January  2012

Dr. Trexler has completed a remedial action plan for a Coastal Plain site in the REC program where soil has been impacted by cobalt from a manufacturing process.  He evaluated three remedial alternatives: natural attenuation, soil fixation, and soil excavation.  To determine the best product and the dose required for fixation, Dr. Trexler considered site-specific attenuation of the soil and treatability testing of reagents to fixate cobalt.  He evaluated the selected remediation reagent he chose for stability using EPA’s Multiple Extraction Procedure (MEP), which simulates the leaching that a waste will undergo with repetitive precipitation of acid rain on a landfill for 1,000 years of leaching through 10 cycles of leaching.  The 10 cycles of the MEP are the equivalent to approximately 800 years of leaching. Duncklee & Dunham is preparing bid specifications, developing engineering cost estimates, and building a construction schedule for excavation of contaminated soil, site restoration, and stormwater management for an area of approximately two acres.

January  2012

Dave Duncklee is conducting a groundwater assessment in central North Carolina under NCDENR’s Registered Environmental Consultant (REC) program to define the vertical and horizontal extent of tetrachloroethene in fractured and competent bedrock.  We designed this assessment in part to determine if the use of high-capacity, water-supply wells formerly used at the site influenced the plume geometry.  We used colorimetric test kits in the field to test groundwater samples during the advancement of air-hammer borings to depths of up to 580 feet. We used real-time data, packer testing, a downhole camera, and test results from a fixed-base laboratory during borehole advancement to define the vertical extent of the plume.  Test results confirmed one of the three water-supply wells pulled the chlorinated organic contaminant downward.   

Duncklee & Dunham has three Registered Site Managers on staff in our Cary office and is working on multiple sites in the REC program.

November  2011

As Student Liaison for the Carolinas Section of the Association for Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG),  Rick Kolb works closely with geology departments within the UNC university system.  On November 10, 2011, he arranged for two speakers to make presentations to the NCSU Geology Club to help students prepare to take the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) Fundamentals of Geology (FG) exam.  The FG exam and Practice of Geology (PG) exam are required, along with recommendations, work experience and transcripts documenting geology course work, in order to become a licensed geologist in the State of North Carolina.  Thirty states utilize the ASBOG examination in their licensure requirements.

Daphne Jones, a senior geologist at Duncklee & Dunham, took the FG and PG exams in March 2011 and passed both.  Clark Wipfield, a  staff geologist at Duncklee & Dunham, passed the March 2011 FG examination to become a Geologist-in-Training and is now preparing for the PG exam.  Matt Flinchum, also a staff geologist, is currently preparing for the FG exam.  Daphne Jones’ presentation to the NCSU Geology Club, with geology students from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and Wake Technical Community College also in attendance, was geared more towards how to study for the exam and test-taking hints.  She brought in a variety of study materials obtained by the Duncklee & Dunham geologists and gave advice related to recognizing your learning styles and organizing study groups. 

October/November  2011

The Carolinas Section of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) held field symposia on two, sunny, fall Saturdays on the campuses of North Carolina State University in Raleigh and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, during which we demonstrated for geology students the field methods commonly used by environmental and engineering geologists.  Each symposium was attended by 35 students from universities across North Carolina.  At these symposia, drilling contractors donated their labor and equipment to advance soil borings and construct monitoring wells.  Matt Flinchum was one of the “field geologists” at the symposium at UNC-Charlotte and Clark Wipfield was one of the “field geologists” at NC State University.  Matt and Clark and other volunteers showed approximately 65 students the techniques for collecting soil and  groundwater samples, bailing wells, measuring depth to the water table, and testing soil samples in the field.  The students were able to see first-hand the types of activities field geologists conduct and were effusive in their thanks for the demonstrations.  After each symposium, we hosted the students to a barbecue dinner, during which the students were able to interact with practicing geologists.  Rick Kolb organized both events.

September  2011

Governor Perdue has appointed Rick Kolb to a three-year term on the North Carolina Board for the Licensing of Geologists.  The board is comprised of six members, four of which represent different geological practices:  consulting, private industry, mining and academia.  Rick represents the consulting community.  The fifth member is a non-geologist from the public, and the sixth member is the State Geologist, who serves ex officio.  The board meets four times a year to review individual and corporate applications for licensure, review/discuss disciplinary actions, and discuss other business associated with licensure and the practice of geology.

September  2011

Tom Dunham and Dave Duncklee recently led a successful effort to ship hundreds of feet of 4” PVC water well casing and slotted screen to Haiti.  These efforts are to support of a former employee who works to rehabilitate/install water supply wells when he and his wife are not teaching at a local orphanage located south of Cap Haitian.  The casing and well screen should be enough for 10 to 15 new water supply wells.  Valuable support of this effort was generously given by Tom Proctor of Mid-Atlantic Associates, Steve Taylor of Geologic Exploration, Inc., and the membership and Board of Directors of the Carolinas Section of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG).  We hope to ship additional supplies late this year or early next.

September  2011

Our professionals are involved in all aspects of soil and groundwater remediation.  For example, a sampling of our current remediation projects includes the use of:  steam catalyzed persulfate to oxidize chloroform dissolved in groundwater, a bench scale test to evaluate whether permanganate or persulfate is optimum for the destruction of 1,4-dioxane and other chlorinated compounds in groundwater, the use of magnesium oxide to stabilize metals in soils, pilot testing to determine if zero valent iron plus carbon substrate is effective in reducing dissolved VOCs in groundwater, bench scale testing to evaluate whether KB-1 is effective for VOC removal, and the conceptual evaluation of the use of hydrogen oxidizing denitrifying bacteria to degrade nutrients in groundwater. 

May  2011

Daphne Jones, Senior Geologist, and Clark Wipfield, Staff Geologist, took the National Association of State Board of Geology (ASBOG) exam on March 4, 2011. These standardized examinations are currently used by 30 states to test for professional geologist (P.G.) licensure. On May 5th, Daphne Jones was notified that she passed the Fundamentals of Geology and Practice of Geology exams, and qualifies to become a P.G. in the state of North Carolina. Mr. Wipfield passed the Fundamentals of Geology exam, and is now a registered Geologist-In-Training for North Carolina.

May  2011

The Brownfields Services Group completed additional Phase II work in Greenville, NC under the City's EPA Brownfields Petroleum Assessment Grant in early May. Work included pulling five hydraulic lifts in a former tire service center. Soil samples were collected under the lifts to determine if the site could be clean closed. Lifts are considered underground storage tanks (USTs) in North Carolina, and work is conducted under the DENR UST Section's guidelines. While lifts could be pulled in order to sample underneath them, over excavation as allowed by the UST Section is considered remediation and cannot be funded under an assessment grant. If the soil samples collected exceed the levels for clean closure, the non-profit foundation that is redeveloping the site as a regional science museum will be responsible for further excavation and sampling to reach closure levels.

February  2011

REC Team staff members met to discuss the findings of a January 2011 technical training session with DENR IHSB REC Program regulators in their Raleigh office. Items of discussion included the addition of phosphorous to the Appendix 1 list in A.7.1.1.3 and new requirements for hexavalent chromium soil testing. In order to stay current and provide a consistent work product, Duncklee & Dunham sends an RSM to each technical event held in the Raleigh DENR office. Upon returning, the results are discussed with other RSMs in the company. The meeting notes are placed in our corporate REC Program Notebook for future reference.