Through our emergency response department - supported by a toll-free hotline (1-800-347-HETI) - HETI offers 24-hour, seven-day-a-week intervention to deal with environmental emergencies…and to mitigate potential environmental impacts. Our staff is supplemented, as required, by a national network of reputable subcontractors, with whom HETI has established excellent working relationships.

HETI personnel and subcontractors are dedicated to rapid response and are trained to contain the release/spill, assess potentially impacted areas, and quickly gather the information necessary to determine the most cost-effective and timely remedial approach. This helps ensure that only the necessary personnel, equipment and materials - required to efficiently and effectively resolve each emergency - are utilized. In addition, HETI communicates with the client throughout the course of the response activities - as needed…or as specified in client-specific protocols.

HETI's emergency response capabilities include:

	Spill containment
	In-situ ground water and soil treatment
	Soil/ground water removal
	Hazardous waste removal and disposal
	Regulatory interface and reporting

Representative Projects *

Elementary School (Massachusetts) – A release from the boiler system serving a public elementary school resulted in oil vapors in the classrooms, forcing the school to be shut down. Because school closure resulted in loss of state financial aid, rapid response was necessary. In addition to creating vapor problems in the school, some of the oil also migrated into the subsurface. HETI worked with the school, the City Health Department, a remedial contractor, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop air sampling plans and perform risk calculations that isolated contaminated zones, allowing most of the school to be reopened within a few days, and the remaining affected areas a few days later. All air sample analyses were performed within 24 hours. Using hand methods to collect soil samples and install wells through the boiler room floor, HETI completed the assessment and remediation of the subsurface release. Site closure was later obtained.

Tanker Truck Accident (Connecticut) – A tanker truck was involved in an accident with a passenger vehicle on an Interstate highway – causing a release of some 5,600 gallons of heating oil. The tanker was consumed by fire, as was a bridge, resulting in the highway being shut down for three days. Any heating oil, not consumed by the fire, flowed across the concrete highway surface into nearby storm drains leading to a stream and Long Island Sound. HETI was retained by the transportation company to oversee cleanup operations and assess potential impacts to the environment. HETI’s project manager served as the Connecticut Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP) and coordinated cleanup activities with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP), the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Activities included: boom placement to limit movement of the free product (heating oil); vacuum removal of free product from the highway, stream and Long Island Sound; cleanout of all storm water and sewer lines; and cold-water, low-pressure power washing of the shoreline. At the conclusion of the cleanup, HETI’s LEP provided written documentation to CTDEP for site closure.

Wetlands (Massachusetts) – HETI provided emergency response services for the sudden release of fuel oil that impacted the sediment and surface water of an unnamed stream which flowed through a freshwater wetland. An oil sheen was observed on the surface water of the stream to the confluence of the Threemile River, located approximately 2,000 feet west and downstream of the release location. The preliminary Immediate Response Action (IRA) included containment of the floating oil, removal of visibly-impacted wetland sediment, and removal of the oil-impacted material within a catch basin. Sediment and surface water conditions were also characterized to establish the initial impact of the oil to the wetland. Subsequent sediment and surface water sampling was periodically conducted to monitor the natural recovery of the wetland. HETI will perform an ecological risk characterization after one year of monitoring to confirm that the wetland habitat has naturally recovered, and that exposure by environmental receptors to residual oil does not present a significant risk.

Trucking Spill (Massachusetts) - An oil truck, carrying over 3,000 gallons of fuel oil, overturned on a state highway on-ramp. Oil flowed along the highway and into a storm drainage system that led to a river draining a major urban center. The ramp was under construction at the time, and response activities could not delay the construction project. HETI coordinated emergency response activities - including deployment of sorbent and containment boom along more than a mile of river, sorbents and soil excavation in the release vicinity, and flushing of the catch basin system. HETI completed subsequent site investigation, human health risk assessment, and environmental risk assessment activities. Using forensic analyses, HETI successfully distinguished between pre-existing sediment contamination and contamination resulting from the release, and attained regulatory closure.

Residential Area (New Jersey) - HETI responded to a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection request to mitigate a discharge from a leaking aboveground storage tank to surface water and to recover the freestanding product (LPH). Fuel oil had migrated from the leaking tank to a crawl space beneath the residence. A period of high tides and sustained heavy rain had resulted in localized flooding and off-site migration of the product into the storm sewer system. The residents were removed from the home by the local health department. Booms and sand berms were deployed to eliminate the off-site flow and a vacuum tuck was used to remove LPH from the crawlspace. After supervised venting, the residents were allowed to return home within two days of the release. A remedial investigation of soil and ground water was completed to determine the extent of the release. HETI proposed soil excavation to address the residual LPH and more than nine tons of soil were extracted from the surface. Five monitoring wells were installed for LPH recovery and/or compliance monitoring. An Enhanced Fluid Recovery (EFR) feasibility test was completed - during which over 1,000 gallons of water and emulsified LPH were recovered. HETI's subsequent Remedial Action Workplan was approved and the property sold within three months of the incident. A second EFR event was completed, after which LPH did not recharge in any of the source area wells. No further action was requested for both soil and ground water within one year of the release.

Residential Fuel Oil Release (New York) - HETI responded to the release of 100 gallons of fuel oil at a rural residence. Apparently, the delivery person attempted to deliver fuel to the tank without opening a port to allow venting; the tank ruptured due to excessive pressure buildup; and fuel oil was released to the environment. Utilizing excavation equipment owned by the fuel oil dealer, contaminated soil was removed and transported to a local soil recycling facility. HETI collected post-excavation soil samples and determined that a small quantity of fuel oil contamination was present in an inaccessible area beneath the building foundation and was not a significant problem. In addition, the on-site water supply well was sampled for contamination during and after the release. Based on the response actions performed, the subsequent sampling results and site-specific conditions, HETI recommended that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) require no further actions. NYSDEC concurred and issued a closure letter.

* This is a brief description of selected Emergency Response projects completed by HETI. For a more complete discussion of our capabilities, please contact us for a copy of our Statement of Qualifications.