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The Application of Risk Assessment to Contaminated Land: The British Gas Experience
Author(s) -
WALKER P. L.,
MUNRO S.,
HAWKINGS C. L.,
SHEPHERD F. E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.1994.tb01157.x
Subject(s) - demolition , contaminated land , environmental science , contamination , environmental remediation , liability , risk assessment , environmental planning , environmental engineering , environmental protection , waste management , risk analysis (engineering) , civil engineering , business , engineering , computer science , accounting , ecology , computer security , biology
British Gas owns over 900 sites within the UK with a total land area in excess of 5500 ha. Many of the sites are former gasworks, chemical works or associated holder stations. Although serious attempts were made to remove contamination during the last three decades, the operating and demolition standards previously considered to be adequate may no longer be acceptable and may have given rise to sites with the potential to contaminate adjacent land, surface waters and ground‐water. As a result, further actions may now be required on these sites to reach new environmental standards, thereby reducing any chance there may be of legal liability on the Company. This paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of several qualitative and quantitative risk‐assessment methods which can be used to prioritize potentially contaminated sites for further investigation. The use of site investigation data to accurately target risk reduction in site remediation proposals is also discussed.