Evaluating contaminant fate and transport is critical when assessing current and future impacts to the environment. These evaluations are commonly required when defining applicable regulatory assessment criteria, completing detailed groundwater investigations, remediation planning, and conducting human health and ecological risk assessments. This work is commonly completed at contaminated properties such as service station and dry cleaner sites, and other commercial/industrial sites.  

This course will cover how potential and/or known contaminant sources are characterized, how to determine the contaminant specific mobility in the environment based on inherent physical and chemical properties, their release mechanism to the environment, and ultimately their migration pathway and fate in the environment. The session will emphasize the mechanisms of contaminant transport in the subsurface and how to qualitatively and quantitatively predict contaminant migration towards potential sensitive receiving environments. The benefit and use of conceptual site models will be presented, as well as transport modelling techniques. This session should allow individuals to understand how to undertake a fate and transport assessment, minimum data that should be collected, and methods used to quantify contaminant transport towards a receiving environment. This topic will interest those who review fate and transport assessments conducted by consultants such as Government Regulators and Industry project managers. It will also be of interest to hydrogeologists and risk assessors who are carrying out fate and transport assessments on their projects. 

Learning Objectives      

Attendees will learn how to: 

• Understand the importance and data requirements for detailed site characterization program to identify a contaminant source 

• Research and assess the mobility of specific contaminants in the environment 

• Identify the likely release mechanism of various contaminants to groundwater 

• Assess the primary and secondary contaminant sources and transport mechanisms acting on the contaminant in the environment 

• How to develop a conceptual site model describing contaminant transport in groundwater  

• Determine appropriate methods to quantify contaminant transport towards a receiving environment 

Audience Level 

Novice, Intermediate 

Target/Intended Audience  

• Government Regulators reviewing environmental reports prepared by consultants 

• Industry Professionals Managing Environmental Projects (e.g. Mining, Oil and Gas, Land Development, Municipality) 

• Consultants (hydrogeologists, engineers and risk assessors) carrying out fate and transport studies 

Course Length 

2-hour sessions | Tuesdays |  April 7, 14, 21, 28