If you are looking at purchasing a property, be it residential or commercial, it pays to do your due-diligence. If the property was a former horticultural site or a Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report for the property is tagged with a warning about potential soil contamination, then you may wish to have soil contamination tests carried out.
- Want to know where you stand before you put that offer in on the property? Thomas Consultants can provide on-the-spot soil testing for heavy metals* and lead paint. We can also carry out additional soil testing for other contaminants such as pesticide or hydrocarbon residues and asbestos.
- Developing a property or undertaking earthworks is an exciting prospect, but before you break ground, it’s crucial to conduct your due diligence and assess potential soil contamination. This is especially important if you suspect potentially contaminating activities may have occurred on the property in the past, such as industrial use, fuel storage, or waste disposal.**
Note:
*This method is suitable for limited heavy metals only
**This testing is unlikely to be suitable to support a resource consent application, but we can also offer these services
2.Defining the Extent of the Contamination (Delineation)
- You may be subdividing or developing a site that you know is contaminated, or are about to begin the remediation process, and would like to confirm, or attempt to reduce, the volume of contaminated soils* requiring disposal. Traditional delineation assessments involve the collection of soil samples on a grid extending out from the identified contamination. The collected samples are then selected for laboratory analysis, leading away from the contaminated areas until the full extent of contamination is known. In the event that the initial grid is too small, additional site visits and laboratory delays may require the reestablishment of plant and contractors. Due to multiple analysis events, this process can create significant delays and costs to the project. With our unique technology, delineation can be undertaken rapidly in the field. This effectively removes any significant delays and at minimal costs to the project. Rapid delineation testing is suitable for:
- Commercial Developments
- Residential Developments
- Local Council Developments (for example parks and open space areas).
Speak to our team to find out more about rapid delineation testing.
Note:
*This method is suitable for limited heavy metals only
3.Further Investigation and Contamination Screening
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- As part of larger investigations or remediation projects, often additional analysis is required in situations where the soil contaminants vary significantly across the site.
- Our new instant soil testing techniques offer affordable screening of onsite soils). This allows for sampling to be undertaken at much higher frequencies to provide a greater level of detail and certainty of the site contamination*, which can assist with the separation or classification of contaminated soils for management or disposal purposes.
- This type of testing is also ideal in commercial or residential areas, where there may be some concern or interest in soil quality, but the soil testing results are not required for a resource consent.
For further information or advice please contact our Soil Contamination team.
Note:
*This method is suitable for limited heavy metals only
4. Confirm site is clean and suitable for redevelopment (Validation)
The final stage of the soil remediation process is validation (i.e. to confirm site is clean and suitable for redevelopment).
The usual process for validation involves the manual collection of samples from the suspected extent of contamination. These samples are then sent off to the laboratory for analysis. Where delineation hasn’t been carried out, it’s common that additional site visits and retesting will be required before the site is deemed clean – this could cause lengthy delays and escalated costs for the project.
We offer instant onsite checks* prior to validation testing.
These checks provide considerable time and cost savings through:
- Reduction of downtime for plant and equipment onsite.
- Reduction of number of (failed) validation samples and need for revisits.
Make the validation stage quick and easy for you, speak to our team today to find out more.
Note:
*This method is suitable for limited heavy metals only
5.Instant Waste Screening for Soils Disposal from your site
As part of your development project, you may be required to remove non-cleanfill materials from your site.
The typical process for this currently involves sending samples off to the laboratory for analysis, waiting for the results and then gaining approval from the disposal facility. All of which can be a costly and time-consuming process.
Fortunately, we now have the capability to instantly test soils and provide results on the spot. Disposal facilities will likely accept soils based on these results as long as supplementary laboratory results are provided at a later stage. This means your project can keep moving along without delays.
Instant waste screening is ideal in situations when:
- Soil contamination varies across a site. Our team can be onsite during the excavation and direct the loads for appropriate disposal, or separate contaminated materials from clean(er) materials which will help reduce disposal costs.
- Material is ready to dispose, but laboratory samples are not yet available. We can complete sampling and demonstrate to the disposal facility that the material is suitable*.
To find out more about instant waste screening for soils please get in touch with our Soil Contamination team today.
Note:
*Existing contaminant levels are needed and applies only to the selected heavy metals