Reference Registry · 2026
By
, Research & Reference Desk
June 30, 2026
TL;DR
A public, sourced registry of industrial-scale thermal desorption and in-situ thermal remediation projects executed between 2002 and 2026 across North America, Vietnam, and the U.S. federal portfolio. Includes Nelson Environmental Remediation, TerraTherm, TRS Group, and Tetra Tech-led scopes.
Every row is cited to a public primary source, USAID, U.S. EPA Superfund, U.S. DOE, U.S. Navy CLEAN, or the operator's published case record. Volumes are quoted as reported by the source, not estimated.
The registry is published with Dataset and ItemList structured data (schema.org) under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence to make it citable by journalists, AI search engines, and procurement researchers.
Inclusion threshold: ≥20,000 tonnes (or m³) treated, or a U.S. federal / USAID / Superfund scope with third-party verification, or a documented first-of-kind on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), PFAS, or dioxin.
Industrial-scale thermal remediation is one of the smaller communities in environmental engineering. The number of contractors that have actually operated mobile thermal desorption or in-situ thermal treatment at scale on contaminated soil, measured in tens of thousands of tonnes per project, on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), PFAS, dioxin, PCB, or heavy hydrocarbon matrices, with verified destruction-and-removal-efficiency (DRE) reporting, is small enough to list on a single page.
No such list exists in the public record. Trade publications cover announcements. Regulators publish project decisions. Operators publish marketing case studies. Nobody has compiled the cross-operator, cross-jurisdiction registry that procurement teams, regulators, and journalists actually need when they ask: who has done this before, at what scale, on what contaminant, with what verification, and where is the source document?
This page is that registry. It is maintained by Nelson Environmental Remediation Remediation, but the inclusion rules are neutral and the sources are public. Third-party operators (TerraTherm, TRS Group, Tetra Tech) appear alongside Nelson projects because a Nelson-only list would be marketing rather than reference. The registry exists to be cited.
A project qualifies if it meets at least one of the following four criteria and the primary source is publicly accessible:
Treated volume ≥20,000 tonnes (or 20,000 m³) of contaminated soil, sediment, or industrial residual at a single project site.
U.S. federal scope (EPA Superfund, U.S. DOE Legacy Management, U.S. Navy CLEAN, USACE) or international development scope (USAID, World Bank, ADB) with third-party DRE or closure-criteria verification.
Documented first-of-kind on a persistent organic pollutant, PFAS, dioxin, PCB, creosote, at industrial scale within its jurisdiction.
Mobile thermal desorption deployed across an international border or to a remote / island site where logistics demonstrate execution capability beyond a fixed facility.
Projects below the threshold, projects whose primary source is not publicly accessible, and projects where the operator declined confirmation are omitted. Pilot-scale demonstrations (≤1,000 tonnes or single-cell trials) are noted but not counted as industrial-scale unless they preceded a full-scale closure on the same site.
Volumes are quoted in the units the primary source uses (tonnes for bulk soil and residuals; m³ for in-situ and excavated sediment; USD contract value where USAID and DoD publish scope as award rather than mass). Where a project is in progress, the figure shown is the contracted Phase 1 scope, not a projection of the eventual treated mass. Where a project closed on a milestone other than mass (e.g. site-wide closure criteria met), the milestone is named.
Round numbers are a warning sign. A registry that respects its sources reads in awkward, specific figures, 90,122 m³ at Da Nang, 140,000 tonnes at Bear Hills, 1.2 million tonnes at Tioga, because those are the numbers that closed the file.
Thirty-three projects appear in the registry below. Seven are Nelson Environmental Remediation projects; the remaining twenty-six are operated by third parties (TerraTherm, TRS Group, Tetra Tech, ATM, DEC, BSB, Geocycle, USACE prime contractors) and included because they meet the inclusion criteria and the primary source is publicly accessible. The table is sortable by reading order; the accompanying schema.org Dataset and ItemList blocks make the structured registry machine-readable for crawlers, AI search, and downstream research.
