Remediation Support - GEI Environmental

Environmental remediation projects usually require the development of cleanup goals that are intended to protect human health and the environment. These goals are often based on scientific evaluations of human health and ecological risks (i.e., the potential for adverse effects) from exposure to environmental contaminants. GEI provides a full range of human health and ecological risk assessment services to evaluate, interpret, and communicate risks associated with chemical and physical stressors at contaminated sites and planned developments.

We have experience conducting assessments in wetlands, freshwater, estuarine, and terrestrial environments. Our scientists are nationally known experts in the evaluation of the ecological effects of metals and legacy contaminants such as Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and hydrocarbons, and have published extensively in the scientific, peer-reviewed literature.

We are well versed in EPA’s risk assessment paradigm, including problem formulation, exposure and effects assessments, risk characterization, uncertainty analysis, and risk management. Our human health risk assessors understand the highly complex set of factors that influence multi-exposure-pathway risk assessment such as inhalation and vapor intrusion of soil vapors; ingestion of contaminated soil, water, or food; and dermal contact with water or soils.

Our approach to human health exposure and risk assessment is designed to meet the specific needs of a particular site or problem, and provide cost effective means of assessing potential health effects by limiting the scope of field investigations to the areas and chemicals that are most responsible for driving risk.

Expertise
Services
Featured Projects

01.

Expertise

Critical Issues

The remediation of contaminated sites is becoming increasingly complex and expensive, particularly when dealing with contaminated sediments in complex urban environments.

Making smart decisions towards focusing these risk assessments to directly inform the selection of remedial goals and methods is critical to minimizing costs and complexity. Costly remediation projects also often need to consider client liability and allocation among potential responsible parties. Environmental risk can help inform determinations of liability.

There is often regulatory and public stakeholder complexity associated with these sites, and a collaborative approach with these parties is critical to achieving a successful contaminated site cleanup. While collaboration with external stakeholders can often complicate the site cleanup process, achieving stakeholder acceptance can help minimize the long-term liabilities associated with contaminated sites.

Differentiators

GEI risk assessors have nationally-recognized expertise in the science of ecological and human health risk assessments, particularly at complex superfund sediment “mega-sites.”

Our key differentiator is that while we have nationally-recognized scientific expertise, our goal is not to do science projects. Our goal instead is to focus the risk assessment to include only those activities that are critically needed to inform risk management decision making.

Our senior risk assessment team includes a collaborative group of risk assessment experts, licensed regulatory practitioners, and project managers who are experienced in technical, regulatory, and public outreach. Having risk assessors who are also licensed regulatory practitioners sets GEI apart from other practices; our interdisciplinary risk assessment team does not lose sight of the “big picture” and we are able to achieve health-protective, cost effective outcomes.

02.

Services

Ecological Risk Assessment

GEI provides a full range of terrestrial and aquatic ecological risk assessment services to evaluate, interpret, and communicate ecological risks associated with chemical and physical stressors at contaminated sites and planned developments.

We have experience conducting assessments in wetlands, freshwater, estuarine, and terrestrial environments, including some of the most complex sediment “mega” sites under EPA’s Superfund program.

Our scientists are nationally known experts in the evaluation of the ecological effects of metals and legacy contaminants such as PCBs, dioxins, and hydrocarbons, and have published extensively in the scientific, peer-reviewed literature.

We are well versed in EPA’s risk assessment paradigm (including many variations of this paradigm as practiced in many states), including problem formulation, exposure and effects assessments, risk characterization, uncertainty analysis, and risk management.

Our risk assessors place a place particular importance in the design and conduct of risk assessments that are focused specifically on the needs of risk management and remedial decision-making.

Human Health Risk Assessment

GEI human health risk scientists understand the highly complex set of factors that influence multi-exposure-pathway risk assessment such as ingestion of contaminated soil, water or food, skin contact with water, soils and sediments, and inhalation of vapors and dust.

GEI risk assessment scientists have state-of-the-art knowledge regarding investigating human health effects from exposure to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic chemicals, including risk assessment study design, data analysis, and site-specific fate and transport modeling of chemicals in different media.

GEI human health risk scientists are active participants in state and federal toxicological and regulatory workgroups ensuring our risk assessment services are based on the most current science. Our human health risk expertise encompasses US EPA, State, and International methodologies. GEI human health risk scientists have expertise in risk communication where interaction with multiple private, public, and regulatory stakeholders is a critical component.

Ecotoxicology and Water Quality

Assessing the impacts of water quality on aquatic life integrates toxicology, stream ecology, laboratory toxicity testing, statistical analyses, and negotiation with state and federal regulators. This combination of water quality/ecology assessments with laboratory toxicity analyses is the basis for the field of ecotoxicology.

GEI offers a full complement of services to support these studies, including review of scientific literature, preparation of toxicity profiles for individual chemicals, conducting new aquatic or terrestrial toxicity tests to fill data gaps in the literature, and coupling toxicity data with a deep ecological understanding of lakes and streams.

Our science team consists of nationally recognized experts in the toxicology of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nutrients, and chemicals of “emerging” concern such as perfluorinated chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products.

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