Phase Two Environmental Site Assessment

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Your Phase One ESA or someone involved in your project has determined a Phase Two Environmental Site Assessment is required.  What does that mean?  Unlike the Phase One that is research based and non-invasive a Phase Two ESA will involve sampling and analyzing the soil and potentially the groundwater to confirm if any suspected contamination is present. 

How do we do that?

The scope of work for each Phase Two ESA is different and directly related to the Potentially Contaminating Activities that were identified in the Phase One research and the property’s site-specific conditions.  Some common Phase Two ESA programs may include: 

• the advancement of boreholes and monitoring wells with a drill rig; 
• the excavation of test-pits via backhoe or excavator; 
• hand-auguring to obtain soil samples. 

Regardless of the method in which the soil and/or groundwater is accessed, the goal of the Phase Two ESA program is to obtain representative samples and confirm if any target contaminants have impacted the mediums across the site.   

What are some of the common target contaminants we sample for? 

Petroleum Hydrocarbons [PHCs] F1-F4, Volatile Organic Compounds [VOCs], Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons [PAHs], Metals, Sodium Adsorption Ratio [SAR],  Electrical Conductivity [EC] and pH to name a few. 

Analysis of these contaminant groups will confirm if a site's  soil and/or groundwater is impacted and if it exceeds or meets the Ministry’s applicable criteria for the site.  The criteria that is applicable to a site correlates to the site’s land use, for example: 

• a commercial business would need to meet commercial land use criteria; 
• an industrial manufacturer would need to meet industrial land use criteria; 
• a private home or apartment/condo building would need to meet residential criteria; and
• a mixed-use property that is used for both residential and commercial purposes would need to meet residential criteria (more sensitive of the two) 

Once an impact has been determined additional investigative work, called delineation, may be completed to formulate a clearer picture of the contamination across the property and provide the client/owner with next steps in the form of a remedial plan. 

Proceed to Site Remediation