Our Environmental Services business has been awarded 'Defence Innovator of the Year' at the 2020 Australian Defence Industry Awards.
The award was in recognition of Ventia's first-of-its-kind SourceZone® technology which removes PFAS contamination from soil - a new solution available to any site contaminated by this legacy environmental issue.
Beginning in 2014 with extensive research and development the team's vision was to remove the most PFAS mass from the environment in the most cost-effective way possible. In 2020, this goal has been realised.
This new technology finally brings an effective and permanent solution to the problem posed by high concentrations of PFAS found in soils globally at defence, airports, fire training, petrochemical and mine sites. Outstandingly, the 2019 proof-of-performance trial of SourceZone® proved that on average, 90% of PFAS in clay soils and 99% of PFAS in sandy soils can be removed - meaning the risk to humans and the environment from PFAS-related harms can be radically reduced.
The SourceZone® plant has a light environmental footprint, and its construction and operational requirements mean Ventia can now move it to PFAS hot spots around Australia for onsite treatment.
SourceZone® truly represents a world-first sustainable remediation solution for PFAS-impacted soils.
Key highlights
- In a world-first, SourceZone® has successfully removed PFAS from soil
- The cost-effective technology can remove up to 99% of PFAS mass from soil, depending on the soil type
- Over 11,500 tonnes of soil has been successfully treated to date
- SourceZone® generates less than one per cent waste and the water used in the process is treated and recycled through the plant continuously, meaning no water is discharged off-site.
Graduate of the Year
Ventia is also proud to announce that one of our talented Graduate Engineers, Amos Fox, was a finalist in the Graduate of the Year category for these awards.
Amos graduated from QUT in 2018 with a double degree in Engineering (Electrical) and Information Technology (Computer Science). He was nominated for his outstanding work in the Northern Territory supporting Ventia's delivery of electrical and asset management projects that will contribute to the refurbishment of the Defence estate over the coming decades. Amos is known for rising to a challenge and is a trusted member of the team.
Congratulations to Ventia's PFAS team and Amos Fox, and to all the finalists and winners.
Pictured above: Adam Fletcher, James Cole, Charles Grimison & Ian Brookman at the Awards ceremony.
About PFAS
Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) containing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been used by various industries since the 1970s for fire-training activities and emergency response. PFAS chemicals are extremely persistent, very mobile, bioaccumulate in many species, linked to health effects in humans and ecotoxic.
PFAS are synthetic compounds and apart from previously being used in fire-training aqueous film-forming foam, they have widely been used around the world since the 1950s to make products that resist heat, stains, grease and water. PFAS present a problem because they do not degrade in the environment and are generally considered a health and environmental risk.
With 35 years' remediation experience and 140 major land and waterway clean-up projects behind it, Ventia was in a good position to develop a PFAS soil treatment plant when it embarked on the quest in 2014.