France – Greece – Austria – Poland - HPC AG

September 2009 

HPC Envirotec S.A. 

G E Y S E R 

Geologos Ingenieros Consultores 

Our daughters > 

HPC Polska Sp. z o.o. 

HPC Austria GmbH 

The journal of HPC 

HPC Bulgaria Ltd. 

HPC PASECO Sp Ltd. 

Bulgaria – France – Greece – Austria – Poland – Spain

Editorial 

Invitation 

DAUGHTERS AND DAUGHTERS- 

IN-LAW 

The reason I vividly remember the foundation 

of HPC’s first foreign subsidiary is 

that my own son was born just at the 

same time, right at the upper reaches of 

the Ohio River. Inspired by the spirit of 

the pioneers and improvising in every 

respect, we moved into a nine metres 

room which was to serve as office, equipment 

storage and library. In broken 

English we convinced the US Americans 

that finally somebody competent had appeared 

to solve environmental problems. 

Since then, more than two decades have 

passed and the world has changed – and 

with it HPC AG. All who witnessed the first 

international attempts at walking will to- 

2 www.hpc.ag HPC, September 2009 

day surely be amazed when looking at the 

map of Europe on HPC’s homepage: the 

parents didn’t waste their time. 

Well, usually children are not born unintentionally 

and transferred to a company 

this means that there are strategic considerations. 

On the one hand, we fancy a piece of the 

cake to be distributed in developing markets. 

On the other, many competitors have 

the same appetite. To spearhead, we have 

to add some more competitive advantages, 

and there do not exist too many in 

the consulting business. The few of them 

include technology, competence and the 

quality of serving clients. On an international 

level, add aspects of culture and language, 

which may be obstacle and possibility 

at the same time. 

For multinational companies globalization 

already started a couple of decades ago, 

long before it was properly conceived by 

general public. In recent times, worldwide 

environmental awareness, transparency in 

business practices and corporate governance, 

i.e. the ethic behavior of a company, 

have gained more and more importance. 

We can no longer afford to observe 

strict rules in one country and negate 

them in the other. Constraints are also 

Bayerische Wassertage 2009 

November 11 th and 12 th 2009 

http://www.kumas.de 

posed by efforts of purchasing departments 

to restrict the number of suppliers. 

Most clients favor service providers who 

are able to act worldwide on a consistently 

high level and who are familiar with local 

mannerisms. To meet these demands and 

profit thereof, veritable monster consultancies 

have developed. So far, almost all 

of these consultancies failed in integrating 

staff of the most various nations on all 

levels and in trying to evoke team spirit 

characterized by fellowship and communication 

in order to serve clients by maintaining 

quality standards beyond borders. 

For me it seems that HPC has found a 

unique composition by the duplicity of an 

own, European expansion and a partnership 

with Inogen. 

Daughters and daughters-in-law, if you 

want. Both belong to one family. Let us 

hope that all HPC members of staff will 

soon see themselves as part of an international 

company – and that HochProCentig! 

appears in several languages. 

Dr. Dieter Hiller 

Schlumberger Water Services 

France

2 EDITORIAL 

4 HPC AUSTRIA 

5 HPC BULGARIA 

7 HPC POLAND 

9 GEYSER HPC SPAIN 

10 HPC GREECE 

11 HPC ENVIROTEC FRANCE 

13 INFORMATION RETRIEVAL 

What’s your opinion on the subject? 

15 HPC ENVIROTEC FRANCE 

(sequel) 

16 CONTACT ADRESSES 

Imprint 

Table of contents 

HPC, September 2009 www.hpc.ag 

3

HPC Austria GmbH – 

new affiliate in Austria 



Schlossplatz 13 

A-2361 Laxenburg 

LAXENBURG – Since 2006, the HPC 

Group has again been operating in Austria 

with an own subsidiary (HPC Austria 

GmbH). First and foremost the new 

company was founded to serve the MSA 

with BP and the client’s wish to implement 

this agreement with local staff. 

Originally, the founding location of the 

company was Heiligenstaedterstrasse in 

Vienna (as subtenant of the acquainted 

ÖSTAP Engineering & Consulting). However, 

soon we developed a need to grow 

as far as staff was concerned and therefore 

had to look for own and particularly more 

spacious office locations. For infrastructural 

reasons we decided to move to the 

southern outskirts of Vienna (to Laxenburg, 

cf. photo, offices are located on the 

ground floor). 

In the meantime, HPC Austria GmbH has a 

staff of seven specializing in different fields 

of service (cf. photos). 

After our starting phase, where we were 

exclusively occupied with the completion 

of BP projects, we now serve also clients 


Ing. Christian 

Gikopoulos, 

branch manager, 

environmental 

engineer 

Mag. Peter 

Raumauf, MBA 

egsm., geologist 

Bettina Bruckner 

assistant 

HPC Austria 

from other industries: we provide support 

to small landfill operators in implementing 

alternative landfill gas containment concepts 

(passive landfill gas treatment) and 

to filling station operators in monitoring 

compliance with maximum values according 

to the indirect discharge ordinance of 

the Austrian water law. 

End of last year we were awarded the 

contract to carry out the first toxicological 

exposition risk evaluation in Austria on an 

abandoned contaminated site for the 

Dr. Maria dos 

Santos, geological 

scientist 

Dipl. Ing. Rafael 

Smutny, hydrobiologist 

(water 

management) 

Dipl. Geologe 

Bjoern Lehr, 

hydro-geologist 

Lower Austrian Federal Government in 

cooperation with the Federal Environmental 

Agency. 

