Environmental Investigations

Posted by Silverman Abel on July 13th, 2021

We use the University’s virtual learning environment, Learning Central, to share course materials, including lectures, professional reports and links to government agencies. You may also use Learning Central to communicate and share ideas with fellow students and course tutors. The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. You will need to collect detailed investigation data to support the use of evaluation criteria. If you are planning a development you may be required to submit a Phase 1 Desk Study as part of your planning application. A desk study may also be required Phase 1 Desk Study as part of a pre-purchase due diligence study, or to secure lending. The purpose of a Phase 1 Desk Study is to identify potential harmful or costly environmental issues with the site at an early stage, preventing problems further down the line. Our feasibility assessments can be undertaken by telephone conversation, video conference or written summary, and are provided as a complimentary service. Building warranty – The National House Building Council , or other warranty providers, may request a phase 1 report to support the building warranty. The likelihood that sources of contamination are present within the subsurface beneath the site or near by. For more information as to the support that Argyll Environmental can provide, please do check out our case studies and contact us if you need more information. Therefore, it is crucial that developers carry out an investigation into the extent of contamination to avoid purchasing land where the costs of remedial work might be unfeasible. Safety and effectiveness are both paramount when it comes to the actual implementation of your remediation strategy. You may be able to use existing generic assessment criteria or with specialist knowledge derive new ones. Generic assessment criteria are screening criteria which are derived using a standard set of generic assumptions. They are designed to be broadly applicable to a wide range of site conditions and exposure scenarios. The hydrogeological sensitivity of the site is also examined by consideration of ground permeability, aquifer status, Environment Agency Source Protection Zones, spring locations and private water supplies. Our strong research environment focuses on key issues in the UK and internationally, from the social and economic impact of developments in the UK, to studies of Brazilian rainforests, Caribbean towns and livelihoods in Africa. We work with business and industry, charities and non-governmental organisations, and link with other departments whose expertise provide a diverse and stimulating research environment. We work closely with our search provider partners to ensure that both they and their clients can be certain that they always have the right report for the right transaction, and can find the answer to every query quickly. Start making your transaction management easier with Optimus – our game-changing conveyancing panel management services for lenders, estate agents, mortgage brokers and introducers. Make your firm more compliant and productive, by using Intelliworks - our case management system designed to free your fee earner and support staff from routine tasks by using our managed workflows. Our insurance services empower you to break free of aggregator sites to deliver fast, efficient and accurate quotes directly to your customers. We’ve created an integrated product portfolio that provides surveyors with everything they need – including case management and booking, as well as mobile surveyor tools. For more complex sites, or where piling or penetrative ground improvement methods are proposed , we advise you to consult with the relevant regulator. You may need to discuss the proposals for the site investigation and find out if there are any specific regulatory or reporting requirements. You can do this by comparing the contaminant concentrations against appropriate generic assessment criteria. Under the Construction Regulations you must identify health and safety hazards and risks. Concrete was the first service to be offered by ACS Testing back in 1987, since then we have increased our scope to cover a wide range of UKAS Accredited testing on fresh and hardened concrete, both on site and in our laboratories. A walk-over study would then establish the present character and condition of the area. It would be used to identify any existing features that can be correlated with past activity. We’re focused on quality and attention to detail, we use the latest technology to guarantee speed, ensure rigorous data gathering and save you money. We encourage lifelong learning for our staff, this is achieved by a combination of further education, attendance at relevant seminars and conferences, bespoke training courses and in house mentoring. This will all depend on the topography, geology, hydrogeology and hydrology of the site amongst other site-specific considerations. Any ground / surface water abstraction points downstream of the site should be recorded as these may have liability implications should the development cause any pollution. Flood risk data is constantly being updated by the Environment Agency as well as the Local Authority. It’s important that your assessment includes the flood risk and hydrogeology of your site, particularly focussing on whether your site lies on the Principle Aquifer and/or Source Protection Zone, which are both susceptible to pollution of groundwater. If you’re using piled foundations in your build, CIRIA PR 86 recommends that ‘a CPT is undertaken at each pile location at sites identified during desk studies to be prone to dissolution’. When assessing the potential for contamination or geotechnical hazards on your site the history of both the site and the surrounding areas is extremely important. Other sources of information may include an internet search and any historical aerial photos. Additionally it may be necessary to search Local Authority Libraries and Local History departments. Whether off-site past industrial use will have any influence or impact on your site will depend on the type of industry that it was as well as the underlying geography/topography of the area. However, consideration should generally be given to any such features within a 250m radius of the site with the potential to affect it. To provide the highest standard of geo-environmental consulting in a safe and efficient manner, on budget and to the required programme to meet the needs and expectations of our clients. We coordinate and communicate with the development team so that our services are completed effectively and to programme. Similar but slightly different site condition reports for environmental permits are dealt with by the Environment Agency. Adeptus is a team of specialists consultants and scientists providing geo-environmental site assessment, environmental reports, environmental auditing and permitting advice. As contaminated land consultants our services range from preliminary risk assessment, to intrusive site investigation and detailed quantitative risk assessment. Desk studies are critical in revealing potential ground hazards such as mining hazards, landfill operations, nearby pollution incidents, naturally occurring radon gas, potentially contaminating land uses and pollution incidents. Our clients’ benefit from our full range of planning and land development services, required for different types of planning applications. We strive to ensure our clients are best represented - by providing a highly skilled, honest, competitive and dynamic professional planning and specialist service. The potential for ground constraints can be quickly assessed by our experienced geologists during the desk study stage. Constraints mapping, to inform master-planning and to minimise abnormal development costs, would be prepared and progressively reviewed and revised throughout the site investigation and design stages. Early understanding of environmental and/or geotechnical concerns on your site is achieved by desk study assessment. Envirocheck Analysis is an online platform that makes the assessment of crucial data and mapping quicker and easier. Quickly identify, assessing, annotate and extract information relating to potential sources, receptors and pathways of contaminative material ready to complete your environmental report or conceptual site model. Our unique Envirocheck Analysis product does away with scrolling through PDFs across multiple screens and puts you in control of data analysis. Quickly identify sources of contamination from the historical mapping using the draw and note tools and then assess the impact of various data points at the click of a button. With the initial analysis complete, you can download data in manageable formats ready for use in your report template.

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Silverman Abel

About the Author

Silverman Abel
Joined: May 19th, 2021
Articles Posted: 60

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