil processing designs.
METS is capable of treating virtually any type of contaminant -- and
combination of contaminants -- in virtually any post excavation soil
matrix.
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2. What makes METS
different from other soil remediation methods?
Treatment cost, the designers of the METS process
knew from years of experience with other remediation technologies that
degrading or neutralizing contamination should be simple and cost
effective if you are able to attack the contaminant at the molecular
level. However, given the wide variation in soil conditions and
composition that occurs in nature, pockets of contamination can easily
hide from other remediation technologies. The METS designers realized
that, for a remediation method to be reliable, we required a more
efficient and thorough means of processing the soil and blending the
decontamination reagents or microorganisms into the soil. After years of
research and testing, we proved and patented the right combination of
elements to accomplish that
goal. The result is METS.
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3. How does METS
work?
The METS remediation process
equipment is about the size of a large SUV. It is fully mobile and
self-propelled. Previously excavated soil is deposited in the hopper at
the top of the apparatus by a conventional front-end loader. Very large
debris, such as rock, concrete or asphalt, is usually screened off
during project development. From the hopper, the soil is transferred in a
regulated flow to a custom designed processing mill. The mill impacts
and shreds the soil, while blending a treatment solution (chemical,
biological, or both), along with air and moisture, into the soil using a
method that is proprietary to EarthWorks Environmental. The contaminant
molecules in the soil are already being degraded or neutralized by the
time the soil emerges from the processing mill. The treated soil may be
deposited directly to the ground from the mill or a conveyor system for
higher stacking/windrowing depending on site
space constraints.
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4. Why does METS
Work?
There is, in nature, a wide
variability in soil conditions and soil content, even within small
distances. This is the principal barrier to effective and efficient
remediation of contaminated soil. The METS process is designed to
eliminate this variability in the soil while introducing one or more
chemical or biological reagent(s) known to degrade and/or neutralize the
specific contaminants in that soil. In other words, METS is able to
tailor the choice of chemical and/or biological reagent to the specific
type and severity of contamination, and to the specific soil conditions
at a site. Second, the METS process reduces the soil to a fine particle
state in order to maximize access to the contaminant molecules. Third,
the METS process ensures the even distribution of the reagent(s)
throughout this soil matrix, and the degradation/neutralization is
completed before the soil loses its homogeneous and fine particulate
composition. Finally, to improve speed and efficiency, the METS process
creates a relatively high level of air entrainment in the soil, along
with a carefully calibrated level of moisture content.
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5. Is METS an ex-situ
or in-situ process?
METS is an ex-situ
process -- meaning that it works only with soil that has been excavated.
This
makes it possible for the soil to be deposited by a front-end loader
into the METS processing equipment. Usually all of the contaminated soil
is excavated and stockpiled on the site prior to beginning the treatment
process. However, depending on time and site constraints, soil may be
taken directly from excavation to the METS processing equipment. Also,
on very large projects, it may be more efficient to excavate, stockpile
and treat portions of the soil in phases.
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6. Does METS work
with soil that has not been excavated?
METS only works with previously
excavated soil. The fact is, finding pockets of contamination that are
hidden throughout unexcavated soil is, at best, a hit-or-miss
proposition. That is not good enough to meet our goals of clean and safe
soils. Excavating the soil is an essential step for any remediation
technology that attempts to reduce contamination to a safe level.
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7. What happens to
the contamination during the METS process?
The METS remediation process is
based on thoroughly blending safe, decontaminating reagents and/or
biological cultures into a suitably prepared soil matrix that includes
proper moisture and aeration in a single operation. As a result, the
contaminants are either destroyed or rendered environmentally inert as
soon as the reagents or microorganisms come into contact with the
contaminant molecules. This treatment process, which is proprietary to
METS, ensures that the contaminated soil can be remediated to an
environmentally safe level in the shortest possible time. Our biological treatment can produce desired results in days
instead of the months
often required by other bioremediation techniques and methods.
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8. Is METS a
bioremediation process?
Depending upon the type and
concentration of contaminant, and other site conditions, the best and
cheapest choice
for treatment using METS may be with a biological agent. In every case,
the cultured microorganisms are drawn from nature, typically from
locations where the microorganisms evolved to live off substances that
we consider to be contamination. Even better, the METS process
stimulates microorganisms that are already present in the soil being
treated. It is not unusual for these preexisting biological cultures to
be a big factor in degrading the surrounding contamination, once they
have been stimulated.
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9. Is METS
environmentally safe?
In no case does METS create or
produce environmentally unsafe byproducts, sludge or waste. The
contaminants are destroyed or neutralized during the process -- no
contaminants are hauled away for treatment or disposal somewhere else.
At no time is there a threat to surrounding land, groundwater or air. In
fact, many of the chemical reagents and biological cultures we use are
also commonly used in the cleaning of sewers, storm drains, water supply
systems and other facilities that are involved in the circulation of
water.
