Catching the wave.

With an estimated 30,000 "brownfield" sites in Canada--properties that have been abandoned because of environmental contamination--University of Saskatchewan commerce graduate Patrick Mah. is destined to become a very busy entrepreneur.

Mah, who majored in biotechnology, is developing a method of in situ bioremediation that proposes to speed up a natural process for turning contaminated soils back into productive land, His company, New Wave Environmental Technologies Limited, is preparing to commercialize the process.

The standard means of dealing with brownfield sites today is referred to as "dig and dump", says Mah.

"It's just as it sounds ... You dig the contaminated soil up and haul it away to a landfill."

It doesn't address the real problem. It's more of a displacement of liability, in essence, he says. It's expensive, but it's the fastest viable solution for the majority of sites.

Bioremediation occurs naturally when microbes in the soil "consume" the contaminants, Mah explains. The major issue with this process is that the organisms become less productive as the soil conditions become less nutrient rich. Left on its own, the process might take up to 10,000 years.

"Modern science has got it down to about 15 years," Mah says. "What our platform technology proposes to do is speed it up to a two- to three-years time frame. It makes cleaning it up much more economically viable."

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Mah says his platform technology is a proprietary blend of "natural" organic substances combined with several delivery mechanisms that create an ideal environment for sustained hydrocarbon degradation activities.

Saskatchewan is a very difficult case, he says.

"We're dealing with hard clays and cold climates," he says. "It's a matter of using the right technologies in combination ... the right delivery mechanisms, the right delivery mediums, the right monitoring regimens. Each remedial solution is uniquely tailored to the specific location, as no two sites are quite the same."

"Our main objective is to create that sustained remedial environment."

In January, Mah was selected as a co-winner of the University of Saskatchewan's "Bio-Venture Business Planning Challenge. A $50,000 grand prize, supplied by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, provides startup capital for the winning business proposal.

"Believe me, I haven't done this alone," Mah says emphatically, crediting his father (Wally), Doug Durrant, Roger Wong and organizations including North Ridge Development, Stantec, The Edwards School of Business and the National Research Council for acting as mentors throughout the entire process.

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