Marc Garcia has been with LITOCLEAN for nearly seven years. He began his career as a technical assistant, then became a project technician, followed by the position of project manager. He is now the new head of the company’s Remediation Department.

How are you facing this new appointment as director of Remediaciones?
It is a very important challenge because you go from having a mentality focused on specific projects to covering the totality of work currently managed by the department.
I am grateful for the trust that LITOCLEAN has placed in me throughout my evolution process and I start my new position with a great desire to continue growing and to continue working side by side with my colleagues in a line of continuous improvement.
How many soil and groundwater remediation projects are managed simultaneously at LITOCLEAN?
The number is currently around 60. A remediation project goes through several phases: first, the research department carries out a study of the subway environment, defining the degree of affection, quantifying the risk for the environment and for human beings, in toxic and carcinogenic terms. In addition to other circumstances, when a situation of unacceptable risk to human health is defined, environmental improvement work must be undertaken to mitigate the situation. Once this basis is established, the actual remediation process begins, with an initial study, establishing the guidelines to follow for the implementation of a complete remediation system, appropriate to the particularities of the site.

From that moment on, pilot tests are carried out to define the physical and chemical properties of the subway environment and, consequently, to size the most appropriate methodology and equipment. One of the challenges to be overcome when designing a remediation system is the need to adapt to the intrinsic conditions of the site to be treated, which are often places where some industrial activity takes place, a fact that makes it essential to adapt the remediation work to the client’s own needs, interfering as little as possible in their work activity. After these steps, we start the civil works, the implementation of the remediation system and the periodic monitoring of the decontamination process. The duration of the project, in general, can vary from one to five years, depending on the type of pollutant, the affected area, the characteristics of the subsoil, etc.

One of the great challenges of soil remediation is emerging contaminants. What are they and how is their treatment approached?
Emerging compounds are a great challenge in our sector, since they imply a limited knowledge both in their behavior in the subsurface environment and in the most effective methodologies for their treatment. Among them are microplastics, antibiotics, PFAS…
As an example, we currently have two projects focused on one of these emerging pollutants, 1,4-dioxane. In these cases, complementing our own experience and knowledge, as well as the different studies we carry out internally, to learn more about it (and others), we work with the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council ITRC, an international institution of great renown in the field of contaminated soils. In the near future, these compounds may become an emerging problem at the state level and in this way, we are able to anticipate in order to be able to provide accurate answers and solutions.
The industry is moving towards greener and greener remediation. What techniques is LITOCLEAN currently working with and what are their benefits?
Within the company’s standards, internally we have an ecological mentality that is growing and, for example, we have implemented the application of solar panels in some of our remediation equipment so that part of the electricity consumption has a natural and renewable origin. In terms of methodologies, we are developing and applying a large number of bioremediation systems, such as bioaugmentation, which tries to inoculate more microorganisms into the environment, or biostimulation, which tries to accelerate the bioremediation process. In this way, we manage to discard techniques that could be considered more aggressive for the subway environment and, at the same time, we avoid the generation of waste and favor the circular economy.
What are LITOCLEAN’s short- and medium-term objectives?
One of the most important is to continue in this line of continuous improvement with the application of sustainable and environmentally friendly methods, which we want to expand within the Spanish state, but also beyond its borders. It is also of great importance to continue working in the process of knowledge of emerging contaminants in order to be able to give a precise response and be prepared for any situation.