2 August 2005

I drove up to Adelanto last night after my class, arriving soon after midnight. Adelanto is in the high desert of California, the Victor Valley, about 40 miles north of San Bernardino through the Cajon Pass. I stayed at a hotel in Victorville, then drove to a soil recycling facility for my work. The facility takes in contaminated soil from its customers and produces clean soil which it gives away to anyone who might need it for road construction or fill material. The process includes a vaporization step where the petroleum hydrocarbons, like gasoline or diesel fuel, are removed from the soil. The vapors are then burned at a much higher temperature so that they are not released to the atmosphere. It's a good industry, and quite busy, as more and more contaminated soil needs to be remediated throughout the country.

DWL