By Anna Guy
Sanexen Environmental Services has 30 years of experience solving environmental challenges for private and public-sector clients. With the best and brightest scientist, engineers and specialized technicians in the industry, Sanexen are leaders in the ever-evolving complexity of contaminated site remediation and water main rehabilitation science.
Sanexen’s unparalleled expertise and technologies are tailored around its clients’ various environmental issues.
For residential, commercial and industrial developers, as well as with engineers and architects involved in land planning and development, meeting stringent environmental regulations is always the first priority, and they turn to Sanexen to implement specific water, soil, sediment and residue treatment measures. The team’s 475 employees assist companies and organizations dealing with contamination issues to determine the lowest-cost solutions that are best adapted to their needs. Sanexen also relies on its partners and subsidiaries—Niedner, Sanexen Water, Fer-Pal, Avataani Environmental and Qikiqtaaluk Environmental—to support and respond to clients’ evolving needs.
Designing Innovative Solutions
When the closure of a copper smelter in Timmons, ON, presented the challenge of dealing with three ponds work of acidic water with a high zinc concentration, Sanexen designed, installed, and operated a water treatment system on site. (The Solution? It involved a continuous feed of lime slurry produced on-site and more than 10 kilometres of pipes to pump the raw water and lime slurry to the treatment pad and discharging treated water into the tailings management area.)
But not all projects enjoy the benefit of preparation time, such as the case when Sanexen was called in to assist with the Lac-Megantic rail disaster. Sanexen worked in close collaboration with the Government of Quebec, the municipality of Lac-Mégantic and other contractors present to provide professional services under extremely difficult circumstances.
Jennifer Guyot is Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety and Continuous Improvement for Sanexen. “We were on site within 36 hours,” says Guyot. “Sanexen quickly mobilized to treat water, setting up mobile treatment units with Sanexen ULTRASORPTION ® technology,” says Guyot. More than 43 million litres of liquids were treated for clean water discharge into the Chaudière River.
Each remediation as a unique project for our team, with all possible options are systematically evaluated before being proposed to the client, says Guyot. “Most of the technologies that we apply we have developed in house.” Sanexen complements its services with complete toxicological risk assessment services and has successfully completed several hundred studies to the satisfaction of our public and private clients in Quebec and across Canada. In the last ten years, Sanexen has grown its footprint, with projects in remote areas like the remediation of a former air force landfill site in Goose Bay, Labrador, to projects in Hudson Bay, to Kitimat, B.C.
Innovative Water Technology – Aqua Pipe
Environmental Services is only one half of Sanexen’s services: The company also has a pioneering water main liner design under the name of Aqua Pipe®. Composed of a polyurethane membrane, inner jacket, and proprietary resin, and designed with the same principals as standalone pressure pipe, Sanexen designed a structural line for potable water mains that allows for easy main rehabilitation without the cost and downtime of a full replacement.
“Whereas previously the only solution to a broken water main was to dig and replace, Aqua Pipe® allows the pipe to be fixed with minimal disruption, less cost, and less time,” says Guyot. Municipalities have sought out Aqua Pipe for precisely those reasons—in the past 15 years, over 1500 km of Aqua-Pipe has been installed in more than 250 municipalities across North America for the rehabilitation of water main using a cured-in-place trenchless technique. Aqua-Pipe was used to eliminate leaks and prolong the service life of the city’s water distribution network by more than 50 years.
Culture of Commitment
“The Sanexen team prides itself on a Balance between stability, growing our niches and working in that and continuing to develop globally,” says Guyot. “What is unique for us is the family bond between Logistec and Sanexen—we share one vision. It’s a huge point of pride how close knit the company is, and how focused our collective vision is.” Logistec Corporation has been listed on the TSX since 1969 and is a leading terminal operator in North America providing specialized services to the marine community and industrial companies.
In 2017, Logistec President and CEO Madeleine Paquin was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for her unique role in leading innovation in supply chain practices and environmental protection, two major drivers of change in the Canadian economy. “This appointment reflects the hard work that has been done over the years and the strong leadership behind the Logistec team.”
Sanexen’s commitment to environmental services has propelled the company to leaders in its field. With completed contracts totalling more than a billion Canadian dollars in the environmental and water main rehabilitation fields, the company is a vital component to the success of Canada’s resource and industrial sector.
