ACID SULFATE SOILS

 

Acid sulfate soils occur predominantly on coastal lowlands with elevations generally below 5m AHD. They can lead to the pollution of ground and surface water in the form of acid affected water.

Acid Sulfate Soils is the common name given to naturally occurring sediments and soils containing iron sulphides. The exposure of the sulfide in these soils to oxygen, by drainage or excavation, leads to the generation of sulphuric acid.

MEtech adopts a stepwise approach for the assessment and management of development proposals in areas potentially containing acid sulfate soils, which enables the need for any detailed assessment and management works to be identified based the likelihood of acid sulfate soils to be present and disturbed.

Acid Sulfate Soils

Our Acid Sulfate Services include:

  1. Preliminary Investigations: To evaluate the potential risk of disturbance of any acid sulfate soil conditions during the proposed development
  2. Detailed investigations: Design and implementation of soil, surface and/or groundwater sampling and analytical programs to identify the spatial distribution of actual acid sulfate soils (AASS) and potential acid sulfate soils (PASS)
  3. Acid Sulfate Soil Management Plans: Outlines a strategy for the management of confirmed acid sulfate soils during construction, including calculation of neutralisation dosage rates
  4. Acid Sulfate Soil Remediation: Implementation of management plans to neutralise any acid generating soils, including monitoring of environmental receptors to measure performance
  5. Validation: Including earthworks supervision, validation sampling and the preparation of validation reports certifying the success of the remedial actions.