INTRODUCTION
REASONS FOR DOING THIS STUDY
This BCC study was prepared to provide an in-depth analysis of the technology, markets, and future outlook of the soil remediation equipment industry. As waste disposal costs rise, soil remediation technology is becoming an increasingly popular cleanup alternative for environmental consultants and property owners alike. This BCC report focuses on the major technologies utilized by the environmental industry for the remediation of impacted soils and sediments, and describes and forecasts trends in related markets.
Specific technologies examined include bioremediation, soil vapor extraction (SVE), physical separation/handling, off-gas treatment (as it specifically relates to soil remediation), thermal extraction, soil washing/flushing, thermal destruction, encapsulation, solidification/stabilization, chemical treatment, electrokinetics, and various novel technologies. Attention is also given to rapidly expanding foreign markets.
HISTORY OF THE MARKET
The emergence of the waste treatment industry in the United States is inextricably linked to the birth of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 1970. Over the last 28 years, the economics of environmental protection and mitigation have been driven in large part by the shifting regulatory and political climate at both the Federal and State levels.
Of particular note is the inception of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the 1980s, which placed the liability for cleanup costs squarely on the shoulders of potential or confirmed polluters. In this respect, the gpolluter pays?Easpect of RCRA has undoubtedly served to promote private sector development of new remediation technologies. However, the role of environmental engineering/consulting firms in the development and fortunes of the technology sectors of the remediation industry cannot be discounted as a major driving force.
The remediation of contaminated soils in particular has developed largely in response to spiraling disposal costs, as property owners and their consultants have struggled to find cost-effective alternatives to traditional excavation and disposal, also known colloquially as ghog-and-haul.?E
Further impetus was added to the emerging soil remediation technology industry via the passage of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to RCRA in 1984. HSWA placed stringent restrictions on the disposal of wastes by banning the land filling of hazardous substances and requiring waste pre- treatment prior to disposal.
In recent years, however, growth in the soil remediation technology industry has slowed somewhat, due to the reticence of labor-heavy consultants to out-source cleanup work to third party technology vendors (discussed in greater detail later in this report). Overall, however, the future of soil remediation technology as a method of reducing the volume and cost of waste disposal appears to be a bright one, especially with respect to the burgeoning of international markets from Latin America to Asia.
METHODOLOGY
The current study focuses primarily on 11 soil remediation technologies, employed throughout the U.S. market. Emphasis has been placed on the manufacture and development of equipment and closely related services, rather than on general professional services. In this respect, care has been exercised to eliminate from examination large consultants that specialize in providing labor and/or the implementation of the technology manufactured or developed by third party vendors.
Thus, this study has been carefully focused on soil remediation technology alone. Market analyses included herein provide estimates of current market size and projected market growth of specific technologies. Additional information is provided on only those off-gas treatment technologies that tend to be specific to soil remediation methods, and on various novel treatment technologies.
INFORMATION SOURCES
Information used in the compilation of this study was gathered from a wide variety of primary and secondary sources. Primary sources consisted chiefly of in-depth telephone interviews that were conducted with select technology vendors. Secondary sources varied widely and consisted of corporate financial reports and SEC filings, electronic market databases, printed and on-line company literature, technical journals and industry publications, government statistics and publications, third party financial and corporate profiles, and patent-related searches.
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