Asbestos in Soils

Land re-use has never been more popular and is key to delivering construction projects. However, many brownfield sites remain contaminated with asbestos (and other hazardous materials), which can include other carcinogens, noxious substances, or even unexploded ordnance. These types of contaminants can cause significant delays to construction work if not assessed/investigated during the early parts of the project and of course pose a high risk to personnel on the ground or in the near vicinity.

Asbestos can find its way into made ground and soils in many different circumstances. These include the historic demolition of buildings containing ACMs, fly-tipped waste, the nature of the business that may have previously occupied a site and previously ineffective remediation of areas that may have been suspected as being contaminated.

Very low concentrations of Asbestos fibres from various forms such as loose fill, insulation, lagging, asbestos insulating board (AIB), cement, etc. may be present in soil and in the made ground and these fibres may not be visible to the naked eye. Analysis of soil provides the accurate quantification of any asbestos fibres present as a percentage of the overall mass. This, in turn, can be equated to the occupational risk and the practices associated with its removal and disposal or re-use.