Assessment of the toxicological 

exposition risk for residents in the 

course of further investigations 

according to §14 ALSAG Austrian 

Act on Remediation of Contaminated 

Sites by TERQ: Toxicological 

Exposition Risk Quantification 

From 1860 to 1924, the project area was 

used for tar chemicals production and 

wood impregnation. After 1945, construction 

activities started on the abandoned 

site. Today, residential houses are located 

on wide areas of the site which have partly 

been built using construction material of 

the former factory facilities. The eastern 

part of the study area adjoins the railway 

station of Angern and is used as storage 

area for sugar beets. The former storage 

areas of wood impregnation in the southwestern 

area are presently used for agricultural 

purposes. 

Mag. Sascha Salek, 

geologist

In the course of investigation carried out 

from 1999 to 2002, massive contamination 

of subsoil and groundwater (mainly by tar 

oils and arsenic) was determined on the 

area of the former tar factory and wood 

impregnation facility. For the first time in 

Austria, an exposition risk assessment to 

determine the toxicological exposition 

risks for residents was to be carried out as 

further investigation. 

Additionally, the results of the assessment 

were to provide for priority classification 

according to §14 ALSAG, the Austrian Act 

on Remediation of Contaminated Sites. 

To evaluate direct and indirect intake of 

contaminants from soil, ground-, surface 

and drinking water, fruit and vegetables, 

all relevant exposure paths are taken into 

account. Target of the assessment is to 

quantify the toxicological exposition risk 

for residents on site and on downgradient 

areas. 

HPC Austria GmbH (in cooperation with 

the R&D Division of the HPC Group) was 

retained by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, 

Forestry, Environment and Water 

Management to carry out this toxicological 

risk evaluation. 

The following investigation phases 

were/are carried out during the project: 

– Evaluation and interpretation of 

existing investigations and detailing of 

investigation measures planned 

– Site visits and interviews to obtain information 

on present use of properties 

in order to define exposition scenarios 

– Planning and recovery of soil, plant, 

domestic dust and indoor air samples 

– Assessment of the toxicological exposition 

risk for residents by TERQ 

The project was planned to be completed 

by 2011. Whether an expansion of the 

investigation site to downgradient areas 

will be carried out has so far not been 

decided. 

Christian Gikopoulos, 

cgikopoulos@hpc-austria.at 

The tar factory about 1920. 

(http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/umweltschutz/altlasten/altlasteninfo/altlasten3/niederoesterreich/n53/) 

HPC Bulgaria Ltd. – the representative 

of HPC at Balkan Peninsula 

Who are we? 

1999 – HPC HARRESS PICKEL CONSULT 

AG is awarded to execute a project, funded 

by the PHARE Program of the EC on 

the Waste Management of radiaoctive contaminated 

water in the former uranium 

production region Buhovo near Sofia, the 

capital of Bulgaria. The project is successful 

and prospects are looking good for 

HPC in Bulgaria, so HPC AG decides to 

establish a subsidiary to act in this promissing 

region of Europe. 

SOFIA – At the end of the year 2000 

HPC Bulgaria Ltd. is born. The company 

starts with only two persons – the General 

Manager Dr. Hanspeter Tomschi and the 

country Office Director Dr. Ljubka Kostova. 

Dr. Kostova will turn out as the company’s 

driving force in Bulgaria. As nuclear 

physicist and one of the most esteemed 

radiation protection specialists she brings 

in her widespread know-how. 

HPC Bulgaria 

HPC Bulgaria performs a flying start: the 

participation in the first tender bid is 

successful. The Bulgarian Ministry of Environment 

and Water assigns the company 

with the provision of technical support in 

connection with the project “Wetlands Restoration 

along Danube River”. 

The Project is inspired by the Ramsar 

Convention and is funded by the World 

Bank. The works are completed in a very 

short time to the full satisfaction of the 

client. 

In the following years HPC Bulgaria grows 

and becomes stronger on this new and 

upcoming market in South-East Europe. 

The Company is active not only in Bulgaria, 

it supports as well the mother company 

and the partners of the INOGEN 

Alliance in Romania, Russia, Aserbeidjan in 

different projects of the EC programms, 

World Bank and multinational clients. 

New E 79 some days before the official 

taking over 

What are we doing? 

A glance in the past ... February 2006 – 

On the newly-constructed road section on 

the E 79, north of Dimovo/Bulgaria, several 

days before the official taking over 

subsidence occurred. The Contractor, an 

established European construction company 

and the Bulgarian authorities were 

shocked. The road is an important connection 

from North to South border of the 

country and the works are funded by the 

European community pre-accession 

program – PHARE. 

HPC, September 2009 



Antim I, No. 53, Et. 4 

BG-1303 Sofia 

Branch manager: 

Dr. Ljubka Kostova 

www.hpc.ag 

5

Nobody from the Bulgarian engineering 

companies is willing to conduct the investigations 

in such short terms and to take 

the responsibility in this case. HPC Bulgaria, 

confident in its own ability, is ready 

to act. Together with the German colleagues 

from HPC Merseburg the Bulgarian 

experts suggested an iterative approach, 

starting with some basic field and laboratory 

investigations and leading to a definition 

of measures, suitable to reconstruct 

the damaged road section. 

In the next four weeks the following 

activities have been executed: 

– Collection and analysis of archive data 

and information 

– Complete geological, engineering 

geological and hydrogeological mapping 

of the region in the surroundings 

of the road fracture 

– Design and execution of an investigation 

program regarding the earth structure 

of the embankment and its 

foundation, humidity content, its degree 

of compaction and ground water 

situation 

– Analysis of the investigation data and 

modelling 

– Elaboration of a report with proposal 

for remedial action 

The recommendations of the HPC experts 

were explicit and realisable, so the road 

could be repaired in a short time. 

And today ... January 2007 – Bulgaria becomes 

a member of the European Union. 

According to the Accession Contract the 

country is obliged to apply the requirements 

of Directive 91/271/EEC concerning 

urban wastewater treatment and the requirements 

of the Directive 75/442/EEC 

and 1999/31/EEC concerning the waste 

management. 

