Frederic Cosme (Melbourne/Victoria) is a Principal Engineer with more than 20 years of experience in environmental consulting and hydrogeology. He is adept at converting scientific outcomes of investigations into practical remedial engineering designs and outstanding risk-based results clients across Australia (NSW, QLD, SA, VIC and WA), Continental Europe, and North America.  His focus is on the manufacturing and oil and gas sectors, as well as former gasworks. With extensive experience with fractured rock systems and coastal sites or sites adjacent to surface water, Fred has advanced the state of the practice by pioneering innovative groundwater tracing and remediation techniques, including environmental forensics.

Fred’s expertise includes conceptual site model development, hydrogeological assessments, remedial feasibility assessments, remedial pilot tests, groundwater risk assessments, landfill rehabilitation as well as groundwater resources and management.

SPECIALTIES

• Conceptual Site Model Development
• Groundwater Assessment and Remediation
• Fate and Transport Studies and Modelling
• Groundwater and Surface Water Interaction
• Applied and Environmental Tracers

SELECTED AUSTRALIAN PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Major Smelting Facility, Port Pirie SA, Australia. 
Technical Director for the development, design and implementation of management measures for mitigating metal impacts to groundwater. The site covers about 180 ha and has been in continued operations for over 130 years.  The main works included hydrogeological and geochemical characterization including innovative fluorescent dye tracer testing, conceptual site model supported by geochemical modelling, numerical flow and transport groundwater modelling and river hydrodynamic modelling, detailed design of a dewatering system and ecological risk assessment using diffusive gradient in thin films (DGTs).

Chemical and Explosive Manufacturing, Deer Park VIC, Australia.
Groundwater Manager/Lead Hydrogeologist for the remediation/ divestment/ redevelopment of a chemical manufacturing site in Australia where operations started in the 1870s. The site covers an area of about 140 hectares, which is underlain by a 50m sequence of fractured basalt. Groundwater is mainly contaminated with chloronitroaromatics, chlorinated solvents, perchlorate and nitrogen. Presence of DNAPL. Major performed tasks have included: Management of hydrogeological assessment/groundwater characterization (multi-million dollars effort), coordination of the project hydrogeological team including seven senior staff, development of site (hydrogeological) conceptual models,  contribution to the deployment of innovative investigation approaches such as tests in open borehole, FLUTe liners, Passive Flux Meters and key technical support role for the groundwater remediation efforts.

Explosive Manufacturing, Maribyrnong VIC, Australia. 
Principal Hydrogeologist/Technical Lead for the redevelopment/ divestment/ remediation of the former Commonwealth explosive factory in Maribyrnong. The site covers an area of about 130 hectares and is planned to be redeveloped into a new suburb of the greater Melbourne area. The geology of the site consists of Quarternary aged palaeochannels carved into a Tertiary age sequence of sediments interbedded with basaltic lava. Groundwater at the site is mainly contaminated with chlorinated solvents, chloro and nitroaromatics, perchlorate and nitrogen.

Former Gasworks, Fitzroy and Bendigo VIC, Australia.
Technical Director/Principal Hydrogeologist for two significantly contaminated gasworks sites in Victoria. The works involved the development and implementation of risk management strategies and remediation in the context of Environmental Audits. Both sites are inner urban setting, involving strong community expectation and stakeholder scrutiny, including press articles.

Oil Refinery, VIC, Australia. 
Principal Hydrogeologist for the hydrogeological assessment of offsite impacts of an oil refinery in the context of an EPA Environmental Audit (53V). The work included integration of dissolved phase and LNAPL fingerprinting (about 150 samples).