New Turcot complex: the challenge of contamination management Available to Purchase

At the heart of the Turcot reconstruction project, the Turcot rail yard, which has hosted railway activities for more than a century, has a long contamination heritage, mainly due to oil spills and backfilling episodes when fill materials were put over lacustrine deposits. The remediation of the site relies on a risk analysis allowing contaminated soils and non-hazardous materials to be maintained in place. Over 4·3 Mm³ of fill materials, including burnt coal residue, parts of which are contaminated, will need to be excavated and managed for the construction of a new complex in accordance with the objectives of a risk analysis and the requirements of regulatory agencies. The data correlation analysis between soil composition and levels of contamination, the development of databases and algorithms allowing extrapolation of chemical data to uncharacterised materials and the volume calculation all helped add environmental value to the project from its design to its construction including its regulatory framework.