Claim OwnershipBelow the Surface
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© 2024 Gunnar Haid and James Hammond
Description
Casual chats between an Austrian and Australian on environmental topics that usually don't get talked about openly.
Hosts Gunnar Haid and James Hammond set out to provide a light-hearted and thought-provoking look into Contaminated Land, Resource Recovery, Ecology and general environmental issues in Australia, in particular NSW. They use their experience and industry connections to talk about subjects that, at least in their opinion, don't get talked about enough or not in the right context. Join them for a chuckle and some unique perspectives.
And don't forget to keep track of your listening experience. It is official, listening to Below the Surface collects CPD points at a rate of 0.5 points per hour of listening (self education category).
Contact: bts@4pillars.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/company/below-the-surface-podcast
The necessary disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this Podcast are the speakers’ own. They do not necessarily represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of 4Pillars Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd or any Client, Supplier or other party related to 4Pillars or the speakers.
(c) Gunnar Haid and James Hammond
21 Episodes
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Can eco-friendly plates and food containers made from sugarcane mulch sneak in some hidden PFAS? And can that PFAS end up in your compost, and eventually your garden soil? Cara Roberts and David Springer did the dirty work (literally) to find out. Gunnar and James couldn't wait for them to come onto the podcast and present the scoop. Tune in to hear what they uncovered! Oh, and this time there's no "Gunnar's gone rogue" segment. In fact, he's eating a slice of humble pie after a listener...
Grey Areas and Loopholes – Where to Draw the Line? This episode dives into the murky waters of our industry's "grey areas", or, if we are re being honest, loopholes. From VENM (Virgin Excavated Natural Material) issues to Council demands for auditors in a gotcha move, to James's creative methods for getting trial waste recycling facilities approved, and even the use of silica gel to clean up tank pit samples - these are some of the fine lines or thin ice areas we navigate in the environmental...
In a fictitious world where electricity reigns supreme, Gunnar has "invented" a revolutionary engine that uses ... wait for it ... petrol! That’s right, in this universe, electric engines are the norm, and Gunnar is pitching this wild idea of a new type of engine to a venture capitalist, skilfully played by James. We’re taking a detour from our usual lineup of site contamination, waste streams, asbestos scares, and blood lead levels. Instead, Gunnar and James are stepping into the world ...
A re-think of the classic Preliminary Site Assessment => Detailed Site Assessment => Remedial Action Plan scenario. Guest Andrew Kohlrusch, EPA Auditor and contaminated sites expert extraordinaire, joins Gunnar on an excursion to explore a more bespoke way to assess contaminated sites from the initial stages to the final remediation report. Of course the two veer off into their private lives first and discuss a Billy Joel Maddison Square Garden concert, whether dinner with David Bo...
Australia's landscapes are in serious need of an injection of TLC (Tender Loving Care, not some dyslexic chlorinated hydrocarbon). TLC and a bit of money. $7.3 Billion per year over 10 years to be more precise, according to a recent report published by The Wentworth Group.Our Guest is The Wentworth Group's Prof Mike Grundy, a former Research Director, Soil and Landscapes with CSIRO, and an Adjunct Professor with the University of Sydney. We discuss what is currently going wrong with Australia...
Measure lead levels in blood of house sparrows and accurately predict lead blood levels in children in that town. No way? Absolutely YES WAY! That is exactly what Prof Simon Griffith with his PhD candidate Max Gillings have achieved in one of their recent papers. From the outside it is all so easy. Go to an area with known high lead impact (towns like Broken Hill or Mt Isa come to mind), catch a few hundred sparrows, take a blood sample from each sparrow (non-destructively by the way), analys...
How can young (female) professionals tackle the flood of knowledge they must acquire in a fast-paced consulting environment while at the same time having to deal with sometimes perceived but too often real disapproval by established good old boys in meetings or on construction sites? How can you tackle the ever niggling self-doubt? How can you become more like the you you want yourself to be?Hailey Spry from Easterly Point Environmental, a DESI (that’s Queensland’s EPA) Accredited Contaminate...
The EPA names and shames a consultancy for allegedly falsifying reports. Meanwhile clients are beginning to use legal privilege as a strategy to avoid potential subpoenas — just as we anticipated in The Power Grab.On a positive note, thanks to The Policy Predicament (yay!), the EPA has made a change to their website, now featuring all policy and regulatory updates in one easily accessible location. Kudos to the EPA!Gunnar and James take the opportunity to talk about ethics, morals and integri...
We are thrilled to host Andrew Doig from the Australian Sustainable Business Group, who brings a wealth of knowledge on waste services and legislative review. Andrew guides us through the labyrinth of waste management and landfill approval, focusing on the pressing issues in New South Wales. From the Lucas Heights extension to the Woodlawn mine approval, we dissect the challenges of expanding waste facilities amid the pervasive NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentality. Learn the crucial differen...
