Land contamination may occur as a result of spills, leaks and discharges of polluting and toxic chemicals, disposal of liquid and solid waste and unregulated historical land uses. It may exist within the ground or groundwater and may migrate long distances before affecting human health, sensitive plants or animals, polluting groundwater and rivers or affecting the safety of buildings.
Many new development projects take place on land with a previous industrial history. There are significant regulatory and financial liabilities associated with the buying, occupation, redevelopment, decommissioning and investment in land affected by contamination, and the causing or permitting of contamination is a statutory offence.
Increasingly those with an interest in land are carrying out their own due diligence studies to assess their liability and are seeking the clean up of their land to an acceptable condition “suitable for use”. An assessment of the condition of the ground and groundwater is also a prerequisite of any planning permission and an important consideration in IPPC and COMAH.
Aker Solutions can help in the following areas:
- Phase 1 Desktop Studies
- Phase 2 Intrusive Investigations
- Groundwater Flow Modelling
- Contaminant Conceptualisation
- Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Assessment
- Clean-Up Strategy Design and Project Management
- Verification and Completion Reporting
- Benchmarking and Peer Review
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