> Contaminated Land Management Service

Contaminated Land “is any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that – significant harm is being caused or there is significant possibility of such harm being caused; or pollution of controlled water is likely to be caused”

This in effect means should a site be, or even if it is believed to be contaminated, the local authority can attach conditions to any planning consents. A site investigation may be a condition that is stipulated.

The investigation must identify all possible pollutant linkages, the standard way in which to do this is to utilise the Source - Pathway - Receptor approach.

The approach will identify:

- The contamination source – “a substance which is in, on or under the land and which has the potential to cause harm or cause pollution of controlled waters”

- The pathway – “one or more routes or means by, or through, which a receptor is being exposed to, or affected by a contaminant. Or could be so exposed or affected.

- The receptor – “a living organism, a group of living organisms, an ecological system or a piece of property” In short anything that has the possibility of being harmed by the contaminants in question, including humans, buildings, flora or controlled waters.

This information can then be used to develop remediation strategies, should the site require it. The site investigation is made up of four separate phases although it may not be appropriate to progress to all the stages depending on the results of previous studies.

EHS Projects can offer its clients the full range of contaminated land assessment services from desk study, through site investigations, risk assessment, remediation planning and design to soil and groundwater remediation and aftercare planning.