O'Connor Associates Environmental Inc.
Sub-sectors: air pollution control; atmospheric dispersion modelling; contaminant fate and transport analysis; environmental audits; environmental management systems (ISO 14000); hazardous waste; hydrogeological instruments; monitoring; oil spill control; resource management; site characterization; site reclamation/remediation; toxicity assessments; water and wastewater.
Products/Services: air pollution control; audits/assessments; biological wastewater nutrient treatment.
Consulting services: acid rock drainage; engineering; management; decommissioning; decontamination systems; engineering and construction; fans; geophysical services.
Groundwater: exploration and development; monitors; treatment.
Hazardous materials: management and services; hydrogeological surveys; impact assessment; inspection, soil; leachate treatment; leak detectors/prevention; liners, landfills, ponds, pits; mapping, geological; mine waste.
Monitors: Air; Gases; liquids; natural resource management; planning studies; policy/legislation review and assessment; project management services; remediation services; risk assessment; SCADA systems for remote monitoring and control; secondary containment structures; site clean up management; site inspection; soil treatment/reclamation; spill clean up equipment; spill clean up technology; spill containment; spill monitors; training programs/films/books; wastewater treatment services; water pollution control.
Company Description
O'Connor Associates is a Canadian consulting firm specializing in environmental and geotechnical engineering. Established in 1979, the firm has a staff of approximately 175, based in offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Malaysia. The firm has conducted environmental investigations at more than 5,000 sites throughout Canada, including industrial plant sites and petroleum facilities such as refineries, bulk plants and service stations. Many of these projects have also involved spill clean up or soil and groundwater remediation. O'Connor Associates is also active in the areas of environmental audit, impact assessment, risk assessment, risk management and regulatory policy development. Clients include major oil companies, industry operators, developers, regulatory agencies and
government departments at the federal, provincial, and local levels.
In addition to the consulting services offered with respect to contaminated sites, O'Connor Associates maintains a dedicated research and development group active in the areas of monitoring technology, site remediation measures, and numerical modelling of multi-phase contaminant transport. Through a subsidiary company, O'Connor Associates also designs, manufactures, and supplies equipment for
contaminant recovery, site remediation, and soil and groundwater monitoring.
Export activities to date have included projects in the U.S., Malaysia, and India. O'Connor Associates has in place a joint venture company, Envirochem Consultants Sdn Bhd, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The firm is interested in further expanding its environmental consulting services in international markets.
Geographic Marketing Activities: America: Central, North; ASEAN Countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand; Asia/Pacific: Pacific Rim, South East (excluding the ASEAN Countries).
Alliances/Contacts Sought
Agents, Direct Sales, Joint Ventures
Company Details
Year Established:
1979
Number of Employees:
180
Company Information
David. R. Williams
Title:
Principal
Telephone:
(403) 294-4200
Fax:
(403) 294-4240
Email:
Click Here
David Williams
Title:
Associate
Area of Responsibility:
Export Sales & Marketing
Telephone:
(403) 294-4200
Fax:
(403) 294-4240
Email:
Click Here
David R. Williams
Email:
Click Here
Ql Dai
Telephone:
(403) 294-4256
Email:
Click Here
Scott Digel
Title:
Representative
Area of Responsibility:
Research/Development/Engineering
Telephone:
(403) 294-4200
Fax:
(403) 294-4240
Email:
Click Here
Products
Risk Management
Petroleum/Chemical Spill Cleanup
Remediation
Underground Storage Tank Management
Regulatory Liaison
Waste Management
Waste Characterization
Vapour Management
Occupational Health And Safety
Air Quality
Environmental Audit
Environmental Investigation
Aquifer Protection
Environmental Products And Services
Phase I Environmental Study Of Oil Production Operations And Facilities.
