To Remediate or not to Remediate?
UK guidance with respect to contaminated land is currently undergoing some long anticipated upheaval. The Environment Agency is in the process of updating the Soil Guideline Values (SGV’s) that have, since 2002, been the main stay for assessment of contaminated land in the UK and therefore have been used to determine if land should be considered contaminated or not.

Whilst a number of SGV’s have been updated and increased for certain contaminants there are some fundamental changes between the previous and new approaches. e.g.

• There is no classification for residential use without plant uptake, which will affect developments where landscaping is intended as opposed gardens.

• A default of 6% soil organic matter has been used to develop the SGV’s. If soil organic matter is increased, then the SGV’s for organic contaminants increase.

The impact of the changes will be significant if the SGV’s are not interpreted and applied in the appropriate manner. This could lead to:-

• SGV’s being too low.

• Remediation being proposed where it is not necessary, which could cost you money.

In so far as they have been produced to date the SGV’s have been raised, thus increasing contaminant levels that can exist before action is necessary. This raises a number of questions.

• Are historically assessed sites still considered as contaminated?

• Can the new SGV’s be used to mitigate the level of remediation required?

If you would like any further advice with respect to Remediation, please do not hesitate to contact Stephen Bullock on 01473 825300 or
by email at stephenbullock@rj-ie.co.uk     www.richardjackson.uk.com.