As part of the work programme 2016-2017 of the societal challenge 5 “Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials” (SC5) of the Horizon 2020 framework programme, the European Commission intends to open calls for large-scale pilot/demonstration projects. 

The following areas are targeted:

• Systemic eco-innovation for a circular economy
• Climate services
• Nature-based solutions
• Water

This call for ideas for pilot/demonstration projects is intended to:

• help identifying which research and innovation areas attract most interest from innovators and innovation users and
• stimulate developers and providers of innovative solutions to engage in projects of greater ambition in terms of scope, scale and impact.

Deadline to submit your ideas – 28 February 2015. For more information, click here to submit your proposal>>>

The Environment Department at the University of York is now looking for organisations who are interested in hosting students on Year in Industry placements from July 2016. 

Students entering into a Year in Industry placement will have just completed their second year of study and must have achieved an overall average of at least 55% to remain on the Year in Industry programme.  Host organisations could of course add additional stipulations in their placement job description.

They are also looking for organisations to host shorter work experience placements (4-12 weeks) for students of the Environment department to run over the summer vacation.  At present we are looking for placements for 2015 that would need to run between 22 June - 25 September 2015.

CL:AIRE will be attending and supporting the UK's largest geoscience department geocareers event on Wed 4 March at Plymouth University.

CL:AIRE staff will be representing the contaminated land and brownfield management sector in general. We will be aiming to encourage new recruits in to the discipline.

If your company or organisation is looking to recruit graduates, CL:AIRE would be pleased to help present these opportunities on the day. 

Please make contact with nick.willenbrock@claire.co.uk to discuss further.

CL:AIRE is pleased to announce that three more ADVOCATE bulletins are now ready to download, with the others to follow over the next few months. 

CL:AIRE’s ADVOCATE bulletins describe practical aspects of research which have direct application to the characterisation, monitoring or remediation of contaminated soil or groundwater.

• ADVOCATE Bulletin 6 (written by Oksana Coban)>>>
  Nitrogen biotransformation in horizontal subsurfaceflow constructed wetlands treating contaminated groundwater
• ADVOCATE Bulletin 7 (written by Natalia Fernandez de Vera)>>>
  Vadose zone characterisation at industrial contaminated sites
• ADVOCATE Bulletin 8 (written by Lukasz Cieslak)>>>
  The plume fringe: a zone of increased potential for biodegradation in contaminant plumes

The finalised notes of the JIWG meeting held on 5 November 2014 have now been uploaded onto the dedicated web page: www.claire.co.uk/asbestos and can be downloaded directly by following this link>>>

From 1 January, Steve Edgar, a Director of Vertase FLI, succeeded Mike Summersgill as the Chairman of CL:AIRE's Technology and Research Group (TRG) after Mike's three year tenure.  The TRG provides independent strategic peer review, support and technical steering functions in support of CL:AIRE’s activities.
 
At Vertase FLI, Steve guides the remediation team through the more challenging remediation sites the UK has to offer. He initially cut his teeth as a geologist for a consultancy working on a variety of remediation projects in the nineties during the founding years of the remediation industry.

He has spent most of his career in remediation contracting, designing and implementing in situ and ex situ remediation projects on sites ranging in size and complexity from petrol forecourts to tar and chemical processing plants.

Steve has tackled some of the trickiest sites remediation wise, in the UK and for some of the most demanding clients. Professionally he has a passion for good science coupled with practicality which stands him and Vertase FLI in good stead within the industry.

Would you like to learn about the CL:AIRE Definition of Waste Code of Practice and learn how to reuse soils and excavated materials as a non-waste?

The next course will be on the 24 February in London. For more info and bookings follow this link >>>

CL:AIRE is delighted to announce it is running three workshops in association with the project consortium partners that developed the Category 4 Screening Levels (C4SLs) on the following dates:

For further details and to download the PDF flyer click here>>>

SAGTA has announced its intention to support the next phase of C4SL development and has written to a number of organisations inviting them to join a Steering Group in order to provide oversight of the initiative.

By inviting a number of organisations to join the new Steering Group, SAGTA hope to derive more C4SLs for approximately 50 further compounds. The aim is to freely disseminate this information to industry. 

SAGTA have provided substantial investment, and are now asking other industry bodies to invest in developing the C4SL initiative. These funds will support the necessary toxicological study works, and also allow for a dedicated Project Manager whose role will be to link the Steering Group and the C4SL production team. This coordinated approach will drive the development of this initiative, and achieve the delivery of further C4SLs.

For further information on the initiative, letter inviting industry to participate and press release, please follow the link: http://www.sagta.org.uk/Activities.html

This is a reminder to download your copy of the “LNAPL illustrated handbook”, published in December 2014. It is already one of CL:AIRE’s most downloaded publications, so get your free copy at www.claire.co.uk/LNAPL (PDF 17MB)

The LNAPL illustrated handbook presents best-practice guidance for the assessment and remediation of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) in the subsurface.

LNAPLs notably include fuels and oils, for example petrol (gasoline), diesel and heating oils, and are amongst the most commonly encountered organic contaminants in the subsurface environment due to their ubiquitous use, accidental release and, perhaps, poor (historical) disposal.

Central to the handbook and the management of risks posed is the development of conceptual models of LNAPL behaviour in common hydrogeological systems.

The production of the LNAPL illustrated handbook was funded by Shell Global Solutions (UK) and supported by the Environment Agency.