Damage control: how land contamination doesn’t have to mean the end

Paul Raglan, Managing Director of Mining Searches UK, discusses the risks associated with toxic soil, and how a Land Contamination Intelligence service could save lives, as well as safeguarding the future of a development project.

At the very least, land contamination is bad news for developers and land owners, at worst it has the potential to cause serious harm to a property, the environment and occupants.

Land contamination isn’t as unusual as it may sound; soil can become contaminated due to the release of hazardous materials or waste, as well as sometimes being the result of naturally occurring substances.

In metal mining regions, natural mineralisation is a source of contamination, where the soil is naturally enriched in metals that can be harmful to public health. Other land contamination ‘hot spots’ include industrial waste and landfill sites, where migration of methane and carbon dioxide can enter nearby buildings, and fuel stations, where oil spills, chemical spills and underground tanks can result in land contamination.

Affecting both topsoils and subsurface soils, contaminated land has the potential to spread in the rooms of buildings, endangering occupants and those in neighbouring areas. It can also cause environmental pollution, affecting water courses, ecological systems, plants and animals. Not only is damage from exposure a risk, but chemical agents found in the ground can soften concrete, threatening the structural integrity of a building.

However, land contamination does not necessarily mean putting a stop to development or acquisition plans. The team at Mining Searches UK understands the issues involved and offers Land Contamination Intelligence as part of its services. The unique and innovative service predicts contaminated land hazards as part of the project risk assessments, which in turn allows developers and agents to prioritise their acquisitions, plan contingencies and intelligently plan site layouts, long before any work begins.

The service is available following extensive research conducted by the Mining Searches UK team, which included analysing thousands of data points from 40 years of site investigations across the UK. Using all available data of known contamination areas, the team can produce a map of a proposed development area, highlighting where is suitable for different types of construction and occupation. For example, where contamination is relatively low, the map would outline where is suitable for residential occupation, commercial/industrial development or gardens. Where construction is at a higher level, data will also show what parts of the land are not suitable for proposed uses.

There are numerous benefits of using this service for land owners and developers and by allowing initial zoning of a mixed development site, the results will help to minimise potential remediation costs, aid in strategic planning and cost predictions, as well as providing greater visibility across a substantial site area. Mining Searches UK are continuing to develop the model further and hope to provide more information on additional areas across the UK in the near future.

Often left forgotten, toxic soil is a silent and invisible threat to all developers, housebuilders and even homeowners, with a reported 90,000 people globally dying from diseases caused by exposure each year.

In the event that soil samples exceed the guideline values, a remediation plan is put in place to clean up, treat, remove and protect users from contamination, and a final inspection is carried out to ensure the remediation plan was followed, breaking contamination links.