Tag Archives: Contaminated Land

Site Verification Pictures

A-Z of Waste Management -V Verification

Are you involved in the redevelopment of brownfield land? If so, how much importance do you place on the verification of the remedial measures required at your site?

Most brownfield sites require remedial action to make them safe for future site users and/or to protect the wider environment. In many cases, this may involve measures such as the removal of contaminated soils, introduction of a soil cover system, the inclusion of gas mitigation measures etc. Remedial requirements and their verification should be assessed and detailed within a site investigation report and remedial strategy document. Before project commencement it is important to ensure that these documents have been reviewed by the Local Authorities Contaminated Land Officer. We have seen recent examples where this has not happened, despite having been submitted to planning. This has resulted in the need to revisit contaminated land risk assessments late in the project design and in one case after the buildings had been built and occupied!

Verification is an essential part of project closure, however once Building Warrant is approved and construction starts the danger is that it can be forgotten amongst all the other conflicting demands required to complete a development. It can then become a last-minute scramble to collate the required information to avoid delays with the completion and handover of buildings. In worst case scenarios not only is the verification forgotten but the remedial measures themselves! This can result in significant delays to projects and additional costs to rectify the situation. Examples we have witnessed include:

  • Sites that did not import the agreed soil cover thickness, requiring completed gardens to be re-excavated and the correct measures installed.
  • Sites that did not have imported soils tested until late in the project, which upon testing were found to be contaminated. Requiring gardens to be re-excavated and soils replaced.
  • Gas membranes not inspected during installation, requiring post construction continuous monitoring to be undertaken.

From our experience and discussions with other consultants and Contaminated Land officers, we know that these scenarios are not uncommon. There is increasing scrutiny being placed on the validation of remedial measures and making sure you have sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the remedial strategy is more important than ever. 

So, what can be done to avoid your business ending up in one of these situations? At Albion, we can offer the following support:

  • Environmental training / toolbox talks for site managers to make them aware of the importance of validation, potential risks, and good practice guidance.
  • Site meetings at project commencement with the site team to ensure all parties are aware of remedial and validation requirements and agree on a validation programme.
  • Validation inspections at commencement of each key stage in the remedial design and at agreed intervals. 

To find out how we can support your verification needs, contact andrew@albion-environmental.co.uk