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North of the train station in Näfels lies the operating site of Fritz Landolt Immobilien AG. Covering more than 3 hectares of land, it has been used by the textile industry for over 200 years.


The Cantonal Department of Waste, Water, Energy and Clean Air (AWEL) recently issued its intermediate report about the contaminated site program for the Canton of Zurich.


The OPA (Objective Polyglot Apprenticeship) Foundation is currently constructing a new residential and training building at Leutschenbachstrasse 75, which is intended to house up to 60 adolescents and young adults.


Good indoor air quality reduces the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infections.


The subsoil of this industrial site contains highly-chlorinated hydrocarbons (tetrachloroethene) contamination. The pollutants extend all the way down into the groundwater-saturated zone (8-17 m and deeper). Due to the depth of the contamination, it was decided that it would be preferable to use in-situ remediation.


An environmental due diligence for a company transaction typically includes reviewing the environmentally relevant aspects of a company’s operations, focusing on the risks of substrate contamination, as well as a review of the legal environmental requirements, with the aim of identifying any associated costs risks.


The hot and dry summers over the past five years have resulted in a water shortage for many Alpine operations in the Canton of Freiburg, with some now relying on water deliveries by the Swiss army.


As part of the “Conversion and extension of Wetzikon Hospital” project, extensive construction work with an investment volume of approximately 250 million Swiss francs is being carried out between 2018 and 2025. The first stage involved dismantling various adjoining buildings in order to create space for the planned extension.


Management change in the Ecosens Contaminated Sites Division: Melanie Vögtli and Lars Schudel took charge on 1 July 2020 and will share this task.


Environmental building management (EBM) and pedological building management (PBM)

In order to improve traffic safety, a new access road to the N1 in the direction of Zurich is being built in Lenzburg. A new ramp will be built for this purpose, which will be mainly located in a wooded area.


In the past, many buildings were erected using substances hazardous to health such as asbestos (until 1990), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) (until approx. 1976) polycyclic aromatic carbohydrates (PAC) (until approx. 1990) or heavy metals. The majority of these building pollutants do not pose an immediate risk during ongoing use. However, this changes when the materials are processed or dismantled. Inappropriate dismantling or conversion poses an immediate risk of releasing large amounts of asbestos fibres or other pollutants.


Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental building management (EBM)

The currently largest run-of-the-river power station under construction in the Alpine region is being built in the Unterengadin valley near Martina without much public attention. The investment is more than 600 million euros. Switzerland participates in the two-state project by owning 14% of shares in Engadiner Kraftwerke AG (EKW). Construction work has been underway for 6 years. Commissioning is planned for 2023.


Environmental building management (EBM) and pedological building management (PBM)
The Federal Roads Office ASTRA is currently implementing a wildlife bridge over the N1 between the Suhr and Gränichen municipalities. The AG6 wildlife corridor is one of the most important in Switzerland. The new wildlife bridge is intended to connect the Alpine foothills with the southern slopes of the Jura mountains and might contribute to bringing back Red Deer to the Jura mountains.
 


In June 2019, the Office for Waste, Water, Energy and Air (AWEL) published new enforcement support for the investigation and assessment of air as a legally protected good at contaminated sites. The enforcement support specifies the procedure and the investigation methods for determining air pollution in affected inside spaces. Last year, Ecosens AG  carried out initial investigations based on this procedure and was able to collect valuable practical experience.
 


PFAS is a group of industrial chemicals that includes approx. 4700 substances. They are organic compounds in which hydrogen atoms were replaced by fluorine atoms. Perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanic sulfonic acid (PFOS) are the lead substances of the PFAS class of compounds.

More New suspicion of old contamination: the PFAS group of chemicals


From 1946 to 1975, the City of Zurich among others deposited waste in the Weiningen and Unterengstringen areas of the Hardwald forest. This created one of the largest landfill sites in the Canton of Zurich.


Ecosens is still there for you!

In times of the ubiquitous coronavirus and the related disease COVID-19, we would like to inform you that Ecosens has taken all necessary measures to ensure our services as far as possible and to protect the interests of our customers.


Radon measurements and radon-safe construction

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is present in the ground. Leakage into the building envelope can cause radon to infiltrate buildings and accumulate inside of them.


Company triathlon 2019 in Zurich

With three highly motivated teams the Ecosens started the company triathlon 2019 in Zurich last Saturday, 20 July. Exhausted and happy, all the teams have achieved a great performance at high temperatures.


Flood protection project

Contaminated materials were solubilised during the work as part of a flood protection project on the left bank of the Navizence in Chippis (VS).


Construction site visit by the United Nations

onstruction site visits by the United Nations Site remediation in Switzerland often takes place in the smallest spaces in residential areas. Experts from Nigeria looked at an example of such decontamination work in the middle of June 2019 during training in Switzerland, which was organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).


Ecosens visits the Nagra deep borehole in Bülach

A delegation from Ecosens AG visited the Herrenwis drilling site of the Nagra deep borehole in Bülach on 19 June 2019.


BAFU study on “Success factors impacting on implementation in various environmental sectors”

In recent decades, implementation in the various environmental sectors has varied a great deal. Although there are environmental sectors with successful implementation, there are others with major implementation deficits.


Radon measurements in schools and pre-schools

An amendment of the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StSV, SR 814.501) is supposed to ensure that the Swiss population - and especially children - are better protected.


bike to work is an efficient and cost-effective way to promote health and team spirit in your company. This year Ecosens will start with several teams to get fit for the summer.


Dual handovers at Ecosens. Two long-term divisional heads started their retirement at the beginning of 2019. Early planning ensured that competent successors could be found.


This year’s Hönggerberg 2019 contact meeting was a great success at ETH and was well attended. Our local team consisting of Julia Hunziker (project member for contaminated sites) and Tino Pandiani (project manager for hazardous materials in buildings) were supported by Andrea Zimmermann (Marketing) and Thiago Biolley (trainee). They advised and informed interested parties. It was a popular and interesting event and we are looking forward to next year!


If you are thinking of buying property, you should consider the potential environmental risks to avoid any unpleasant post-purchase surprises. The magazine “Fokus Rechtsguide”, published by the Tagesanzeiger Group, interviewed Lorenz Lehmann of Ecosens AG.