Targus was engaged to perform a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) and additional services of the subject property which encompassed approximately 50 acres of land improved with approximately 700,000 square feet of office space within five separate free-standing six-story office buildings. Other improvements included a two-story parking garage and stormwater detention system. Construction of the office buildings was completed between 1998 and 2000; the parking garage was completed in 2001. The occupants of the subject property were professional businesses. The subject property was located in an area characterized by office buildings, a hotel, commercial buildings, and an interstate highway.
The Phase I ESA did not identify recognized environmental conditions. However, by virtue of being located on an outcrop of the Ordovician Hermitage Formation, the local substrate was rich in phosphates that had historically been mined in the local area. Such deposits are recognized to also be rich in radium and to produce radon gas. Targus undertook short-term screening for radon which identified elevated concentrations in one of the five office buildings. As a provision of the purchase and sale agreement, long-term post-closing sampling was implemented in an effort to check whether the short-term screening results were representative.
Based on confirmation of indoor radon accumulation Targus undertook high-resolution real-time thoron screening of the building floor which identified prominent radon gas entry points. The identified joints and discontinuities in the slab were exposed and sealed with an elastomeric product, after which short-term screening indicated success. Thereafter, long-term testing was completed to demonstrate successful mitigation.
