Environmental Assessment at Chemical Plant Saturator Tank

Fieldwork does not always mean open sites and easy access.

Recently, CSR’s team completed an environmental assessment project at a chemical plant, working inside a saturator tank used to prepare brine. Periodically, the tank is taken offline so residual salt material can be cleaned out before the process resumes.

The task was to characterize the residual material to support safe removal and disposal planning.

The fieldwork required working inside the saturator tank to collect representative samples of the material. Piping beneath the solidified material was not visible, requiring careful sampling to avoid damaging infrastructure. The plant also had strict health and safety protocols and controls in place, including lockout procedures to keep the operation offline and respiratory protection requirements due to the use of chlorine gas at the plant.

Not glamorous work, but necessary nonetheless.