Enpar contracted to remedy arsenic-contaminated water
2006-09-27 09:45 ET - News Release
Dr. Gene Shelp reports
ENPAR OBTAINS CONTRACT FOR REMEDIATION OF ARSENIC-CONTAMINATED WATER FROM ABANDONED MINE
Enpar Technologies Inc. has entered into a service contract with the Department of Indian and Northern Development (DIAND) to complete phase one laboratory testing of the DesEL system to remediate arsenic-contaminated water from an abandoned mine.
In the late 1990s, DIAND assumed ownership of several abandoned mines, some of which have issues related to arsenic in water. Enpar hopes to become the company of choice to treat all these sites.
Phase one will continue for two months and culminate in a report that describes the results and provides an overview of a full-scale water-treatment plant, as well as in a presentation to a technical advisory committee in Ottawa in early November.
Following a successful phase one, management anticipates that follow-up phase two on-site pilot testing will occur at a DIAND-owned mine site, and that a successful phase two will result in a commercial full-scale installation.
Enpar believes that its DesEL system is cost-effective and superior to any other known treatment for arsenic-contaminated water, and has the potential to yield many contracts for the remediation of arsenic-contaminated water at mine sites around the world.
As previously reported (see news in Stockwatch on Feb. 1, 2006), research conducted by Dr. Sofia Garrido of the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua (IMTA), a research arm of the Mexican federal government, demonstrated that the DesEL system is extremely effective for treating groundwater containing arsenic.
That success was confirmed in April, 2006, during an independent third party evaluation process conducted by Dr. F. Bilek of Grundwasserforschungsinstitut GmbH Dresden, of Dresden, Germany.
Dr. Bilek reported that the DesEL system reduces arsenic in surface waters from an initial concentration of 450 parts per billion to less than 10 parts per billion (low analytical detection limit), which corresponds to greater than 98-per-cent removal of arsenic. The continuing independent study is testing the effectiveness of the DesEL system to treat various waste waters.