In order to support Bulgaria in implementing 

these so called “investment heavy” EU 

Directives dealing with the water, waste 

water and waste management, the 

European Union starts the Operational 

programme ”Environment 2007–2013” 

immediately after the Bulgarian accession. 


HPC Bulgaria 

In order to support the Bulgarian municipalities 

in applying and executing their 

projects, consultants who are liable to 

solve complex problems regarding the 

water supply, sewerage sector development 

and waste management are highly 

needed. Supported by the colleagues from 

the mother company HPC AG and together 

with the well chosen Bulgarian part 

ners at the moment HPC Bulgaria is executing 

several projects funded by the 

operational programme ”Environment 

2007–2013”. In the following, two of these 

projects are described in brief: 

Dupnitsa waste water treatment 

plant 

Dupnitsa is a municipality with 55,000 

inhabitants situated at the foot of Rila 

Mountain, 70 km south-western of the 

country’s capital, Sofia. The waste water 

treatment plant was constructed at the 

beginning of 80-ies and has been in operation 

for nearly 30 years now. 

Dupnitsa waste water treatment plant 

Due to a lack of money the investments 

during the last 20 years were massively 

reduced. The facility is not only out of 

date, but also in poor condition. It needs 

urgently investments for reconstruction 

and modernization. The new technical 

solutions shall be efficient, in compliance 

with the EC directives, cost and environmentally 

friendly. 

HPC Bulgaria provides such consultant 

services for preparation of a complete 

investment project for reconstruction, 

modernization and enlargement of Dupnitsa 

WWTP, including financial analyses 

and environmental expertise and finalizing 

the investigation results in an Application 

form for funding by the EC Cohesion 

fond. 

Kneja land fill 

The Kneja municipality is located in the 

North of the Balkan mountain and consists 

of the town of Kneja and three villages. 

Kneja land fill 

The population is about 17,000. Up to 

now there is no system for the domestic 

waste management. The only landfill does 

not correspond to the legal requirements 

and shall be closed. The municipally 

needed urgently a comprehensive solution 

for the treatment of the generated solid 

waste and applies for the technical 

support for this issue. HPC Bulgaria is 

awarded to carry out the feasibility study, 

concept development for an integrated 

waste management system, cost-benefit 

analysis, environmental impact assessment 

and the preparation of the application 

form for further investment. Along the 

way, HPC Bulgaria carries out the investigation 

of the existing landfill and will 

propose a cost-effective remediation 

concept. 

HPC Bulgaria has now gained a leading 

position with its highly qualified specialists 

and experience in the sectors water, waste 

water and waste management. Today HPC 

Bulgaria has 14 employees – engineers, 

chemists, biologists, and environmentalists, 

lead by the HPC Bulgaria general 

manager – Geol. Goetz Heckmann and 

the executive director – Dr. Ljubka 

Kostova. HPC Bulgaria is ready to meet 

the highest client requirements in the field 

of infrastructural planning and environmental 

protection. Based on this solid 

foundation we are able and willing to 

support Bulgaria’s efforts to fulfil environmental 

standards specified by EU regulations. 

Ljubka Kostova, 

lkostova@hpc-ag.de

HPC Poland 

HPC Polska Sp. z o.o. – 

innovation and new investments 

WROCLAW – HPC Polska Sp. z o.o. was 

founded in 2007 as a result of the expansion 

of HPC Harress Pickel Consult AG on 

the eastern European market. The company 

has chosen as its headquarters Wroclaw, 

a city open to innovation and new 

investment. The company employs experienced 

and highly qualified workers in 

the following sectors: architecture, construction, 

geology, installation design, 

environmental protection and occupational 

safety. Thanks to this we are able to 

offer our clients a broad range of services, 

including: 

– Comprehensive customer-care in implementing 

industrial investments, 

covering i.a. obtaining suitable construction 

sites, geological assessments, 

geodesic work, design services 

(from presenting a proposal to submitting 

a finished design), obtaining 

relevant permits, making detailed 

drawings, organising tenders and inspections 

by investors and project 

management. 

– Environmental protection services: 

The question of environmental protection 

is encountered at every stage 

of the investment. Our company 

offers assistance in meeting legal requirements, 

beginning with drafting 

environmental-impact assessments 

and preparing applications for the 

following kinds of permit: to emit 

substances into the atmosphere, to 

produce waste, water-law or integrated 

permits; and for the exploitation 

of the investment in accordance with 

legal provisions – pollution measurements, 

calculation of fees for the commercial 

use of the environment, drafting 

of waste records. Beyond this we 

also conduct ecological audits and 

offer consultancy services on environmental 

protection law and environmental 

protection projects. 

– Occupational health and safety (OHS) 

services: 

It is the duty of every employer to ensure 

safe working conditions for their 

employees. Our OHS specialists adapt 

the workplace to conform to formal 

and legal requirements through the 

correct labelling of workspaces, the 

drafting of instructions for evacuations, 

guidelines for emergencies and 

instructions for the safe use of equipment. 

We organise OHS training as 

well as specialist personnel training. 

e.g. on the safe removal of asbestos. 

We conduct occupational hazard analyses 

for particular jobs as well as OHS 

audits. 

IPPC (integrated permit) for the 

market leader in the production of 

buses in Poland 

The provisions of Council Directive 

96/61/EC on Integrated Pollution Prevention 

and Control (IPPC), one of the most 

important acts of European Union law in 

the area of environmental protection, 

largely transposed into the Polish environmental 

protection act, introduced into 

Polish legislation a new legal instrument 

– the integrated permit, an administrative 

decision which is a certain form of licence 

for conducting industrial activity, and subsequently 

a fundamental change in the 

approach to issuing environmental permits, 

which in the past separately considered 

emissions into the atmosphere, noise, 

discharge of waste, radiation emissions 

and waste generation. 