There are few people who know more about the Resource Recovery Framework than this episode’s guest, Jason Scarborough. Jason had worked with the NSW EPA for almost 20 years where amongst other things, he was involved in the development and implementation of the initial Resource Recovery Framework. Four years ago he founded JS Regulatory Services. That framework has undergone a number of independent reviews and many recommendations have been made. Implementation of those recommenda...
This week’s guest is environmental consulting superstar, Ross McFarland. He shares his thoughts on whether samples we take are actually representative of the site conditions. Is a 250 ml soil sample that is obtained with all our best intentions, a minute 5 g of which is then analysed, actually representative of a large area or of a large volume of soil? Have you ever stood in front of a massive stockpile of soil and wondered how in the world and from which part of the stockpile you will ...
Get prosecuted by the EPA and found guilty, get fined several hundred thousand Dollars and make $1.5 Million profit out of that whole scenario. If that sounds too much like fiction and Ocean's 11-ish, then listen into this episode. Many years ago James was involved in a big EPA investigation surrounding the Bowral Landfill. Gunnar and James talk about how James got involved in that investigation what happens when you are a key witness in such a high flying casehow that aff...
Bond Villains, Broke Parents and Asbestos in Soils Assessments: A Wild Ride with Pierina OtnessGunnar and James are back with another high-flying guest on their podcast! Somehow this episode feels very James Bond-ish.Scene 1: The Asbestos Assessment AuthorityGunnar and James, sit down with none other than Pierina Otness - the undisputed authority on asbestos in soils (ASBINS) assessments. Scene 2: James vs. James BondGunnar feels that James needs an introduction worthy of 007. Scene...
The changed PoEO Act - way more than just increased penalties.Gunnar and James found themselves in the company of not one, but two lawyers. While that usually is not a good thing no matter how you look at it, this time it’s not about courtrooms and objections, but it’s about environmental law. Darren Bick and Daniel Webster, Environmental and Planning Lawyers extraordinaire, joined the two for a chat about recent changes to the Protection of the Environment Operations Act.Now, chatting about ...
Part II of the interview with Canadian Chemical Processes Expert Paul Martin. In case you have missed it, in Part I Paul talked us through the, rather inconvenient facts about hydrogen as a means to export energy for Australia and why that is a rather far fetched idea. Here is a link to Part 1 of the interview. In this episode Gunnar and James talk about:The best uses for hydrogenHow we will best decarbonise our livesWe learn about carbon taxes and how Canada has implemented them quite s...
Gunnar and James are talking to Paul Martin, a Canadian Chemical Process Development Expert and tireless advocate for a fossil fuel free future. This first part of a two-part episode looks into whether the claims that Australia has a future as a new energy provider to the world via Hydrogen exports are based on reality or wishful thinking. Paul Martin calls a lot of it #hopium - that should give you an indication of what Paul will be presenting.Link to Part 2 of this chat.Reach Paul at h...
Our guest on this episode is Dr Adrian Heggie. Over the past decade Adrian has developed an amazingly simple method for the delineation of sub-surface hydrocarbon plumes (chlorinated or not) by measuring the aboveground concentration these plumes cause. His method is fast, accurate, inexpensive and most of all, does not require any invasive ground work. If you think this sounds too good to be true, this chat will convince you otherwise.Adrian showcased his research at the recent Chlorinated H...
In this episode, we delve into the question of dangers lurking in unsuspecting areas like our backyards and public parks. Join Gunnar and James as they discuss with researcher Ana Serra the findings of her study into asbestos exposure from seemingly mundane activities like lawn mowing or soil disturbance during landscaping or Council maintenance work. How many respirable fibres get released when a lawn mower drives over bonded asbestos fragments on the surface of a site? What...
James twisted Gunnar's arm and convinced him to record a podcast about issues around policies in the environmental industry. Why does the EPA quietly make updates to definitions but does not tell anyone about it? Why are there 'internal policies' that are not written down that the EPA and some local governments enforce willy nilly. Why is there no central spot for policy updates in our industry?They also talk about proposed changes to the POEO Act (and before you get all excited, it is not wh...
Sydney is still in the grip of an asbestos panic. In this episode we sit down with Philip Hibbs, one of the ultimate OH/S and asbestos experts in Australia. We chat about what he calls "Mulchgate", the actual risk to humans posed as a result, other risks humans are exposed to, we bag all sorts of regulators and organisations for their lack of leadership and we are having a fair bit of fun doing so. Find out lore about Phil Hibbs at https://hibbs.com.au/ and https://au.linkedin.com/in/phi...
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