Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Groundwater Fate & Transport Symposium in Adelaide
Event Wrap by Melinda Morris, Committee Member

Last week, ALGA held its much anticipated Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Groundwater Fate & Transport Symposium in Adelaide. One of our event committee members, Melinda Morris, provided the following wrap up on the two-day event:

Day One – The Symposium

Adelaide was the perfect city to host this year's ALGA"s Groundwater Fate and Transport Symposium on Chlorinated Hydrocarbons.

Set in the leafy surrounds of Adelaide University’s Waite campus on a warm Thursday in February, almost 100 of our technical community came together to share stories of discovery and insight into this group of recalcitrant chemicals with exposure pathways posing real risks to human health.

The day kicked off with a keynote address from international superstar Robbie Ettinger. Robbie set the scene for a day of animated industry discourse amongst like-minded colleagues. Robbie spoke on how, when properly curated and used, attenuation factors can deliver better outcomes for the assessment and mitigation of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination.

International, interstate and local industry experts spoke about the myriad of ways to understand and solve problems caused by chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination. A wide variety of approaches into investigation, risk assessment and remediation were presented and important lessons learned were shared. The peppering of questions to speakers and interactive dialogue at the end of each session reflected the collegiate atmosphere of the event.

Punching above its small-town weight class speakers from Adelaide talked about the creation of a South Australian vapour intrusion database, successful bioremediaion of legacy contamination in tight clays using Botany cultured microbes and the highly effective pump and treat system of trees. The day closed with banter and beverages at the Strathmore Hotel in the city.

Day Two – the Tour

A friendly group of science enthusiasts braved an unseasonably cool morning for the symposium tour. It started at the internationally renowned Drill Core Library where we heard the tale of how the South Australian government phoenixed from the ashes of the Clovelly Park contamination crisis to create a nation leading orphaned site contamination management program and deliver the world-class Tonsley Innovation District.

Renewal SA introduced the tour with a short history; from the closure Mitsubishi car manufacturing plant in 2008, describing the challenges of remediating the 61 hectare site along the way, to delivering an integrated mixed land-use precinct comprising high-value manufacturing, educational, commercial and residential developments.

Leading us through the industrial fabric of the main automotive building and out along boundary of the plant, Rory Lane from Blue Sphere Environmental gave colour, depth and interest to the tour’s narrative. The tour included seeing the wonderous tall phytoremediation gums with commentary by Mark Chapman from AECOM (aka the tree guy). Those on the tour agreed it was an informative, fun outing.

A big thank-you to the ALGA symposium sub-committee for their efforts in getting this event happening. A special shout out goes to our session chairs Daniel Hodges, David Jackson, Casey O’Farell and lastly Joe Duran who, as our sub-committee chair, managed to do the near impossible and schedule the symposium to coincide with Adelaide festival season. Thank you also to Datanest for being such a supportive sponsor. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Melinda.

Article Published on 26/02/2024

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