A Contaminated Land Assessment looks for substances in the ground that are potentially hazardous or damaging to the health of the public or the environment surrounding the site.
The assessment will also look at how your building works could release any discovered substances into the environment. Our geoenvironmental consultants will then evaluate the hazards, using their extensive knowledge and experience, and look for solutions to manage and mitigate the risk.
Contaminated land isn’t just found on large, industrial sites. Even quiet, residential areas can be contaminated, due to the chemical uses of the past. Asbestos, Cyanide and other pollutants were often used in gas works, soil improvers and other underground or soil activities many years ago, when we weren’t aware such products were dangerous.
This is why a contaminated land report is an important part of Phase 2: Ground Investigation, no matter where your site is located. Our contaminated land assessment also extends to identifying and characterising the risks to your development from potentially hazardous ground gases and radon.
The land beneath your site may produce potentially hazardous ground gases. These can arise from areas of deep man-made fill deposits, the burial of old wastes, to natural geological soils, such as peats and alluviums. Unless appropriately assessed and managed, hazardous ground gases can pose a significant risk to your planned build.
Our Geoenvironmental experts will characterise your site, and provide you with a detailed Ground Gas Risk Assessment. Out strategies are inline with current British Standards and Building Regulations. We will provide you with a robust methodology to make safe your proposed build where hazardous ground gases are identified.
The Environment Agency and other regulatory authorities provide the standards we expect your site to meet. Land becomes a problem where levels of a pollutant can reach someone or something that would be negatively affected by it – such as people, property or the environment.
The results of our assessment will determine the action we propose to make your site safe and to meet the expectations set out by British Standards, the Environment Agency and your local planning authority.
Our geoenvironmental engineering team are qualified to make recommendations to a local authority or the Environment Agency under Part2A requirements of the Environmental Protection Act. Local authorities under Part2A are responsible for inspecting and determining land within their geographical area. Often the Environment Agency will lead on this process on behalf of the local authority for ‘Special Site’ designations. Northpoint can undertake intrusive Part2A investigations and provide formal recommendations to local authorities or the Environment Agency under the frameworks of the legislation.
Following guidance from CRL11 Model Procedures and BS10175, a Detailed Quantitative Risk Assessment (DQRA) further refines our understanding of risk from land contamination sources.
We’ll look at human health and controlled waters and use state-of-the-art modelling software to calculate risk and how it can be managed.
Controlled Waters include all groundwater, freshwater and territorial waters and it is vital to assess the effect your build can have on these elements. Coastal waters, inland waters and public supply reservoirs can all be affected by a build.
Our Controlled Waters Risk Assessment will look at all elements of your site and how Controlled Waters will be affected by your construction activity. Using a borehole, hydraulic data and laboratory testing, in addition to the findings from your Land Contamination Assessment, we will be able to examine any and all risks to Controlled Waters. We’ll be able to inform you of all the potential risks to Controlled Waters, levels of contamination and we’ll implement on-site solutions to remedy any hazards.