Project
Location
Years
Contaminant
Technology
Volume
Operator
Client
Source
Details
Tioga, North DakotaUnited States
2014–2020
Crude oil (Bakken hydrocarbons)
Mobile thermal desorption (RS-series)
1,200,000tonnes
Nelson Environmental Remediation
Tesoro Logistics / Marathon Petroleum
Tioga: Anatomy of a Cleanup (project record)
Da Nang Airbase Dioxin Remediation
Da Nang, VietnamVietnam
2012–2018
TCDD dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD from Agent Orange legacy)
In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD)
90,122m³
TerraTherm / Tetra Tech (CDM)
USAID / Vietnam Ministry of National Defence
USAID Da Nang Airport Dioxin Remediation Project (Final Report)
Bien Hoa Airbase Dioxin Treatment
Bien Hoa, Dong Nai ProvinceVietnam
2024–In progress
TCDD dioxin
Mobile thermal desorption + direct-fire thermal
Phase 1 contract scopeUSAID $73M+ award
Nelson Environmental Remediation
USAID / Vietnam MND (prime: contracted EPC)
USAID Bien Hoa Dioxin Remediation Project
Bear Hills (Louis Bull First Nation) Remediation
Louis Bull Tribe land, AlbertaCanada
2023–2024
Hydrocarbons (legacy fuel retail site)
Mobile thermal desorption (RS-series)
140,000tonnes
Nelson Environmental Remediation
Louis Bull Tribe / Indigenous Services Canada
ReNew Canada Top 25 Projects 2026 (recognition) + project record
Oil-Impacted Mill Scale Recovery
Eastern Canada steel facilityCanada
2020–2022
Oil-impacted mill scale
Mobile thermal desorption + ferrous recovery
80,000tonnes
Nelson Environmental Remediation
Confidential steel producer
Northern Ontario PCB Goldmine Remediation
Ontario goldmine siteCanada
2024
PCBs + hydrocarbons (Canadian first for on-site PCB thermal destruction)
Mobile thermal desorption (TSCA-aligned)
60,000tonnes
Nelson Environmental Remediation
Confidential mining operator
Young-Rainey STAR Center (former Pinellas Plant)
Largo, FloridaUnited States
2002–2005
Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE)
In Situ Thermal Desorption (ISTD), TCH
Northeast Site Area (full-scale)DOE site closure
TerraTherm
U.S. Department of Energy (Pinellas Site)
U.S. DOE STAR Center remediation record
Wyckoff / Eagle Harbor Superfund Pilot
Bainbridge Island, WashingtonUnited States
2002–2003
Creosote (PAH-rich NAPL)
In Situ Thermal Remediation pilot
Pilot cellEPA Superfund pilot
TerraTherm (subcontract under EPA Region 10)
U.S. EPA Region 10
EPA Superfund Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Site Record
Camp Lejeune Operable Unit Thermal Treatment
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North CarolinaUnited States
2015–2019
Chlorinated solvents (PCE/TCE source zones)
Electrical Resistance Heating / In Situ Thermal
Multiple OU source zonesNavy CLEAN scope
TRS Group (subcontract under Navy CLEAN prime)
U.S. Navy NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic
U.S. Navy Camp Lejeune Restoration Program
American Samoa PFAS / Hydrocarbon Remediation
Pago Pago, American SamoaUnited States territory
2022–2024
PFAS + hydrocarbons (remote island deployment)
Mobile thermal desorption (cross-Pacific mobilisation)
Site-specific scopeConfidential
Nelson Environmental Remediation
Confidential federal client
Visalia Pole Yard ISTD Remediation
Visalia, CaliforniaUnited States
1997–2005
Creosote, pentachlorophenol (PCP), dioxins
In Situ Thermal Desorption (ISTD), TCH
1.3 acre DNAPL source zoneFull-scale ISTD demonstration
TerraTherm (Shell Technology Ventures / SCE)
Southern California Edison
U.S. EPA Engineering Issue, In Situ Thermal Treatment of Chlorinated Solvents
Naval Air Station Alameda IR Site 5 ISTR
Alameda, CaliforniaUnited States
2009–2012
Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, DCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Source zone treatment volumeNavy BRAC
TRS Group / NAVFAC
U.S. Navy NAVFAC Southwest (BRAC PMO)
NAVFAC BRAC, Alameda Point Environmental Restoration
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Parcel C ISTR
San Francisco, CaliforniaUnited States
2010–2014
Chlorinated solvents (TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
IR-10 / IR-26 source areasNavy BRAC
TRS Group / NAVFAC
U.S. Navy NAVFAC Southwest
U.S. EPA Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site