Work is based on gathering essential 

information enabling the drafting of: 

the information and description 

part, containing i.a.: 

a) general information on the subject of 

the application (types of installations, 

their character, production profile, organisational 

and employment structure, 

bodies responsible for environmental 

protection etc.); 

b) characteristics of the installations 

being used (technical characteristics 

of the installations and equipment, 

technology used, variations of their 

operation, energy characteristics, 

technical condition, water consumption, 

types of emissions – into the atmosphere, 

discharge of waste water, 

production of waste, noise, electromagnetic 

radiation, risk of an industrial 

accident occurring; characteristics 

regarding the impact of the plant on 

the environment); 

Site of the plant covered by the IPPC 

permit 

The operational part of the application, 

where the following are described: 

a) ways of preventing and/or controlling 

the impact on the environment (protection 

of the water environment, atmosphere, 

protection from noise, 

protection from encumbrances connected 

with the emission of waste, 

protection from electromagnetic radiation, 

holistic environmental protection 

methods, environmentally safe 

completion of installation and equipment 

operations, monitoring) 

b) the proposed admissible emissions 

and environmental quality parameters 

(proposed: amount of emissions for 

substances introduced into the atmosphere 

and introduced into the water, 

noise levels, intensity of electromagnetic-field 

emissions; proposed quantity 

and types of waste permitted to 

be discharged) 

c) reasoning for proposed amounts of 

emissions (optional) 

d) proposed scope of monitoring and 

reporting 

e) conditions for verifying and amending 

the contents of the permit. 



HPC Polska z o.o. 

Ul. Karmelkowa 34 

PL-53-436 Wroclaw 


Peter Szymanski 

www.hpc.ag 

7

At the stage of drafting the applications 

measurements of the sources of pollution 

emissions into the atmosphere were 

taken, with the aim of specifying the impact 

of the KTL installation on the air quality, 

while noise measurements were taken 

to describe the acoustic conditions around 

the printers. Designated employees from 

the plant provided assistance in work on 

the applications. 

Occupational health and safety 

Out of concern for the safety of employees 

working together with our company 

we organise, besides standard (introductory 

and periodic) training also specialised 

OHS training sessions. These include 

training modules on the safe removal of 

asbestos. 

Asbestos 

This harmful carcinogenic mineral was 

widely used, among other things in the 

production of construction materials, because 

of its technical characteristics, including 

its high mechanical durability, its resistance 

to corrosion and inflammability. 

Law 

The obligation to eliminate asbestos products 

from production and use, imposed 

by the act prohibiting the use of products 

containing asbestos of 19 June 1997 (Polish 

Journal of Laws from 2004, no 3, item 

20), and the duty of safety in removing 

products containing asbestos, stipulated 

by relevant regulations ( Journal of Laws 

from 2005, no 216, item 1824; and Journal 

of Laws from 2004, no 71, item 649), re- 


HPC Poland 

Visualisation Wienerberger planning assignment 

quire companies engaged in dismantling 

materials containing asbestos to ensure 

safe working conditions for their employees. 

These companies, concerned to raise 

awareness for the level of risk resulting 

from the nature of the work, commission 

HPC Polska to conduct specialised training 

for employees. 

Training 

Training sessions are conducted by qualified 

personnel from our company – an 

occupational medical doctor, an OHS 

specialist, a specialist in environmental 

protection – using a high quality of training 

materials, and the training concludes 

with a test of acquired knowledge. Tests 

and the opinions of employers indicate 

that participants in our training sessions 

acquire a high degree of awareness of the 

threats to which they are exposed. 

They are able to perform their occupational 

responsibilities properly and without 

damaging their own health. Over 100 

Polish workers are employed by our 

partner FridayEuroTech (www.fridayeurotech.nl) 

at building sites in Belgium and 

the Netherlands to remove materials 

containing asbestos. 

Comprehensive service for industrial 

investments 

One example of our service in implementing 

industrial investments is the commission 

by the company Wienerberger Polska 

for a building ceramics plant, an investment 

costing around 40 million PLN. 

We were commissioned to compile a 

complete multi-sector documentation to 

obtain planning permission, calculate 

estimates for all sectors, conduct tenders, 

make detailed drawings for all sectors and 

conduct investor inspections during implementation. 

The overall duration of the commission 

comprised two years. 

Peter Szymanski, 

psz@hpc-ag.de

Across the Pyrenees 

creates GEYSER HPC, S.A.U. 

BILBAO – Still in the 60’s of the last century 

the Iberian Peninsula with its two states 

Spain and Portugal was clearly separated 

from the rest of Europe not only due 

to its special geographical location. 

At first, this has slowly changed since the 

introduction of the parliamentary monarchy 

in the year 1978 and since the accession 

of Spain to the EU in the year 1986 

increasingly more rapidly. The influx of 

funds accompanying with the accession 

was mainly used for development and modernization 

of the at that time still very 

backward infrastructure. 

However, in this context, a general 

economic growth that was clearly above 

the European Union average became 

apparent. 

HPC has recognized this development 

early and established the first contacts 

with Spain at the beginning of the 90’ s. 

In June 1992 a regular co-operation with 

the company GEYSER, S.A. of Bilbao resulted 

from that. This office was established 

in summer 1988 by three Spanish geologists 

and was originally engaged with the 

discovery of ore deposits. 

From this co-operation resulted step by 

step the takeover of GEYSER’ s shares by 

HPC, that reached the 100 % portion in 

the year 1995. 

Our team in Bilbao 

GEYSER HPC Spain 

Since then our team has expanded to 

approx. 20 persons by self-growth with a 

healthy mixture of seven different academic 

backgrounds altogether. 

As usual with HPC we are engaged in the 

field of environmental consultation diversified 

over most different ranges, whereas 

in Spain reports on the environmental 

situation of industrial sites are of most 

interest according to the Royal Decree 

9/2005 of January 14th. However, at least 

in 2008, 52% of the sales was generated 

with projects in surface recycling including 

the correspondent investigations of contaminated 

sites, risk analyses and remediation 

monitoring. Contrary to Germany, in 

Spain the deposit technology continues 

gaining in importance, whereas we cover 

the entire HOAI-spectrum from the basic 

collection to the construction management 

and the maintenance after closing of 

the deposit. 

