| Title: |
Normal Background Concentrations (NBCs) of Contaminants in English Soils
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| Resource Type: |
document --> technical publication --> report
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| Country: |
United Kingdom
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| Language(s): |
English
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| Year: |
2012 |
| Author 1/Producer: |
Defra
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| Other Authors/Producers: |
BGS
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| Author / Producer Type: |
Agency, regulator or other governmental or inter-governmental body
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| Report/Document number/description: |
Establishing data on background levels of contamination - SP1008
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| Publisher Country:
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United Kingdom |
| Publisher web link (root): |
http://randd.defra.gov.uk
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EUGRIS Keyword(s): |
Contaminated land-->Contaminants-->Heavy metals
Diffuse pollution-->Sources
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| Short description: |
PROJECT COMPLETED AND REPORTS AVAILABLE
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| Long description: |
Project decsription:
This project will define the typical background concentrations (TBCs) for soil contaminants to support the simplification and updating of the contaminated land Statutory Guidance. The objective is to make this part of contaminated land regime more effective by developing a robust, transparent method for the definition of the typical background concentration of contaminants. The work is designed to determine the significant variations of contaminants in soil in order to define what is a typical or abnormal concentration range. A database of existing soil data from both urban and rural areas of England will be assembled and used to define TBCs of contaminants using scientifically robust methods. The research will take into account the important natural features that determine a soil‟s characteristics (i.e. the underlying geology which is the parent material) combined with demonstrable impacts to the chemistry of the surface environment by human activity. The proposed methodology will follow a work flow, illustrated with worked examples and case studies. The first stages involve determining the suitability of the contaminant and area under investigation for an estimation of a TBC. An area is classified according to a top level classifier (e.g. geological) to give area classes (e.g. alluvium, ironstone, mineralised). These will intersect with the built-up or non-built-up classes to give areas defined as domains. Using robust statistical analysis, domains, where sufficient data and information are available, will be assigned a TBC. Certain contaminants may be identified as unsuitable for establishing such a TBC and some areas will have gaps in information requiring extrapolation of the soil chemical environment from known areas or use of proxy data. Technical guidance sheets will be written for selected contaminants (e.g Pb, As, BaP and asbestos) to inform assessors how they should compare concentrations from a specific site with a defined TBC for that domain. The contaminants selected for the technical guidance sheets will be based on stakeholder/Steering Group/Defra consultations so the technical guidance provided is of maximum use and benefit. The Project will have significant cost benefits to Local Authorities (LAs) and sectors affected by the contaminated land regime. For example, the work will lead to an increased cost-effectiveness in use of taxpayers‟ money due to administrative benefits for LAs resulting from simplified guidance. Reduced regulatory uncertainty will help the construction sector through similar time savings. The guidance will help to focus on high-risk sites benefiting public health with cleaner healthier environments and reducing property blight that affects both people and businesses.
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Submitted By:
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Professor Paul Bardos WhoDoesWhat?
Last update: 01/11/2012
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