WSP USA assisted Forest City Washington and the General Service Administration (GSA) with all facets of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and District of Columbia (D.C.) Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) compliance for the renovations of the 1918 Pattern Joiner Shop building. The building is part of the Yards waterfront mixed-use redevelopment project located in the heart of Washington, D.C.
The site has impressive views of the riverfront, Nationals Baseball Park and Capitol Hill and a long industrial history dating back to the early 19th century, including use by the U.S. Navy to manufacture naval guns and ships’ boilers. Industrial uses resulted in soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and petroleum.
WSP was retained to undertake building material characterization, abatement management, waste characterization and reporting.
Conducting a detailed building inspection allowed our team to characterize paint and hazardous building components revealing painted surfaces throughout the building contained lead and PCBs. Additional hazardous material identified included asbestos containing materials (ACM) and PCBs in electrical and HVAC components. Findings from the inspection were used to develop a hazardous materials abatement work plan that was submitted and approved by EPA. The work plan also included perimeter monitoring of construction dust and contaminants of concern to prevent offsite migration. WSP also prepared a lead-based paint (LBP) abatement plan in accordance with DDOE requirements as the building was being converted to residential use.
The work plans detailed the procedures to remove the hazardous materials, monitor the abatement, manage the waste, and collect clearance confirmation samples. LBP abatement methods included chemical removal and abrasive sand blasting. We provided monitoring at the project boundary to demonstrate that the abatement work did not present any risk to the general public.
Through daily monitoring of the work practices, containment construction and post abatement cleaning procedures, WSP demonstrated to the EPA and DOEE that the environmental work was successfully completed. The EPA issued a “No Further Action Letter” and the DOEE issued a project completion letter. We provided the developer with the technical assistance necessary to revitalize a historic industrial building into a “lead-free” modern mixed-use building.