Another issue is the topic quality assurance 

of the landfill sealing by means of geo 

plastics. Especially here we are said to be 

not necessarily the most favourable bidder 

but absolutely reliable. 

Since last year an absolutely new – in our 

opinion promising – business area came 

up for GEYSER HPC, the „LDAR Leak Detection 

and Repair Program“ 

Laying of the bontonite mat 

according to the rule 1173 of the American 

South Coast Air Quality Management 

District. In the frame of this programme 

all potential leaks e. g. flanges, sliders, 

valves, plug valves, caps and other connections 

in chemical factories dealing with 

volatile materials will be identified, numbered 

and finally gauged with the PID or 

FID in order to detect leakages, i.e. gas 

releases. 

Theses measurements are repeated in 

regular intervals, three to four times per 

year, in order to check if the correspondent 

repair work is successful or if 

new leakages developed in the meantime. 

We carry out these measurements on 

behalf of our Inogen partner Delta at the 

Valencia location of an American group 

and we believe that in the near future an 

important market for this service could 

develop. 

By the way, we do know the meaning of 

HPC, but what is actually meant by 

GEYSER? GEYSER stands for „Geología y 

Servicios“, which means to say “Geology 

and Services” in English. The first one has 

become quite insignificant in our profession. 

However we want to continue with 

the second one in the near as well as in 

the remote future. 

Wolfgang Holzwarth 

wholzwarth@hpc-ag.de 


G E Y S E R 

Geologos Ingenieros Consultores 

HPC Spanien/Bilbao 

Avda. Iparraguirre, 

80 1° Dcha. 

E-48940 LEIOA 

(Vizcaya) 


Wolfgang Holzwarth 

www.hpc.ag 

9

Integrated Water Resources Management 

of the water district of Aegean Islands 

HPC PASECO Sp Ltd. 

HPC Griechenland 

22, Kykladon 

GR-11361 Athens 


Demetres Economides 

DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL 

POLICY ACCORDING TO WATER 

FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE 

ATHENS – During the period 2003-2008, 

the HPC PASECO participated in the project 

“Development of Systems and Tools 

for Integrated Water Resources Management 

of the water district of Aegean islands 

– Development of Regional policy 

according to Water Framework Directive”, 

which was an innovative project about integrated 

water management in the Aegean 

Islands of Greece. 

The project aimed at the development of a 

dynamic tool that would enable to: 

– Register, analyse and model all the relevant 

data of the water resources (hydrology, 

hydrogeology, water demand, 

and water quality) both at spatial and 

thematic level. 

– Calculate the water balance of the 

present and future status 

– Develop water resources management 

scenarios taking into account and 

assessing the economic activities, under 

the scope of sustainable use 

– Introduce and assess new data 

through all of its functions, setting 

new management scenarios 

– be expanded, supplemented, modified 

and adjusted according to the requirements 

of its users and the current 

qualitative and quantitative data, 

both at spatial and thematic level 

– Integrated Management System (DSS) 

at Water Basin level. 

In order to be implemented all the aforementioned 

activities a Database and GIS 

application was developed. Data such as 

topographic (level curves, digital terrain 

models, land uses, road networks, main 

settlements, etc), geological (geological 

formations, etc), hydrogeological (hydro 

geological formations, etc), hydrological 


HPC Greece 

(main rivers, lakes, water basins, etc), 

environmental (protected areas, etc,) 

and other were incorporated in the GIS 

application. A large number of maps 

(mainly of hydrographic network, water 

quantity and quality, as water balance and 

demand) including all data collected were 

prepared and submitted to the Ministry 

and the Prefectures. 

The aforementioned tool capabilities allow 

the Ministry of Development and the Prefectures 

to set up a regional and further a 

national strategy on the rational management 

of water resources and support all 

the necessary actions, including the future 

ones, rising from the Water Framework 

Directive (2000/60/EC). 

The project’s tasks were as follows: 

– PHASE A included collection and 

assessment of relevant studies and research 

data, collection, reliability control, 

selection and filling of primary 

data regarding natural systems (meteorological, 

climatic, geological, hydrological, 

and hydrogeological), as 

well as identification and presentation 

of existing monitoring networks and 

the qualitative and quantitative parameters 

of the hydrological cycle. 

– PHASE B included analysis of the 

infrastructure and uses. Registration 

of all economic activities taking place 

in the study area, description of works 

exploiting water reserves which serve 

the aforementioned activities and 

analysis of their operation. Within this 

frame, the water demand for irrigation, 

supply, pisciculture and the 

maintenance of environmental balance 

were assessed. 

– PHASE C: in this phase the management 

tool was developed. The results 

from PHASES A and B were introduced 

and simulation models for each 

island or for a whole block of islands 

were developed. The models simulated 

the spatial distribution of qualitative 

and quantitative characteristics of 

water demand and supply at each 

notable focal point of the study area 

and their continuous interaction. 

Finally the model was adapted to current 

conditions and its set-up was 

performed. 

– PHASE D included the assessment 

of economic scenarios (according to 

WFD 2000/60) which were the basis 

for analysing the policy for managing 

the water resources. The economic 

model analyses and calculates the 

economic result for each application 

of the management model. The development 

and assessment of scenarios 

and measures followed, as well as 

their future capacity. 

Finally, the Consultant proposed the 

institutional restructuring of the involved 

entities (regional units), human resources 

development proposals and training of 

their personnel, as well as dissemination 

measures for the best comprehensibility of 

the model among the public and other 

interested stakeholders. 

The Consultant also developed a web-site 

presenting the project and supported the 

authorities for the s/w managerial tool for 

at least 24 months after the project’s 

completion. 

