Screw PIling in Contaminated Land

[ooox]

I've specified screw piling for a site where we have contaminated land (asbestos in the ground covered with fill)to avoid the need to take the contaminated soil off site and incur the large costs etc.

I just want to understand if there are any issues with this method for this type of site? I'm just concerned that there may be issues 'down the line' and would like to cover myself. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[dicksewerrat]

Are you building dwelling units on the land? Will the prospective owners, workers, tenants going to be informed of this? Pilings will not be the big problem down the road.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[ooox]

dicksewerrat,

Yes, it will be dwelling units. The prospective owners, workers, client and tenants will be informed of it, we have a duty of care to do so.

 

[ishvaaag]

There must be safety at works' regulations for elimination and dealing with the asbestos problem. Institutions and safety firms will have publications. I think to remember to have seen some long ones on asbestos somewhere. Other thing is that they go as long as to properly care of your exact problem, but guidelines in general shoud be useful.

 

[PST09]

Asbestos is nasty stuff. It sounds like your essentially covering up the problem with fill.

I'm assuming you’re going to have a substantial depth of fill but it can still leach into watercourses etc and have massive environmental impacts. Do you have control measures in place for this event? Also you have to consider that the piling may create some dust with asbestos particles in which is a serious problem. I would contact your local environmental agency (or equivalent) for guidelines and suggestions.

The client shouldnt scrape on such things, they probably got the land cheap becasue its contaminated, they will cut all the corners they can.

 

[PSlem]

Corrosive effect of asbestos on steel and possibility of hitting boulders, requiring removal and relocation of piles, which might necessitate stricter handling policies would be my concerns.

 

[msquared48]

Exactly...

Screw piling in contaminated land.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[lovethecold]

What about potential settlement of the fill? I would assume this is uncontrolled and may have some voids within it. Or has a geotech looked at the site and been able to quantify this through previous testing and observations during placement of the asbestos and cover?

 

[csd72]

If there was an environmental investigation done then you should look at that to see what type of contaminants are in there - it could be anything.

 

[jnimens]

Helical piles are a great solution. Boulders and obstructions will be much less a challenge than may be obvious. Installation will be very quick and inexpensive compared to all the excavation and compacting or other deep foundations.

 

[jhoulette]

Kind of a late post, but no one really addressed your question, just raised more questions unrelated to the screw piles.
I used screw piles when designing homes above contaminated soil at Stapleton (old airport in Denver). The builder was also faced with how to bag and dispose of contaminated soil.
The screw piles worked great! The screw piles used were a continuous piece of round tube steel, with a welded helix.
Check out

http://www.alpinesites.com

for more information.

Jim Houlette

http://www.EVstudio.us

http://www.evstudio.info

 

[ooox]

Thanks Guys,

The initial responses I've had from screw piling contractors is positive and this has been done before without any problems arising.