The UK and Contaminated Land in Brief

In 1999 in the UK a new regulatory system dealing with the problems associated with contaminated land will be implemented. Local authorities will have a duty to inspect and identify contaminated land and to inform the owners, occupiers and others potentially affected by the land. In some circumstances, they will be able to serve "remediation notices" detailing works that must be carried out to render the site condition acceptable, (fines for not complying with a notice are up to £20,000). Under certain circumstances both the Environment Agency and the local authority will be allowed to carry out the remedial action necessary and charge the owners, or put a charge on the premises. This has implications for industrial sites, costs may be incurred in clean up, and land values may be affected when owners come to sell. Business insurance may be affected and during land acquisition the area of "due diligence" becomes an even more important issue. (Details of these can be found in the module UK and European Environmental Law) In the UK the polluting compounds/elements of greatest concern are identified in guidelines developed by the Interdepartmental Committee on the Remediation of Contaminated Land (ICRCL) (http://www.contaminatedland.co.uk/std-guid/icrcl-l.htm). This list has been introduced to give guidelines to land developers. In the Netherlands a similar but more detailed list is available (http://www.contaminatedland.co.uk/std-guid/dutch-l.htm). Contaminated land may pose a variety of risks including fire and explosion hazards, high toxicity, and impaired performance of building materials. Dust from dry land can become airborne on windy days and this is of particular concern if asbestos from old buildings etc is present. The effects of the various materials on the flora and fauna inhabiting such a site depend both on the form of the compound and its exposure route. Examples of some of the effects that the listed compounds have are given below and a more general overview in terms of the risks to future use of the land is given in table 4 (on the following page). Cadmium is believed to cause liver damage and some salts are considered have carcinogenic tendencies. Zinc is phytotoxic, i.e. toxic to plants. Chromium is a known human carcinogen causing damage to liver and kidneys. Cyanide attaches to haemoglobin in the blood and prevents the assimilation of oxygen thus cyanide poisoning can be fatal. Inhalation exposure by humans to mixed cresols results in respiratory tract irritation Anthracene targets the skin and liver, and adverse dermatological effects have been observed both in humans and animals. Prolonged dermal exposure produces pigmentation, cornification of skin surface layer. Human exposure to Anthracene has also been associated with headache, nausea, and loss of appetite, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, slow reactions, and weakness. Pyridine is considered to be harmful by inhalation and in contact with the skin or if swallowed. Effects can be irreversible is sufficient exposure occurs and it is thought to be a possible mutagen. The target organ(s) are the liver and kidneys. Toluene primarily affects the central nervous system and exposure is usually through inhalation or the skin. Cardiac arrhythmia has been reported in humans acutely exposed to toluene. 111 trichloroethane can cause liver damage and depression of the central nervous system however again this tends to be associated with inhalation