Trained on Nelson's 30+ year project history & technical library
Nelson's AI team member
Tool guide · 2026
By
, Chief Marketing Officer
October 28, 2026
A useful remediation conversation starts with the conditions that matter. What is in the ground? Which materials are affected? What limits access, and what must the project achieve? Nelson's Remediation Strategy Navigator turns those questions into an interactive exploration of candidate treatment pathways, with explanations beside each choice.
Navigator is a public strategy-exploration tool built around five diagnostic steps: contaminant, affected material, site context, project driver and scale. As you select conditions, the Strategy Readout changes to show candidate approaches and the reasoning behind the shortlist.
You can enter through Explore to walk a notional case file based on Nelson site conditions, or through My Site to work with conditions you know about your own project. The scenarios are learning examples, not substitutes for project records. If you already have a report, I have a report opens the separate site-assessment tool. The shortlist remains a starting point for discussion, not an engineered remedy or an approval.
Two sites containing petroleum hydrocarbons can need different approaches if one is accessible soil and the other includes groundwater beneath an operating facility. Chemistry alone does not settle the selection. Navigator makes the effects of material, access and project objectives easier to examine together.
For site owners, it creates a clearer brief for a consultant or contractor. For technical teams, it gives a shared framework for comparing assumptions. For procurement teams, it helps separate an initial candidate technology from the evidence still needed to justify it.
Start with a case file if you are learning the process. Use My Site when you have project information to examine, keeping uncertainty visible rather than filling gaps with guesses.
Open Navigator and choose Walk a case file in Explore, or Enter my conditions in My Site.
Select the contaminant family. If analytical data are missing, choose Not sure yet rather than inferring chemistry from a property's history.
Identify where the contamination is: soil, groundwater, both, vapour or another affected material. Use assessment findings where available.
Work through site context, project driver and scale. Read the explanation attached to each choice so the selection reflects the actual constraints.
Review the Strategy Readout and shortlist. Treat its reasoning as questions to test against the site evidence, including any characterization or pilot requirements.
Use Compare paths to change one condition and see how the approach changes. Use Share this strategy only after checking which site details you have entered.
A practical exercise is to keep the contaminant family unchanged and alter the affected material from soil only to soil plus groundwater. Then consider how an active facility differs from an accessible excavation area. The changing shortlist makes those dependencies tangible.
Compare paths is useful for asking what would make an alternative more appropriate. It does not prove that a technology will meet cleanup criteria. Confirm concentrations, contaminant distribution, soil behaviour, water conditions, access and verification requirements before selecting a remedy.
Bring the Navigator selections alongside the actual assessment reports, laboratory results, site plans and applicable cleanup criteria. Note which selections are measured, which are assumptions and which remain unknown. A shortlist becomes more useful when the evidence gaps are explicit. The Strategy Brief (PDF) and assessment-request handoff ask for contact details, including a work email; sharing a strategy link is a separate action.
The tool can display indicative outputs based on entered conditions. Do not treat these as a quotation, guaranteed project duration, confirmed equipment assignment or proof of regulatory acceptance. Site-specific engineering, testing and approvals remain necessary. PFAS treatment claims must stay tied to the particular pilot evidence and conditions being evaluated.
Navigator stores selected conditions and entered site-profile details in the page URL so a strategy can be bookmarked or shared. Anyone receiving that link may be able to read those details. Use a generic project description and avoid confidential client names, sensitive site information or personal data in a public share link.
The Hub and Navigator serve different points in the workflow. Use The Hub to review published records and sources. Use Navigator to organize known site conditions and compare candidate pathways. Neither tool replaces a qualified site assessment or a project-specific remediation plan.
Sources, tools and further reading
Evidence for remediation technology selection
Site assessment and remediation planning
Nelson's remediation capabilities
Prepare the information for a technical scope
Discuss your site's conditions with Nelson
How to use The Hub for contamination research
FAQ
What is Remediation Strategy Navigator?
Does Navigator select an approved remedy for my site?
Can I share a Navigator strategy?Yes. Share this strategy copies a link containing selected conditions and entered site-profile details. Check those details and remove sensitive information before sharing.
Remediation tools
The HubWhat is The Hub contamination data library?
How to use The Hub for contamination researchWhat is The Hub used for?
Read Next
Product•2026The Hub: One Window Into Contamination Data Across North America
Project Case Study•2026Tioga: Anatomy of a Cleanup
Project Case Study•2026Bear Hills: Ground Returned
Stay Informed
Project milestones, regulatory developments, and technical briefs. One email at a time. No noise.
Navigator is Nelson's public interactive tool for exploring candidate remediation pathways through contaminant, affected material, site context, project driver and scale selections.
No. Its shortlist supports a preliminary technical discussion. Assessment evidence, engineering, any necessary pilot testing and applicable regulatory requirements must determine the site-specific plan.