A Phase I environmental study of oil production operations and facilities was conducted in a specific region of India, due to concern that the operations may adversely impact local agriculture. The project comprised of a number of components, including:
A preliminary environmental audit of production operations and facilities, including wellsites, gathering stations, storage and processing facilities, pipelines and waste disposal practices; An evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of current formation water handling and disposal practices; An assessment of the potential human health and agricultural impacts of gas flaring operations; An evaluation of alternative treatment or disposal options for accumulated oily sludges.
The project led to recommendations for further detailed study, possible remedial actions and implementation of improved environmental management practices which will assist in the minimization of future adverse impacts.
The project also involved a training component, in which representatives of the local oil company came to Canada for training in environmental assessment, monitoring, remediation and management.
Phase I And Phase Ii Environmental Site Assessments And Remediation.
A Phase I environmental site assessment involving review of historical land uses on a large retail site and nearby properties was completed. Areas of concern identified by the Phase I were subject to Phase II environmental site investigations to delineate soil and groundwater contamination. Contaminants of concern were phase-separated and dissolved refined petroleum hydrocarbons associated with fuelling and automotive repair facilities. A risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential health risks due to inhalation of hydrocarbon vapours from soil or groundwater by occupants of the proposed commercial structures. In addition, the potential risks from vapours migrating through more permeable utility backfill were evaluated.
The site objectives were achieved through an integrated, multi-component approach which included the following: removal of underground storage tanks and sumps; risk assessment and the design and implementation of risk management measures; excavation and on-site treatment of soils; multi-point soil vapour extraction; groundwater pumping and treatment; design and installation of a geomembrane vapour barrier beneath the foundation of a new building.
The site was successfully remediated to the criteria required by regulators for redevelopment.
Development Of Risk-based Numerical Remediation Objectives And A Qualitative Site Sensitivity Assessment Process.
Soil and groundwater remediation guidelines for petroleum contaminated sites were developed by: review of regulatory systems and numerical remediation criteria worldwide; recommendation and development of regulatory framework for implementation of guidelines; development of generic risk-based numerical remediation objectives corresponding to various generic exposure and land use scenarios; development of a qualitative site sensitivity assessment process for the purposes of assigning appropriate objectives.
The result of this phase of the program was a multi-tiered system of remediation guidelines that incorporated risk-based numerical criteria as well as an explicit option to conduct site-specific risk assessment and/or to implement risk management measures. At the time this was one of the first regulatory programs anywhere that specifically embraced the concepts of risk assessment and risk management. The draft guidelines were well-received by industry and government and were adopted by several other jurisdictions.
Emergency Response, Recovery Of Liquid Product, Remediation Of Soil And Water.
A spill of light crude oil was detected at a break in a pipeline near the bank of a sensitive river immediately upstream of a water supply inlet for a southern Alberta community. The following activities were initiated with the approval of Alberta Environmental Protection and the Energy and Utilities Board:
installation of absorbent booms around the spill area, excavation of interception trenches and recovery of surface oil and oil-stained snow; installation of monitoring wells within the area of the spill and at downgradient locations, and installation of temporary slim-hole pumping systems to recover crude oil at the water table; excavation of oil-saturated soils, and design and installation of treatment cells for the impacted soils.
Establishment of cleanup criteria based on a site-specific risk assessment.
Once the situation had been stabilized, O'Connor Associates installed a groundwater recovery, treatment and control system that was designed to recover residual crude oil, remediate the impacted groundwater and prevent further migration of the plume toward the nearby river. The recovered groundwater was remediated to drinking water standards using air-stripping technology and reinjected back into the flood plain deposits.
Services
Risk Assessment
Vapour Monitoring
Site Decommissioning
Groundwater Modelling
Contaminant Fate And Transport Modelling
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Impact Assessment
Groundwater Monitoring
Site Assessment And Remediation
Assessment of soil and groundwater conditions, recommendations for soil and groundwater remediation, supervision of contaminated site clean-up, quantitative evaluation of environmental risks, development of risk management strategies
Industrial Investigations
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
Oil Spill Response
R&d Environmental Protection