The hazards of contaminated land

Abstract

Report of a Discussion meeting held at Burlington House on 15 May 1981, and chaired by Dr S. H. U. Bowie. Much of the land now available for development in inner cities and urban areas has been contaminated by previous use for industry, waste disposal and other activities. The degree and forms of contamination are extremely varied, but there are potential hazards particularly when redevelopment schemes for relatively sensitive purposes, such as housing, are proposed. The aim of this meeting was therefore to consider some of the issues relevant to the problems of contaminated land, and to discuss possible approaches towards providing effective solutions to them. The morning session concentrated on the problem of setting appropriate numerical values as guidelines for acceptable concentrations of some of the metals commonly encountered on contaminated land. These issues were introduced by Dr N. J. King and discussed in detail by Mr M. A. Smith, whose paper dealt with the principles on which such guidelines must be based. The lively discussion which followed showed the high degree of awareness and interest among the audience, with some topics generating particularly strong opin- ions. Several speakers were concerned about the scope of the guidelines and the need to ensure their comparability with similar sets of figures proposed for other purposes. In general there was substantial agreement that such guidance was necessary. The initiative taken by the Department of the Environment in recognizing the need for guidance and developing the advice to its present