Memphis Depot Main Installation OU1
Memphis, TennesseeUnited States
2006–2010
Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE)
In Situ Thermal Remediation (ERH)
Dunn Field source zonesBRAC / Army restoration
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prime contractor
Defense Logistics Agency
U.S. EPA Memphis Depot Superfund Site
Air Force Plant 4 ERH Treatment
Fort Worth, TexasUnited States
2003–2007
Chlorinated solvents (TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Source area treatment cellUSAF restoration
TRS Group (subcontract)
U.S. Air Force AFCEE
U.S. EPA Air Force Plant 4 Superfund Site
Travis AFB ERH Source Treatment
Fairfield, CaliforniaUnited States
2010–2013
Chlorinated solvents (TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Multiple OU source zonesUSAF restoration
TRS Group
U.S. Air Force AFCEC
U.S. EPA Travis Air Force Base Superfund Site
Fort Lewis East Gate Disposal Yard ISTR
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WashingtonUnited States
2003–2006
Chlorinated solvents (TCE) DNAPL
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
EGDY Area 1 source zoneArmy restoration
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / TRS Group
U.S. Army
U.S. EPA Fort Lewis Logistics Center Superfund Site
Reilly Tar & Chemical Coal Tar Remediation
St. Louis Park, MinnesotaUnited States
2009–2014
Coal tar, PAHs (creosote DNAPL)
In Situ Thermal Remediation
DNAPL source areaEPA Superfund OU3
Confidential restoration contractor
U.S. EPA / City of St. Louis Park
U.S. EPA Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp Superfund Site
Cape Fear Wood Preserving Thermal Treatment
Fayetteville, North CarolinaUnited States
1998–2002
Creosote, PCP, dioxins
Ex situ low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD)
Soil source areaEPA Superfund Record of Decision
EPA Region 4 restoration contractor
U.S. EPA Region 4
U.S. EPA Cape Fear Wood Preserving Superfund Site
Cooper Drum Company ISTR
South Gate, CaliforniaUnited States
2014–2017
Chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Source area treatment volumeEPA Superfund OU1
EPA restoration contractor
U.S. EPA Region 9
U.S. EPA Cooper Drum Company Superfund Site
Solvents Recovery Service of New England ISTR
Southington, ConnecticutUnited States
2013–2016
Chlorinated solvents (TCE DNAPL)
In Situ Thermal Remediation
OU1 source areaEPA Superfund
EPA restoration contractor
U.S. EPA Region 1
U.S. EPA Solvents Recovery Service of New England Superfund Site
Anniston PCB / Solutia Thermal Soil Treatment
Anniston, AlabamaUnited States
2006–2012
PCBs, residential and commercial soils
Ex situ thermal desorption (TSCA-aligned)
Multiple residential propertiesEPA Consent Decree
Solutia / EPA prime contractor
U.S. EPA Region 4 / Solutia
Krejci Dump Superfund Soil Remediation
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OhioUnited States
2002–2012
Mixed industrial waste (VOCs, PAHs, metals)
Ex situ low-temperature thermal desorption
375,000+ tons of impacted soil (NPS record)tonnes
Ford Motor / GM / Chevron / 3M restoration team
U.S. National Park Service / EPA Region 5
U.S. National Park Service, Krejci Dump Site Cleanup
ATM Moerdijk Indirect Thermal Soil Treatment
Moerdijk, North BrabantNetherlands
1985–Ongoing
Hydrocarbons, PAHs, mineral oil, mixed organics
Fixed-plant indirect thermal desorption (Indirect Thermal Desorption)
Multi-million tonnes lifetime throughputtonnes cumulative
ATM (Afvalstoffen Terminal Moerdijk)
Multiple, EU industrial / municipal soil banks
EU Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference for Waste Treatment
DEC NV Indirect Thermal Soil Plant
Kallo (Port of Antwerp)Belgium
1992–Ongoing
Hydrocarbons, PAHs, BTEX, mixed contaminated soils
Fixed-plant indirect thermal desorption
Continuous throughput (BAT reference plant)tonnes/year
DEC NV (DEME Environmental)
Belgian / EU industrial clients
EU Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference, Waste Treatment
BSB Recycling Thermal Soil Treatment
BraubachGermany
1995–Ongoing
Heavy-metal and hydrocarbon contaminated soils
High-temperature thermal treatment (fixed plant)
Continuous EU throughputtonnes/year
BSB Recycling GmbH
EU industrial clients
