EnSafe is the company to turn to when perchlorate contamination is an issue. EnSafe was at the forefront of developing cost-effective technologies to remediate perchlorate contamination in soil and groundwater. We accomplished what was believed to be impossible in 1998. Since then, we've improved upon our precedent-setting work for the U.S. Navy, further enhancing and refining our proven methods.

• In Situ Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs)
• In Situ Passive Bio-Borings
• Ex Situ Fluidized Biological Reactors
• Ion Exchange

Perchlorate: A Nationwide Environmental Problem

The historical use and disposal of perchlorate at defense and other manufacturing sites poses a real threat to drinking water supplies across the U.S. A 2005 National Academy of Science review of previous and ongoing studies suggests ingestion of perchlorate-contaminated water endangers the thyroid gland, disrupting its function.

The threat is due to these factors:

• Perchlorate is extremely stable and very mobile in surface water and groundwater, which allows it to persist for decades under natural conditions, with little or no degradation.
• Conventional treatment technologies (physical and chemical) are usually either difficult or prohibitively expensive.
• The issue of what drinking water concentration is safe has yet to be addressed.

Remediation Success

EnSafe, a pioneer in successful biological treatment technologies, developed a cost-effective solution for remediating perchlorate in groundwater through in situ bioremediation, becoming the first to remediate soil biologically in a full-scale operation. The following timeline illustrates EnSafe's rapid development and implementation of its ingenious and innovative technology.

• Early 1999 , EnSafe successfully treats perchlorate-contaminated groundwater and soil on the bench by using economical, natural, slow-release organic additives to sustain biodegradation for extended periods.
• Fall 1999 , EnSafe begins biological pilot-scale in situ studies in cutoff trenches using common carbon material to convert groundwater conditions from aerobic to anaerobic biological conditions , as a result indigenous bacterium begin breaking down perchlorate to below laboratory detection limits and clean up standards
• Fall 1999 , Full-scale soil remediation successfully completed.
• Fall 2000 , EnSafe develops and begins a 12-month pilot test using a gallery of borings as the in situ organic delivery system.
• Summer 2002 , EnSafe begins pilot-testing in situ biological PRBs
• Fall 2002 , Based on early successful results of the PRBs, the Navy decides to fully implement PRBs by installing 4,500 feet of in situ biological trench
• Fall 2004 �� The Navy funds work to install an additional 8,500 feet of PRBs; work is currently in progress

EnSafe is acknowledged as the industry leader in In Situ Perchlorate Bioremediation. Our cost-saving and innovative efforts won these awards:

• Secretary of the Navy Award for Environmental Cleanup
• Chief of Naval Operations Award for Environmental Restoration
• Engineering Excellence Grand Award for Remediation of Perchlorate Contamination

EnSafe has presented numerous papers at multiple conferences at the request of the National Ground Water Association, Battellle, and the University of Massachusetts. EnSafe's accomplishments also were featured in an article on perchlorate bioremediation in the January 2004 issue of EPA's "Technology News and Trends" newsletter.