AECOM

AECOM is a multi-armed engineering consultancy corporation based in the US but owning smaller companies in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East. The company states that its major areas are providing "design and management services in the transportation, facilities, and environmental markets through a family of operating companies. AECOM also offers specialized services to the operations and maintenance, mining and power, and international development assistance sectors." 

AECOM has a branch dedicated to US government services (AGS), which includes joint projects with the US Department of Defense.

AECOM also claims it has been involved in assisting "regions in need of democracy, governance, humanitarian, and other support." It also includes "peace building" amongst its "skills." "Our broad-based consulting services include assistance with public administration, municipal finance, political transition, humanitarian response, and peace building."

AECOM manages the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, along with Northrop Grumman, CH2M Hill, and Nuclear Fuel Services.

Involvement in the Toxic Sludge Industry
AECOM traffics in toxic sludge. In the company's own words, "We are experts in water, wastewater, water resources, watershed concepts and wet weather." Wastewater treatment plants produce a growing and continuous mountain of hazardous waste, i.e. sewage sludge.

Sewage sludge, often called by the Orwellian euphemism of "biosolids" chosen in a PR contest by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in June of 1991, can contain such hazardous chemicals and pathogens as Dioxins and Furans, Flame Retardants, Metals, Organochlorine Pesticides, 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (DBCP), Naphthalene, Triclosan, Nonylphenols, Phthalates, Nanosilver, and thousands more substances. Gasification-- using sludge to generate methanol or energy by anaerobic digestion-- is described by the EPA's Hugh Kaufman as the "most environmentally sound approach" to the disposal of toxic sludge, "but also the most expensive." It leaves behind, however, a reduced volume of "biosolids" which, although pasteurized by the high temperature processes of anaerobic digestion, still contain the other contaminants. This toxic sludge is then packaged and sold as "fertilizer" or spread directly on local crops.

Exhibitor at 2011 BioCycle 11th Annual Conference on "Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling"
AECOM was a participant at the 2011 BioCycle 11th Annual Conference on "Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling." BioCycle Magazine is a publication serving the interests of the sewage sludge industry.

One of AECOM's project directors is Jay Kemp, who, according to his biography in the conference program, "has 30 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment, having worked for a public utility, consulting engineers and an equipment manufacturer. . . . He was the 2005 recipient of the WEF George I. Schroepfer Medal for Innovative Wastewater Facility Design." WEF is the sewage sludge industry's main trade, lobby and public relations organization, with over 41,000 members and a multi-million-dollar budget that supports a 100-member staff.

Kemp spoke on a panel about "Codigestion At Wastewater Treatment Plants" at the conference. His segment was entitled, "Janesville (WI) WWTP [(Waste Water Treatment Plant)] Embarks on Multiple Uses for Biogas." The Center for Media and Democracy attended the panel.

According to Kemp, the newly updated Janesville plant has a design capacity of 19.8 million gallons of sewage a day to serve a population of more than 60,000. It uses an activated sludge process incorporating biological nutrient removal (BNR) and a thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion process. The city is purchasing several vehicles that will run on the gas harvested from the process. Eventually, he said, they would like to "retrofit the biosolids hauling and spreading trucks to CNG as well." He mentioned no plans to dispose of the toxic sludge remaining after the digesting process in a safer manner.

According to a 2009 press release, "AECOM is. . . helping state and municipal authorities in Wisconsin revitalize valuable resources suffering from degradation, including projects in Racine, Appleton, and Fond du Lac." (Coincidentally, the sewage sludge industry refers to the processes of using heat, chemicals and bacterial treatments to detoxify 42 percent of sewage components as "biodegradation.") AECOM has six offices in Wisconsin.

Related Companies
AECOM-related companies include:
 * AGS
 * Austin AECOM
 * CTE
 * DMJM Aviation
 * DMJM H&N
 * DMJM Harris
 * EDAW
 * ENSR
 * Faber Maunsell
 * Maunsell (Aus/NZ/Asia/MidE)
 * Maunsell AECOM (Hong Kong/China)
 * Metcalf & Eddy
 * PADCO
 * TCB
 * UMA

Contact Details
555 South Flower Street, Suite 3700 Los Angeles, California 90071-2300 USA Phone: 1 213 593 8000 Email: info AT aecom.com Website: http://www.aecom.com Contact Form: http://www.aecom.com/Contact+Us

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Toxic sludge
 * Toxic Sludge Portal
 * Bassett