In the event of a site being proven to be contaminated to the extent that it is considered to be a potential hazard, the appropriate mitigation measures need to be undertaken to effectively eliminate that risk. We have considerable experience of working with specialist teams with the sole purpose of reducing all known contamination related risks at minimum costs using a range of techniques which have been approved by the Environment Agency. Traditionally this would have meant the digging up of the contaminated material and its removal from site to a licensed tip however, in recent years this has become prohibitively expensive and is now considered to be very much a last resort. Alternative solutions which we have used to enable contaminated land to be safely developed include specifying:
- Permanent Encapsulation
- Impervious Capping Layers
- Ground Modification Works such as by Lime or Cement Stabilisation.
- The Provision of Semi Reactive Barriers
- Phytoremediation
- Soil Washing
- Photolysis
The above methods plus others offer cost effective remedial measures, which can be tailored to suit the specific contaminative characteristics of a particular site.