Contaminated Land

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Contaminated Land
Corus Consulting Limited, Teesside Technology
Centre, P.O. Box 11, Grangetown,
Middlesbrough, Teesside TS6 6UB U.K. Telephone
44 (0)1642 467144 Fax [phone]
460321 E-mail paul.marsden_at_corusgroup.com
Corus Consulting Limited deals mainly with
contaminated land issues brought into prominence
by recent legislative drives by the government as
a direct result of the growing realization of the
problem of contaminated land, the pressures to
take action to prevent contamination and
furthermore the remediation of brown-field
sites for use as future developments. The
Contaminated Land Section offers expertise in a
wide range of areas, the four main elements of
work include addressing site liabilities
associated with property transactions or site
development, the application of risk assessments,
site investigations in conjunction with the
Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control
(IPPC) regulations and finally the investigation
and application of remediation techniques on
contaminated sites. We are active in networks
that are dedicated to improving the understanding
of issues in contaminated land such as the Soil
Groundwater Technology Association (SAGTA) and
the Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in
Europe (NICOLE). ADDRESSING SITE LIABILITIES The
need to address liabilities associated with sites
has been in prominence since the introduction of
the polluter pays principle. There have been
large increases in the investigation of sites to
address any legal responsibilities that may be
associated with the sale or acquisition of
property or with site redevelopment.  This type
of project would involve a full Phase II site
investigation in conjunction with British
Standard 59301999 Code of Practice for Site
Investigations, commencing with a preliminary
assessment followed by a detailed investigation
of the potentially contaminated ground. RISK
ASSESSMENTS Corus Contaminated Land Section
developed a risk ranking method to identify
vulnerable areas to enable prioritization so any
further investigative efforts or remediation is
applied to the most sensitive location..
A risk ranking report involves several
investigative aspects, firstly a desktop study,
which is proceeded by a site reconnaissance. The
risk assessment model is based on the
source-pathway-receptor embodied in the
Contaminated Land Statutory legislation all
information is entered into a database to give a
ranking score to each area or site thus enabling
prioritization. REMEDIATION METHODS Corus
research into the area of remediation has
included the application of extensive methods
with low energy inputs and long treatment times
where they are appropriate. Field trials using
bioremediation to degrade hydrocarbons in soil
using fertilizers to stimulate naturally
occurring bacteria have recently been
completed. Corus are currently assessing the
feasibility of applying phytoremediation using a
variety of plant species to remediate organic and
heavy metal contamination. SITE INVESTIGATION To
meet the requirements of the Pollution Prevention
and Control Act 1999, Corus has undertaken
extensive work in Site Investigation. Following
on from risk assessments, the site investigation
is utilized in Initial and Closure Site Condition
Reports to establish a baseline for contamination
in the areas that fall under Part A processes.
BULK SOIL SAMPLING AT A STEELWORKS SITE
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