Demetres Economides 

dec@hpc-paseco.gr

HPC Envirotec SA in France: Factory 

of Innovative Ideas and Applications 

INNOVATIVE INVESTIGATION, 

EVALUATION AND TREATMENT 

OF VOC AND CrVI CONTAMINA- 

TION IN CENTRAL FRANCE. 

RENNES – Since a couple of years, HPC 

Envirotec SA in Rennes, France has been 

developing as HPC Group’s R&D Division’s 

Headquarter , in particular in cooperation 

with HPC Duisburg (Ms. Hintzen/ 

R&D) and HPC Freiburg (Mr. Schöndorf/ 

R&D). Management products such as 

TERQ, Toxicological Exposure Risk Quantification 

have been developed by HPC 

Envirotec SA for worldwide legal context 

and application in order to evaluate contaminated 

land, contamination of buildings 

or to determine exposure risks of emissions 

or product applications within the 

scope of the EC REACH regulation. 

TERQ (= QHRA: Quantitative Health Risk 

Assessment) can for example also provide 

remediation target values for site-specific 

multi-substance contamination which are, 

from an economic point of view in respect 

of remediation cost, mostly much more 

interesting than maximum values of generic 

tables such as the limit values of the 

German Soil Protection Ordinance, BBod- 

SchV or German LAGA-GFS (threshold 

values for groundwater). HPC Envirotec 

SA applies TERQ for industrial facilities, 

real estate firms, municipalities and authorities 

all over the world, such as in France, 

Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Israel, 

Russia, U.K. or in for ex. Austria for the 

Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), etc. 

Furthermore, HPC Envirotec SA has developed 

standards for comparative feasibility 

studies on groundwater remediation 

which include potential applications of 

Monitored or Dynamized Natural Bio- 

Attenuation mainly in combination with 

modern biotechnologies (M & DNBA), in 

order to provide cost-efficient but legally 

safe alternatives to traditional remediation 

methods. HPC Envirotec SA assumes the 

management for such projects all over 

HPC Envirotec France 

HPC Envirotec SA branch 

Europe and mainly in Germany and 

France. By the way, Natural bio-reactors of 

contaminant degradation exist in the subsoil 

on both sides of the Rhine and of 

course far beyond. 

HPC Envirotec SA additionally specializes 

in the management of problems of the 

special chemical and military chemical 

industries, for example thus, large-scale 

projects on abandoned military sites were 

successfully completed in France, Russia, 

Israel, etc. for e.g. the French Government, 

the European Union or the Japanese 

Government. 

HPC Envirotec’s Research fields include 

the management of health risks by physical, 

chemical and biological environmental 

factors (radiation, chemicals, bacteria, 

viruses...), such as Research Projects 

realized for the French authorities InVS, 

AFSSET, DDASS, etc. or for the French 

Ministry of Research for e.g. projects of 

toxic risks by marine and coastal contamination. 

The following project reference 

shows the approaches presently applied 

by HPC Envirotec SA.: 

Construction activities on the respective 

site already commenced prior to World 

War II. The main production history with 

all its modifications, remodeling, forgotten 

facilities, historic accidents does not begin 

until the 1950ies. The site used to serve 

(and still serves today) for metal processing 

and treatment as well as for the 

assembly of various mechanic and electromechanic 

units. 

Just in time with the industrial site history, 

chlorinated hydrocarbons were used en 

masse (up to 30 tons per year) for surface 

treatment. At the same time, significant 

quantities of chrome VI were also applied 

for chromating. The hazardousness of 

these substances to groundwater and 

human health was only recognized in the 

early 1980ies. 

Site investigations started in 2004 by 

historical research: review of all existing 

relevant sources of information on production 

history. At that time, there did not 

exist sufficient information on geological 

and hydrogeological settings. 

In a first „limited“ investigation phase, 

3 groundwater monitoring wells were 

established at depths of 40 to 60 m into 

the limestone encountered in the surroundings 

of the potential contamination 

centers determined by the historical research. 

Lots of others followed. There was 

a “big surprise” when significant groundwater 

contamination by chlorinated 




21, rue du Tertre La 

Chapelle des Fougeretz 

CS 46833 

F-35768 Saint-Grégoire 

Cedex 

Thomas Grauf, manager 

R&D department 

Dr. Frank Karg, 

President CEO (PDG) 

of HPC Envirotec S.A. 

and Scientific Director 

of HPC Group 

www.hpc.ag 

11

Laboratory test to 

improve microbiological 

contaminant 

degradation 

Result of the electric resistance tomography 

hydrocarbons and chrome VI was determined. 

Due to the historical background 

however the result could have been forecast. 

Two contamination sources were determined. 

In the course of time, the network 

of monitoring wells was expanded 

and today there exist about 20 groundwater 

monitoring wells with construction 

depths between 40 m and 120 m in order 

to contain VOCs which possess a tendency 

to descent through the aquifer due to 

their higher density than water. The 

groundwater aquifer extends to depths of 

300 - 500 m over several occasionally 

highly fissured limestone formations. 

A crucial factor for the distribution of the 

contaminants dissolved in groundwater is 

the existence of two deep wells on site 

serving for the recovery of groundwater 

for cooling processes. Until 2006, about 

300,000 m 3 of groundwater were recovered 

per year. The pumping cone produced 

helped to fix the contaminant plume 

more or less on the site. However, contaminant 

concentrations in groundwater 

could not be significantly decreased. 

By reducing by 80 % the pumped water 

quantities collected to about 55,000 m 3 per 

year, i.e. from averagely 35 m 3 /h to 7 m 3 /h, 

the situation slowly began to change and 

concentrations in the area of the contaminant 

plume increased in the central areas 

of the contamination centers, but the 

contaminant plume extended only slightly 

because of fracture and Karstzones. 

