Find Out About a Contaminated Property (2024)

FAQs

How to identify contaminated land? ›

Land can only be determined as contaminated land if all three source, pathway and receptor are present. This is known as a 'pollution linkage' or a 'significant pollution linkage' if the risk is considered significant. If there is a source on site but no pathway or receptor then there is no pollution linkage.

A desk top study which is a review of the history and environmental setting of the site. A site walkover which identifies the current condition and use of the site. Any possible contaminant linkages that could be present depending on the current or proposed use if the site is going to be developed.

This defines contaminated land as that which is causing or likely to cause a significant risk of significant harm to a number of specified receptors, including human health, controlled waters, property, livestock and crops, and ecological systems.

Ultimately, the property owner. However, if the property owner can determine who caused a contamination, a civil action for cost recovery can be initiated. This can end up shifting the cleanup burden to the responsible party.

Apparent discolorations in soil and strong odors are other indications that the soil may be hazardous. Another possible clue of contamination may be if vegetation fails to thrive in a certain area of soil, although this depends on the vegetation and whether the soil's natural content is hospitable to such growth.

Soil tests usually are used to optimize fertilizer use but can also be done to test for contaminants. Contact a university or private soil testing laboratory, and then expect to wait from a few days to a few weeks to receive the results.

With potentially poisonous and carcinogenic materials present, contaminated land can be dangerous for people working and living on it. Direct effects of polluted sites can include inhalation of gases and dust, contact with soil and the consumption of food grown on the land.

Superfund Site Definition: Any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment.

Sites where improper handling or accidents resulted in release of toxic or hazardous materials that are not wastes.

A property owner or tenant may be held liable for contamination even if that person did not deposit hazardous substances on the site or knowingly or negligently allow unsafe conditions to persist there.

Who is responsible for cleaning up pollution? ›

EPA conducts and supervises investigation and cleanup actions at sites where oil or hazardous chemicals have been or may be released into the environment. Cleanup activities take place at active and abandoned waste sites, federal facilities and properties, and where any storage tanks have leaked.

Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of every human to clean the environment and protect the planet from further environmental degradation. It is time to become responsible citizens and maintain sustainable waste practices such as recycling, reusing and reducing waste wherever possible.

Land contamination can result from a variety of intended, accidental, or naturally occurring activities and events such as manufacturing, mineral extraction, abandonment of mines, national defense activities, waste disposal, accidental spills, illegal dumping, leaking underground storage tanks, hurricanes, floods, ...

Ecofficiency provide land remediation services to segregate the asbestos from the impacted soils on site through proven value engineering techniques. We will identify the most suitable land remediation technique for the site which may include excavation, hand picking, screening, soil washing of the contaminated soil.

3.3 Three main sampling patterns are discussed in the contaminated land literature. These are the square grid, stratified random and simple random patterns, as shown in Figure 1. The square grid is by far the most popular and has obvious practical advantages.