Science, Technology and Engineering

Environmental Geoscience

Graduates

Danny McDonald

Consultant, Lane Piper

I completed my Environmental Science undergraduate degree in 2000 and went straight on to do an honours project on the chemistry of Arsenic. After taking a year off to do various bits of work, I returned to brave a PhD, looking at the geochemistry of Acid Mine Drainage (ARD) treatment sludge. The project involved creating several batches of ARD treatment sludge and analysing them to see if I could identify changes to reduce the environmental impact of long term storage of the sludge. I enjoyed the practical and applied nature of the research.

After completion of my PhD I accepted a job with a small environmental consultancy, Lane Piper. My work involves site investigations of potentially contaminated sites in Victoria. I am an assistant to an EPA-appointed Environmental Auditor, who conducts audits of sites with contaminated soil and groundwater for the purpose of issuing Certificates or Statements of Environmental Audit. I have worked on projects including: a service station where groundwater remediation is in progress (Noble Park, Vic), remediation of an electro-plating works contaminated with chromium-VI (South Melbourne, Vic), acid sulphate soil site (Seaford, Vic), a phosphoric acid manufacturing plant (Yarraville, Vic), a remediation site with arsenic in soil and groundwater (Spotswood, Vic), geochemistry and "area of impact" of a high profile landfill, assessing impact to groundwater from a gold mine (Stawell, Vic) and excavating a landfill (with maximum reuse of material) for commercial/residential development (Burwood, Vic).