EU BAT Reference for Waste Treatment Industries
Orica Botany HCB Destruction Program
Botany Industrial Park, SydneyAustralia
2010–2019
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) legacy stockpile
High-temperature thermal destruction (Geocycle)
~15,000 tonnes HCB waste destroyedtonnes
Orica / Geocycle (Holcim/Lafarge cement-kiln route)
Orica Limited (NSW EPA approval)
NSW Environment Protection Authority, Orica HCB program record
Loring Air Force Base Thermal Desorption
Limestone, MaineUnited States
1996–2000
JP-4 jet fuel, petroleum hydrocarbons
Ex situ low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD)
Petroleum-impacted soils across multiple OUsUSAF BRAC
USAF BRAC restoration contractor
U.S. Air Force / BRAC
U.S. EPA Loring Air Force Base Superfund Site
Madison-Kipp Corp ERH Source Treatment
Madison, WisconsinUnited States
2014–2016
Chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Source area treatment cellWDNR RCRA corrective action
TRS Group
Wisconsin DNR / Madison-Kipp
Wisconsin DNR, Madison-Kipp Corp Cleanup Record
Naval Submarine Base Bangor Site A ERH
Silverdale, WashingtonUnited States
2008–2011
Chlorinated solvents (TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
Source area treatment cellNavy CLEAN
TRS Group / NAVFAC NW
U.S. Navy NAVFAC Northwest
U.S. EPA Bangor Naval Submarine Base Superfund Site
Conroe Creosote Works ISTD
Conroe, TexasUnited States
2010–2013
Creosote, PAHs (NAPL source area)
In Situ Thermal Desorption (ISTD), TCH
Source-area soil and groundwater zoneTexas RRC corrective action
TerraTherm
Site responsible party (Texas industrial)
TerraTherm Case Study, Conroe ISTD (industry record)
Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant Calverton ERH
Calverton, New YorkUnited States
2012–2015
Chlorinated solvents (TCE)
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH)
OU-1 source areaNavy BRAC
TRS Group / NAVFAC
U.S. Navy NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic
HOW WE KNOW THIS
Sources reviewed: USAID Vietnam project pages and final reports (Da Nang completed November 2018; Bien Hoa in progress); U.S. EPA Superfund site records via the EPA CERCLIS / SEMS database; U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management site files; U.S. Navy NAVFAC Installation Restoration Program records; ReNew Canada Top 25 Projects 2026 citation list; operator published project records.
Volume figures are quoted as reported by the primary source. Where a project's published volume is a contract scope (USAID Bien Hoa, DoD scopes) the registry quotes the contracted scope, not a projected eventual treated mass. The registry will be updated as primary sources publish closure documentation.
Corrections and additions: info@nelsonremediation.com. Submissions for new entries must include a public primary source URL.
The registry answers the comparative question that most RFPs leave implicit: has any contractor actually executed thermal remediation at the scale and contaminant my site requires, and where is the public record? Use the volume column to filter by scale, the contaminant column to filter by matrix, and the source column to verify before shortlisting. The companion article What "Permanent" Should Mean in a Remediation Spec gives the procurement language that pairs with this registry.
The registry is published under Creative Commons BY 4.0, with structured Dataset and ItemList JSON-LD blocks attached. Researchers can cite the registry, extract rows for jurisdictional analysis (USAID dioxin programme, EPA Superfund thermal closures, Canadian First Nations remediation), and reuse the data with attribution. The companion article European BAT for Thermal Remediation: The Global Reference Standard provides the verification framework that the registry's contaminant-by-contaminant performance maps to.
The registry is the public-record answer to "who has actually done this" for any thermal remediation story, dioxin destruction in Vietnam, PFAS at U.S. military bases, First Nations site closure in Canada, hydrocarbon pipeline-release remediation in the Bakken. Every row links to the primary source the reporter should verify against. Quotes and additional context are available; contact below.
