Contaminated land is land which, because of substances in, on or under it, presents a significant possibility of substantial harm to people or other receptors. Contamination may arise because the land has previously been used for industrial or other economic purposes, or because it contains naturally occurring substances such as metals or gases at levels that are harmful to health if ingested, inhaled or touched.
An estimated 300,000 hectares of land in the UK are affected to some degree by contamination left by industrial activity.
The contamination may be caused by leaks and spillages from pipes or tanks, by the disposal of waste materials on the site , by the demolition of buildings containing toxic elements such as asbestos, or by any number of other processes or activities that occurred while the plant was operating or while it was being closed down.
The role of EHPs
In order to minimise development pressures on greenfield sites, the preference nowadays is to build on land that has been used before. For the protection of future users, we need to know if that land may be contaminated and, if so, what can be done to clean it up. This is where environmental health practitioners come in.
EHPs are trained in the highly technical processes of the detection and assessment of contamination. Following detailed examination including analysis of representative soil samples, if they believe the land is contaminated to an extent that there may be an unacceptable risk to health, they will work with owners, developers, architects and engineers to find ways of decontaminating and reclaiming it so that it can be safely used again.
Most contaminated sites come to EHPs’ attention by way of the planning process whereby ‘clean-up’ conditions can be applied to development consents. If necessary though, EHPs can use enforcement powers to ensure that land is returned to a state fit for use.
The legal framework
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework for dealing with contaminated land. The most important piece of legislation is Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In May 2006 the Act was amended by the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006 to take account of radioactively contaminated land. In the future, the EU Environmental Liability Directive will take effect to broaden the definition of ‘harm’ as it applies to land and water.