Thank Technology for Brownfield Vacation Spots

By Ken Kastman, PE

Technology has had a significant role in making brownfield redevelopments safe for vacationers. For this issue, I polled my brownfield colleagues at URS and found some great examples of formerly contaminated sites that are now ideal for recreation. Visit one this summer!

Have a picnic in a city park. Relaxing in Golden Park overlooking the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia, you would never suspect that modern technology lies under you as you lie on the grassy surface. Deep soil mixing was used to stabilize residual soils and sludges from an old manufactured gas plant (MGP) at the site. The solidification agents, cement and fly ash, were pumped through large diameter rotating augers on a close grid throughout the entire park. The stabilization process bound up the hazardous constituents and rendered them immobile. A surface clean-soil cover was then placed over the stabilized soils, further protecting the picnickers.