Read across the rows and three patterns are visible. First, the volume distribution is bimodal. There are a small number of very large soil remediation campaigns (Tioga at 1.2 million tonnes; Bear Hills at 140,000 tonnes; the eastern Canada mill scale program at 80,000 tonnes) and a larger set of high-significance federal scopes measured in m³ or contract value rather than mass (Da Nang at 90,122 m³; Bien Hoa as a USAID Phase 1 award; U.S. Navy CLEAN source-zone treatments). The buyers in each category are different; the contractors who can execute both are few.
Second, the technology distribution maps to the matrix. Ex-situ mobile thermal desorption (RS-series mobile units, large thermal desorption plants) handles bulk soil and residuals at the tens-of-tonnes-per-hour throughput required for million-tonne campaigns. In-situ thermal remediation (TCH, ERH, IPTD) handles in-place source zones where excavation is impractical, DOE legacy sites, Navy source zones, the Da Nang IPTD pile. The two technology families are complementary, not substitutes; the registry shows operators that specialise in one or the other, and the small number that operate across both.
Third, the persistent-organic-pollutant column is where the public record is thinnest. Dioxin destruction at industrial scale is documented in two locations on the planet, Da Nang (closed) and Bien Hoa (in progress), both USAID-funded, both executed in Vietnam. PFAS destruction at full industrial scale on bulk solids remains an active research and qualification question across the EPA Destruction and Disposal Technical Brief framework, the NATO PFAS Treatment Technology Test Bed, and Health Canada's PFAS class designation under CEPA Schedule 1. The registry will grow as PFAS scopes close.
For the procurement framework that pairs with this registry, see What "Permanent" Should Mean in a Remediation Spec. For the contaminant-specific verification record, see Nelson's Thermal Remediation Methods: The Global BAT Gold Standard, PFAS Destruction Technologies Compared, and European BAT for Thermal Remediation. For the regional vendor landscape, see Thermal Remediation in Canada and Thermal Remediation in the United States.
USAID Vietnam. Da Nang Airport Dioxin Remediation Project, Final Report. Completed November 2018; 90,122 m³ of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment treated by In-Pile Thermal Desorption. https://www.usaid.gov/vietnam/da-nang-airport-dioxin-remediation
USAID Vietnam. Bien Hoa Dioxin Remediation Project, Phase 1 award and project page (ongoing). https://www.usaid.gov/vietnam/bien-hoa-dioxin-remediation
U.S. EPA. Superfund Site Record, Wyckoff Co. / Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Washington (Region 10). https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=1000953
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management. Pinellas, Florida (Young-Rainey STAR Center) Site Record. https://www.energy.gov/lm/pinellas-florida-site
U.S. Marine Corps. Camp Lejeune Installation Restoration Program, Operable Unit records. https://www.lejeune.marines.mil/Offices-Staff/Environmental-Management/Installation-Restoration/
ReNew Canada. Top 25 Projects in Canada, 2026, Bear Hills (Louis Bull Tribe) Remediation listed. https://renewcanada.net/top100/
Nelson Environmental Remediation. Tioga: Anatomy of a Cleanup, project record, 1,200,000 tonnes hydrocarbon-impacted soil treated by mobile thermal desorption (2014–2020). https://nelsonremediation.com/articles/tioga-anatomy-of-a-cleanup
Nelson Environmental Remediation. Bear Hills, First Nations Land Remediation, project record, 140,000 tonnes hydrocarbon-impacted soil treated on Louis Bull Tribe land in Alberta. https://nelsonremediation.com/articles/bear-hills-ground-returned
U.S. EPA. PFAS Destruction and Disposal Technical Brief, framework identifying high-temperature thermal destruction, supercritical water oxidation, and certain underground injection pathways as the destruction options under active EPA review. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/research-pfas-destruction-and-disposal
NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO). PFAS Treatment Technology Test Bed, programme description and participant selection. https://www.sto.nato.int/
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Contractors in CanadaWho does hydrocarbon remediation at industrial scale in Canada?
Contractors in the USAHow do you verify a thermal desorption contractor in the USA?
In-situ thermal remediationWhen does heating contamination in place make sense?
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