The first phase of the investigation program 

recommended by HPC Envirotec 

included a Toxicological Exposure Risk 

Quantification (TERQ), as already implemented 

by us since several years as standardized 

service for human-toxicological 



risk evaluation of environmental contamination 

(contaminated sites, etc.). It was 

important to obtain a realistic evaluation 

of the health risks as impact from the 

groundwater contamination to the staff 

employed on site and for residents located 

in the downgradient area of the site. 

Considering the multi-substance aspect 

(existing „contaminant cocktail“), acceptable 

concentrations for tolerable risks for 

human health could be determined for 

various, existing and potential exposition 

scenarios for the site and its downgradient 

area. An additional advantage of TERQ was 

that the remediation targets could be 

Contaminant plume in limestone aquifer 

determined according to the specific site 

use, allowing maximum legal and financial 

safety for operator, user and authorities. 

This approach allows optimum management 

of remediation costs with simultaneous 

exclusion of non-acceptable, toxic 

long-term risks. 

The transparency delivered for the health 

risks posed by the site (in this case restricted 

to the site) enabled us to elaborate a 

detailed investigation program in cooperation 

with competent authorities and site 

operator in order to better evaluate processes 

occurring in subsoil and to find alternatives 

for the traditional pump & treat 

remediation (option considered by the 

authorities), which was applied as standard 

procedure during the 1980/90ies. 

This procedure, however, was in many 

cases disappointing (mainly for VOC contamination 

by chlorinated solvents) both 

from an economic point-of-view and as far 

as efficiency was concerned. 

Our experience of the last years with innovative 

ENA methods has proven that 

there exist alternatives to pump & treat. 

In October 2008 HPC Envirotec started to 

implement a feasibility study for the application 

of dynamized natural bioattenuation 

(DNBA study) or enhanced natural 

attenuation (ENA). 

The task schedule elaborated by 

HPC Envirotec comprised the 

following Methodology: 

1. Site investigations to obtain exact 

knowledge of the geological, tectonic 

and hydrogeological situation in the 

limestone aquifer. Prior to the start of 

investigations, diametrically opposed 

groundwater flow directions had been 

assumed as well as the existence of 

underground rivers with jointing and 

karstification. 

2. TERQ (= QHRA) 

3. In-situ and laboratory testing in the 

course of the Natural Bio-Attenuation 

feasibility study in order to determine 

the potential application of various 

methods for dechlorination of the 

VOC (TCE, PCE, etc.) plume and to 

convert chrome VI to inoffensive, precipitable 

chrome III. 

4. Implementation of in-situ pilot tests 

with the two most efficient treatment 

methods of pre-testing. 

In detail, implementation of the four 

investigation phases was ensured as 

follows: The first in-situ investigation 

included implementation of traditional 

gamma-ray logs in all boreholes. The 

results were correlated with the first 

existing boring profiles and indicated that 

a tectonic disturbance ran diagonally 

across the entire site. The horizontal 

stowage amounts to about 20 m. Now it 

was possible to interpret more precisely 

the slightly irritating map of the groundwater 

flow situation dominating the site 

and its surroundings. 

Understanding by combining. Acting by 

purpose. 

continued on page 15 ...

first name/last name: 

company/department: 

street/zip-code/city: 

phone/fax/e-mail: 

Please inform me about ... 

Please send me additional information about ... 

via e-mail via fax via postmail zu: 

branch: ............................................................ 

Information retrieval 

via fax +49 9080 999 289 

Site recycling Infrastructure planning Environmental consulting 

Contaminated site investigation & remediation Landscape planning Environmental impact assessment 

Toxicological risk assessment Urban development planning Corporate environmental protection 

Demolition Geotechnical consulting Due Diligence 

Deposits Waste management Environmental real estate assessment 

General contractor Water management Information systems 

BUSINESS 

SHOES 


www.hpc.ag 

13

via fax +49 9080 999 289 

» 

What do you expect from a customer magazine? Subjects you are interested 

in.We hope we were on the right track so far - but one never knows .... 

How do you like HochProCentig? What could be improved? We wonder whether 

you could help us a bit: just fill in this form and fax it back to us. Many thanks in 

advance for your ideas! 

very interesting interesting moderate rather uninteresting totally uninteresting 

Of course an engineer checks whether 

his ideas are successfull. Why should 

that be different at a costumer 

magazine? I’m curious about the result …« 

Yours sincerely, Harvey 

14 www.hpc.ag HPC, September 2009

It was possible to recognize two different 

geological units on site which collect 

groundwater and thus dissolved contaminants 

on site in a kind of huge drainage 

channel and discharge them into the 

downgradient area. To check and confirm 

these assumptions, a total of five different 

geophysical investigation methods was 

applied in order to eliminate lacks of information 

concerning the subsoil situation. 

Methods applied included geo-electric resistance 

methods, such as horizontal and 

vertical resistance tomography, mise-à-lamasse 

(charged body potential method), 

induced polarization and geo-electric cylinder. 

The measurements included the site 

area and allowed to confirm and detail 

the assumptions made. 

The short-term pumping tests, temperature-conductivity 

logs and flow measurements 

carried out simultaneously in selected 

monitoring points allowed to determine 

the various productive horizons within 

the heterogeneous limestone aquifer. 

All information and data collected provided 

for a first three-dimensional impression 

of the subsoil settings and helped to 

identify in particular the relevant zones of 

contaminant transfer in the aquifer. A 

„geo-electric“ tracer test currently carried 

out flow directions serving for the identification 

of prefered groundwater movements, 

as flow directions and speed. 

Presently, we consider to process geological 

and hydrogeological information obtained 

by a 3-dimensional modeling program 

originally used by the petroleum industry 

for fractured rocks and only this 

year tailored for environmental and contamination 

problems in order to reduce 

existing uncertainties. The goal is, to draw 

up a conceptional model of the subsoil 

pollution migration which could be 

applied in the course of in-situ tests or for 

the purpose of later groundwater modeling. 

