From 2006-2008 I worked as a Project Scientist at S2S Environmental Inc, where I contributed to a range of environmental due diligence projects, with a primary focus on Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs). These assessments play a critical role in identifying potential environmental liabilities associated with a property and are often required by financial institutions, developers, and municipalities as part of real estate transactions and redevelopment planning.
I conducted field inspections and extensive archival research to assess whether potentially contaminating activities may have occurred on or near a property. This involved analyzing historical aerial photographs, fire insurance plans, city directories, and topographic and geological maps to trace the environmental history of a site. I also reviewed PCB inventories and worked directly with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) to verify the presence, status, and regulatory compliance of underground and aboveground fuel storage tanks, investigating factors such as installation history, leak records, and decommissioning documentation.
Using AutoCAD, I produced technical drawings to map key environmental features, such as tank locations and site boundaries, and drafted key sections of ESA reports used by clients to support property acquisition, environmental compliance, and redevelopment strategy.
While my primary role centered on Phase I ESAs, I welcomed opportunities to broaden my knowledge. I was fortunate to observe and supervise fieldwork for in-situ remediation—a process that involves treating contamination in place without excavation. At one such site, I oversaw the injection of glycerol into a grid of boreholes, learning how glycerol serves as a carbon source to stimulate microbial degradation of contaminants in soil and groundwater. This experience deepened my understanding of the full environmental site assessment and remediation cycle, from investigation to restoration.
This role sharpened my skills in environmental research, technical writing, and geospatial analysis. It also cultivated my curiosity and adaptability—traits that have continued to shape my interdisciplinary approach to complex problem-solving in later work.
Alisa Acosta 