Risks to Groundwater from Contaminated Land

Nick’s experience of assessing the risks to groundwater from contaminated land (soils and groundwater) is not as extensive as his landfill experience, but all the skills of site conceptualisation, risk scoping calculations and understanding of contaminant fate and behaviour remain the same.  Examples of Nick’s specific contaminated land project experience include:

• The assessment of 27 sites in Northern Ireland for contamination by tarry wastes on behalf of the then DoE;
• The design of a soil remediation scheme for a large gasworks site in London for the then British Gas;
• Groundwater risk assessment and remediation design for a former gasworks site in Halifax, West Yorkshire for the then British Gas.  This work included a risk based permeable reactive barrier design to reduce ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations in site discharge to an adjacent watercourse.
• The derivation of TPH and PCB soil clean-up criteria for 7 large electricity substations for National Grid using the Environment Agency's P20 guidance.

Nick was co-trainer on a two day course for the Environment Agency on the Remedial Targets Methodology (See Reference #18 on Downloads page) from 2005 to 2008 and again as co-trainer (supporting AMEC) in 2013.  This is the risk assessment approach used to derive clean-up standards for soil and groundwater on land contaminated by historical activities. Please note that although the Remedial Targets Methodology Guidance document itself has not changed, its guidance on the setting of compliance point has been superseded by the Environment Agency’s Groundwater protection: Principles and practice (GP3) document (See Reference 10 on Downloads page ).