The investigations planned by the second 

investigation phase in preparation of the 

intended DNBA treatment of the contamination 

included the following actions: 


Together we are strong. 

– Groundwater sampling for physicalchemical, 

microbiological and ecotoxicological 

analyses, 

– Application of microbiological passive 

samplers for recovery of biomass, 

– Implementation of tests for the feasibility 

study such as genetic tests by 

PCR for DNA sequences of the key 

enzymes of PCE and TCE degradation 

of autochthon bacteria, 

– Isotopic fractioning for quantification 

of present degradation processes and 

degradation rates within the principal 

aerobic situation existing presently, 

– Verification whether the microorganisms 

existing locally will be able to 

reduce chrome VI to chrome III and 

to entirely degrade VOC under the 

existing aerobic conditions when an 

electron donator is added (use of vegetal 

oil-nanoemulsion planned). 

If the biological VOC (TCE, PCE, etc.) degradation 

was insufficient or incomplete 

due to the lack of certain bacteria, for 

example, a bacterial consortium, a special 

microbial consortium with „dehalococcoides 

restrictus, multivorans and ethenogenes“ 

would be added to investigate the 

entire microbiological degradation process 

of VOCs (including vinyl chloride) to ethene. 

Furthermore, it would also be possible 

to apply lacking electron acceptors. 

TCE contaminant plue 

The target of this N(B)A feasibility study, 

which next year will be further developed 

by in-situ pilot tests, is focused on the improvement 

of the DNBA method applied. 

Verification and evaluation of the method 

applied will then be carried out during 

pilot tests in the two identified contamination. 

The aim of these innovative investigation 

methods presented and the remediation 

methods planned is to find an alternative 

to traditional and expensive groundwater 

treatment methods as pump & treat. 

Special interest was also paid to the toxicological 

exposition risk quantification 

carried out, which allowed us to determine 

site-specific remediation target values 

in preparation of the project, which provide 

maximum legal safety for the site responsible 

without having to resort to 

lower quality targets such as for drinking 

water production (similar to German or 

French thresholds). 

Tectonic disturbance running diagonally 

across the site 

Our experience gained from other project 

sites by application of innovative investigation 

and remediation measures makes us 

confident that together with the competent 

authorities and the client we will 

finally find and apply an optimal costbenefit 

solution also for this complex site. 

Thomas Grauf 

R&D-Department 

t.grauf@hpc-envirotec.com 

Dr. Frank Karg 

President CEO of HPC Envirotec and 

Scientific Director of HPC Group 

frank.karg@hpc-envirotec.com 

September 2009 

www.hpc.ag 

15

Contact adresses 

Imprint 


Schlossplatz 13/1 

A-2361 Laxenburg 

Tel.: +43 22367 10898-30 

Fax: +43 22367 10898-11 

Contact: Christian Gikopoulos 

cgikopoulos@hpc-austria.at 

HPC Bulgaria EOOD 

Antim I, No. 53, Et. 4 

BG-1303 Sofia, Bulgaria 

Tel.: +359 298693-50 

Fax: +359 298693-51 

Contact: Dr. Lubka Kostova 

lkostova@hpc-ag.de 


Ul. Karmelkowa 34 

PL-53-436 Wroclaw 

Tel.: +48 713643031 

Fax: +48 713643031 

Contact: Peter Szymanski 

psz@hpc-ag.de 

Edition 09/2009 

HochProCentig is published three times 

per year and is a production of HPC 

HARRESS PICKEL CONSULT AG. 

The purchase is free. 

Circulation: 

2000 pcs 

Holding and publishing: 

HPC HARRESS PICKEL CONSULT AG 

Marktplatz 1, 86655 Harburg 

Phone: +49 90 80 99 90 

info@hpc-ag.de 

16 www.hpc.ag 


INTERNAL 

HPC PASECO SP Ltd. 

Kykladonstr. 22 

GR-11361 Athens 

Tel.: +30 210 8258203 

Fax: +30 210 8258209 

Contact: Demetres Economides 

dec@hpc-paseco.gr 

HPC Envirotec S.A. (Evry-Paris) 

315 square des Champs Elysées 

F-91026 Evry Cedex 

Tel.: +33 1 60 91 34 44 

Fax: +33 1 60 91 34 45 

Contact: Dr. Frank Karg 


HPC Envirotec S.A. (H.Q.) 

21 rue du Tertre 

La Chapelle des Fougeretz CS 46833 

F-35768 Saint-Grégoire Cedex 

Tel.: +33 299 1314-50 

Fax: +33 299 1314-51 



HPC Envirotec S.A. (Lyon) 

15 Boulevard Marius Vivier Merle 

F-69003 Lyon 

Tel: +33 472 681094 

Editors: 

Dr. Joachim Knuepfer, 

Petra Wiedemann (HPC AG) 

Layout: 

Anders Bjoerk GmbH 

Hafenstraße 33, 23568 Luebeck 

Print: 

Donaudruck 

Bahnhofstraße 40, 86663 Baeumenheim 

HPC Envirotec S.A. (Aix-Marseille) 

350 avenue de la Lauziere 

14 parc du Golf 

Espace Cezanne 

CS 90519 

F-13593 Aix en Provence Cedex 3 

Tel.: +33 442 1635-39 

Fax. +33 442 1635-09 



GEYSER HPC, S.A.U. 

Plaza Pere San, 13 2º 2ª 

E-08190 St. Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona) 

Tel.: +34 935441-146 

Fax: +34 935441-224 

Contact: Dr. Wolfgang Holzwarth 


GEYSER HPC, S.A.U. 

Avda. Iparraguirre, 80 1º Dcha. 

E-48940 LEIOA ( Vizcaya) 

Tel.: +34 944632-333 

Fax: +34 944632-477 

Contact: Dr. Wolfgang Holzwarth 


NEXT EDITION: 

Unbuilding contaminated 

structure

France – Greece – Austria – Poland - HPC AG

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?