EPA, other federal agencies, tap OCCU-TEC to test water quality at their facilities

SITUATION: The U.S. General Services Administration, charged with managing and supporting the basic functioning of federal agencies, had numerous entities needing regular water assessment, including:

• A large federal complex in St. Louis, Mo., that now houses offices but was once the site of an ammunition plant.
• Daycare facilities located within GSA-managed buildings
• The Environmental Protection Agency, the very entity in charge of overseeing the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule.

SOLUTION: Each entity needed a distinct plan of action, so OCCU-TEC’s environmental consultants tailored plans accordingly.

• Because of its history and the complex’s age, the GSA proactively had drinking water at the former ammunition plant sampled twice a year through several large buildings. The aggressive biannual sampling method allowed OCCU-TEC to quickly identify numerous sources with elevated lead/and or copper concentrations requiring corrective action.
• OCCU-TEC sampled water at all daycare facilities in the specified region. The OCCU-TEC team knew transparency was critical for parents who entrusted the government with their children’s safety and well-being.
• The Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 tapped OCCU-TEC to sample water in one of its large laboratories. OCCU-TEC collected samples for lead, copper, iron, pH and volatile organic compounds, finding elevated copper in several out-of-use drinking fountains. OCCU-TEC then devised an action plan to eliminate the copper from the fountains.

RESULTS: In each case, OCCU-TEC efficiently evaluated the water sources and developed practical, common-sense remediation approaches, including component replacement, additional filtration, and routine line maintenance.