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10.
Is METS state approved?
In some cases soil remediation processes or technologies do not need state
approval, this should be verified on a state by state basis.
However, we work closely with regulators to
ensure that there are no questions as to the safety, effectiveness and
reliability of our patented process. The State of Florida and
North Carolina have accepted METS as a viable/innovative remedial
technology, but to our knowledge most state's do not have a technology
evaluation program. Our current State of Florida approval letter can be seen
here and we have recently received an update in 2010. Additionally our technology has
been listed in the US EPA CLU-IN database, and our technologies have been tested and evaluated
by the US FRTR.
NOTE: The link is in PDF format, make sure you have the latest in
Adobe Reader found
here.
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Questions
about using METS to solve your specific soil contamination problems:
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1. How does METS
treat different contaminant types and concentrations
METS is designed to work with
any chemical reagent or biological treatment product that is or can be
delivered in an aqueous solution or solid powder/pellets. The choice of what to use in a given
project is determined from analysis of the contaminant or combination
of contaminants in the soil, and from analysis of the soil
composition, moisture content, pH, etc. For example, commercially
available products that are commonly used to degrade hydrocarbons as
part of various cleaning and degreasing applications, can be adapted
successfully by METS. Other products that can be adapted for METS are
based on an exothermic reaction as well as oxygen release. This
reaction, depending upon the catalyst involved, degrades a hydrocarbon
molecule to its carbon and hydrogen elements.
Metals (ie; soluble
lead) can be detoxified/desolublized by chemical bonding at the molecular level,
resulting in compounds that are stable and benign. METS is also able
to apply a variety of products that release cultured microbes proven
to degrade and/or neutralize various types of contaminants. In all
known cases, these are naturally occurring biological organisms that
have been found to thrive in environments where these contaminants
have been introduced by man made events or by natural causes.
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2. Is METS
suitable for a very large project?
The METS process is suitable
for a project of any size. Depending on the size of equipment being
use, our largest processors can treat in excess of 300 tons of
contaminated soil per hour. By using more than one processor at a
project site, each of which is served by a separate loader or team
of loaders, a huge project can be completed in a
surprisingly short time.
If site constraints preclude
using multiple processors, a large project can be tackled in a phased
approach. That is, a section of contaminated soil can be excavated,
treated, tested and returned to the ground, making room for treatment
of the next section.
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3. Is METS
suitable for a very small project?
METS is designed to be
practical and cost effective for very small projects. The only
condition is that the site has room for the METS processing equipment
(about the size of a large SUV) and a small loader.
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4. Is METS
suitable for treating very high concentrations of contaminant?
METS is capable of treating any
level of contaminant in the soil. In extreme situations where the
concentration is very high (for example, soil that has become
saturated with hydrocarbon based sludge), it may be necessary to add
soil to the mixture simply to ensure than the METS processing is
efficient. It is additionally possible that at very high
concentrations METS can actually assist in a higher recovery rate of
products such as tar/oil sands.
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5. Can METS treat
more than one contaminant at a time?
The standard METS processing
equipment is designed to treat more than one contaminant during a
single pass through the system. It is also possible to treat a stock
of contaminated soil with both a chemical reagent and biological
culture in a single pass through the system.
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6. What if the
soil cannot be excavated for one reason or another?
In a project where the soil
cannot be excavated (for example, because it is beneath a building),
METS alone will not solve the problem. However, in a situation where
only a portion of the soil cannot be excavated, METS is the most
cost-effective way to remediate the soil that can be excavated.
That way, conventional techniques for in situ remediation,
which are generally slow and costly, should be employed only where the
option for excavation is completely foreclosed.
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7. Are there any
environmental or safety considerations involved with using METS?
There are no special
environmental or safety hazards or risks associated with METS.
Specifically, with respect to:
- Chemical
hazard. The chemical and biological treatment products used
in the METS process are biodegradable and environmentally
benign. In most cases EPA/UL approved.
- Noise.
The METS processing equipment, when operating, produces a noise
level comparable to a medium sized residential gasoline
generator. The noise level is typically less than that produced
by the loader equipment being used to dump contaminated soil
into the machinery.
- Air
pollution. The METS processing equipment meets relevant
emission control requirements for such equipment and our current
units meet or exceed Tier III specifications.
- Water
pollution. There is no contact with groundwater during the
process since the contaminated soil is already excavated and
stockpiled. Nor is
there any release of chemicals or biological products, diluted
or undiluted, into public waterways, public sewers or storm drains. In fact, some
of these products are in fact prescribed for use in cleaning
sewers and storm drains. All METS Licensees are trained to
assure that reagents are stored safely on site to avoid spillage
and provide containment.
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