What is BS 10175 - Investigation of contaminated sites about?
Contaminated land contains harmful chemicals in quantities that present a risk or a potential risk to human health or the environment. When land is legally defined as ‘contaminated’ there’s a legal obligation to ensure it doesn’t present a risk to health or the environment.
The UK Government’s long term aim is to work towards a future where all the potentially contaminated land in England and Wales has been identified, assessed and made safe. Therefore BS 10175 was created to provide recommendations and guidance on how to investigate potentially contaminated land, or land with naturally elevated concentrations of potentially harmful substances, to determine or manage any risks.
Who is BS 10175 - Investigation of contaminated sites for?
BS 10175 will be used by those with an understanding of the risk based approach to the assessment of sites as described in the Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination (CLR 11) [31].
Specifically, users will be experts in:
- Site investigations
- Land pollution
- Environmental cleanliness
- Dangerous materials
- Toxic materials
- Contamination
- Pollution
- Risk assessment
- Project management
- Sampling methods
- Field testing
- Laboratory testing
- Chemical analysis and testing
- Soil pollution
- Ground water
- Surface water
- Gases
Why should you use BS 10175 - Investigation of contaminated sites?
BS 10175 allows users to:
- Set the objectives of an investigation
- Develop a strategy for the investigation
- Identify risks arising from the presence of contamination
- Design the different phases of the investigation
- Carry out sampling, field testing and laboratory analysis
- Conduct risk assessment of a potentially contaminated site
Its recommendations and guidance are intended to ensure that the objectives of an investigation are achieved and that appropriate data for risk assessment are obtained. Note though that it’s not feasible to provide detailed guidance for every possible investigation scenario.
The results of the investigation also ought to delineate all known aspects of the site that could impinge upon or affect source-pathway-receptor scenarios defined within the conceptual model.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS 10175 was amended to align with the nine parts of ISO 18400 that were published earlier in 2017.
BS ISO 18400-102 and -103 have become normative in this amendment, replacing parts of the BS ISO 10381 series that were previously normative in BS 10175 and which have been superseded.
Local authority or Environmental Agency?
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