Originally published in September 2025.
Australia’s environmental landscape is at a crossroads. With legacy pollution emerging as a legal and financial liability—as seen in the recent $130 million PFAS class action settlement against the Department of Defence—asset owners and regulators are urgently seeking more sustainable, cost-effective remediation solutions.
Enter Ivey International Inc., a global remediation technology company founded by Canadian hydro geochemist George “Bud” Ivey, whose chemistry-driven approach is transforming the treatment of persistent contaminants such as PFAS, petroleum hydrocarbons, and chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater.
A Science-Based Origin Story
Bud Ivey’s journey began in synthetic organic chemistry. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as he watched conventional remediation methods struggle, he identified a fundamental limitation: contaminants are often strongly sorbed to soil and sediment, limiting removal by biological, chemical, and physical methods. In addition, contaminant agglomeration and pore clogging can reduce transmissivity and impede flow paths.
His solution was to design selective phase-transfer molecules—surfactants that “lift” contaminants from surfaces, making them bioavailable and amenable to chemical or physical extraction. This innovation laid the foundation for the company’s two core technologies:
- Ivey-Sol® – for hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, PCBs, and selected metals
- PFAS-Sol® – for in situ and infrastructure decontamination of PFAS
With more than 3,500 projects across 70+ countries, Ivey International now exports its solutions globally to clients ranging from the U.S. Department of Defense and Fortune 500 companies to major environmental consultancies, with projects at Superfund and other priority sites worldwide.
Groundwater: The Hidden Battlefield
PFAS contamination in soil and groundwater presents a uniquely difficult challenge. These substances resist degradation, migrate readily, and are often bound to aquifer media. Conventional methods—such as pump-and-treat or in situ activated carbon (ISAC) barriers—can be slow, costly, and limited in effectiveness.
PFAS-Sol® changes this dynamic. The technology enhances desorption and apparent solubility, improves local transmissivity, and enables efficient in situ flushing and mass recovery. Field applications have reported >95% removal in a single treatment cycle; in legacy AFFF fire-suppression systems, decontamination has achieved near-total PFAS mass removal (99.99998%)—substantially reducing remediation timelines, costs, and risk.
This is especially relevant for Australia and New Zealand, where PFAS releases from fire-training facilities, airports, and defence sites have resulted in soil and groundwater plumes that extend beyond site boundaries, impacting surrounding communities and ecosystems. Accelerating compliance while reducing long-term environmental liability offers a decisive advantage.
Legacy Meets Modern: A Dual-Solution Platform
Ivey International’s strength lies not in a single product, but in a modular chemistry platform designed to treat both emerging and legacy contaminants. Many sites—especially defence and industrial facilities—contain co-mingled plumes. By offering both PFAS-Sol® and Ivey-Sol®, the company enables targeted remediation of complex sites without excavation or the long-term costs of operations-and-maintenance (O&M) systems that often deliver limited returns on investment, and complements biological, chemical, and physical processes.
Bud puts it simply:
“We don’t just clean tanks, pipes, soil, or groundwater—we address the desorption problem and related hydrogeochemical factors that are often overlooked. Once contaminants are mobilised appropriately, they become more available for chemical, biological, or physical treatment. That’s the real breakthrough.”
Local presence to strengthen support for Australian and New Zealand clients
To strengthen support for Australian and New Zealand clients, Ivey International has established Ivey International ANZ Pty Ltd, based in Queensland. This local presence improves product availability, reduces lead times and costs, and provides on-the-ground technical expertise for site assessments, trials, and full-scale remediation projects. Peter Belding, who brings over 30 years of industrial project experience, will lead Ivey ANZ’s regional engagement as the primary contact for Australia and New Zealand.
| Founded in 1993, Ivey International Inc. develops award-winning, patented remediation technologies for in situ treatment of persistent organic pollutants. The company has received numerous international awards, including the Globe Award, EBJ Award, and Enterprise Technology Award, and holds more than 30 international patents and trademarks. Learn more at: www.iveyinternational.com |
Sponsored Article by Ivey International Inc.