Allsite Structures provides enclosure solutions for environmental remediation projects across North America. The Allsite Tension Fabric Structure (TFS) offers a fast, versatile, and easily relocatable high-clearance building that helps remediation crews isolate the contaminated worksite from the outside environment, protecting local communities and wildlife during the cleanup process. Our environmental remediation structures provide shelter from the elements and a safely enclosed space to help cleanup crews complete remediation work across the project site, no matter the size and scope. Projects we have supported include several EPA Superfund cleanup sites, including the recent large and critical Pasco Landfill cleanup.
- Advantages of Tension Fabric Structures in Landfill Cleanup Projects
- Features and Components of Allsite’s Environmental Remediation Solutions
- Customizable Options for Tension Fabric Structures in Remediation Sites
- Efficient Project Management: Completing Remediation Ahead of Schedule
- Environmental Safety and Worker Protection with Tension Fabric Enclosures
A Challenging Landfill Remediation Enclosure Project in Pasco, WA
The Pasco Landfill is located in Washington State, outside the City of Pasco on the Columbia River. The large, now closed, landfill site covers nearly 200 acres. The landfill was opened in 1958, where waste was burned in trenches until 1971. For the next few years, from 1972 to 1975, the landfill accepted industrial waste, which included the dumping and burial of thousands of 55-gallon drums containing caustic chemicals, paint, resin, herbicide, and pesticide waste. toxic industrial liquids were also disposed of at the site. Sections of the landfill remained open and received municipal and household waste until 1993. All this made Pasco an ideal candidate for eventual environmental remediation.
In 1990, the EPA added the site to its Superfund National Priorities List for eventual decontamination, cleanup, and remediation. A plume of contaminated groundwater was discovered, and a moratorium was placed on the use of that water in 2001, demonstrating the urgency of completing the environmental remediation work. Cleanup work began in the early 2000s, which succeeded in reducing groundwater contamination and other risks to human health.
The Pasco Landfill remediation project was a large undertaking. Prior to seeking enclosure options, the remediation site was broken into 5 zones, representing the different contaminants that required removal. These included Zone A (35,000 55-gallon drums of solvent, cleaners, and other hazardous materials), Zone B (herbicide waste), Zones C and D (plywood resin and wood treatment waste, lime, paint, and paint solvents, among other waste products), and Zone E (sludge from paper manufacturing).
In 2019, following public hearings, Zone A, the largest and most challenging of the sites, was scheduled for cleanup. Zone A contained 35,000 degraded, leaking, and toxic 55-gallon drums that would need to be safely excavated and removed. Allsite was contacted by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) in 2020 to provide an enclosed tension fabric structure for the Zone A worksite. The remediation site’s fabric covered shelter would provide an indoor space for properly equipped teams to carry out the removal of the hazardous refuse, containing fumes or other hazards so they would not reach the external environment.
Temporary Fabric Structure Provides Remediation Enclosure Solution
The Washington Department of Ecology engaged Allsite to provide a fabric enclosed structure that would be placed in Zone A over excavation work to extract the deteriorating and leaking drums. The structure would be required to safely isolate the area from the external environment, containing noxious odors at the site. To protect workers, the clear span tent would be fitted with an air treatment system and air quality monitoring. The building would need to withstand Washington winters and the heat of the summer sun. The building should be able to handle ground conditions without damage. It would need to provide plenty of interior space for heavy remediation equipment and movement of the materials removed from the ground to transport containers, as well as room for workers and their equipment and supplies. And, the building should be reusable or recyclable to allow the Department of Ecology to meet its green project goal to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” The Allsite tension fabric structure met all these requirements, and the building was quickly configured and delivered to the site, with the lightweight modular elements easily transported to the site on a flatbed truck.
Smooth Remediation Enclosure Installation
The Allsite tension fabric structure configured and delivered for the Pasco Landfill Zone A project measured 126’ wide by 180’ long. It was equipped with a crane lift package so that the structure could be quickly and easily lifted and relocated around the site as work progressed, without having to dismantle it. Concrete ballast blocks were used to anchor the structure. At the end of the project, once the Allsite temporary fabric structure was removed, and in line with their goal of recycling where possible, these blocks were repurposed by the Washington Department of Ecology.
Efficient Environmental Remediation: Tension Fabric Structures Complete Project Ahead of Schedule
The Allsite tension fabric structure was ultimately relocated six times around the Pasco Landfill Zone A remediation site over the course of the project, as work finished in one location and moved on to the next. Designed to be lifted and moved without disassembly, the structure’s relocation process was quick and simple, allowing workers to continue their work with little interruption. This facilitated the current system of remediation quite effectively.
Environmental remediation of the Pasco site continued with the extraction phase next. The extraction phase of the Zone A cleanup took place from April 2021 to June 2022. Ultimately, 35,000 drums and other hazardous waste were removed and relocated to containment facilities in Idaho and Oregon, with no incidents during the extensive transport process.
The project went very smoothly, and the Zone A project was completed ahead of schedule. The Allsite structure was dismantled and removed in June 2022, leaving the Department of Ecology to move on to the next phases of the project, which included thermal treatment of the remaining contaminated soil at the site and placement of a protective cover system.
Allsite is pleased to have been able to help the Washington Department of Ecology successfully complete this challenging environmental remediation project, with the use of our tension fabric structures.
See photos of the Department of Ecology team at work on the site and using the Allsite TFS(Tension Fabric Structures) as they successfully extract the hazardous materials.
Remediation Systems Project Partner Allsite Structures
Allsite Structures is the premier provider of environmental remediation building solutions in North America. Our versatile buildings are used to help crews safely complete environmental cleanup projects in even the most challenging conditions. With a variety of anchoring solutions, these buildings can be installed on any ground surface, including wet, rocky, or frozen ground. The lightweight aluminum-framed modular structures can be quickly assembled and are easy to move around the worksite as work progresses. This seamless mobility complements the use of heavy equipment on remediation sites.
The stable, aerodynamic structure, strengthened by the tensioned fabric cover over an aluminum frame, is weather-resistant and sheds rain and snow. The industrial-strength PVC fabric walls help keep the clear span, interior work area isolated from the external environment. The building is easy to outfit with your air treatment or other equipment to ensure the safety of workers inside. Allsite’s Tension Fabric Structures come with various entry, ventilation, lighting, and other customizable options, and they are available in a range of widths. Moreover, the length can be tailored to customer needs by adding additional panels in 16’ (5-meter) lengths.”
The Allsite team is available at 1-888-599-5112 to answer questions and help you find the structure solution you need for your next environmental remediation project.
