Environment Agency Amends Soil Test Policy

Ashtead Technology Rentals (UK) reports a rapid rise in rentals of their portable contaminated land assessment instruments following a recent amendment to Environment Agency policy. The qualification requirements for chemical test data on contaminated soils now acknowledges that portable measuring instruments can both improve the quality of contaminated land assessment and reduce costs.
Ashtead General Manager James Carlyle welcomed the policy update adding “Laboratory tests can be expensive which tends to minimise the
number of samples sent for analysis, thereby rendering the data less representative. In addition, results may not become available for some time which can result in costly delays.
Portable instruments facilitate contamination assessment at multiple points so that ‘hot spots’ can be quickly identified and results are available immediately so that decisions can be made without delay.
The most popular instruments are X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) instruments for metals contamination and PID gas detectors for the assessment of
hydrocarbon pollution.” XRF is a sophisticated technology that has been developed to the extent that it is now relatively simple to operate on site.
XRF instruments are expensive to purchase but can be hired for short-term projects from Ashtead Technology Rentals, global specialists in
environmental instrumentation rental. Ashtead customers have commented that the hire costs of an XRF analyser are easily covered by the quick
and accurate determination of material that is beyond economic treatment, ensuring that contaminated volumes for disposal are kept to a
minimum. PIDs are commonly used in the assessment of sites with contamination from oil or oil derivatives and solvents. These small portable devices are highly sensitive to almost all hydrocarbons except methane for which an infrared device would be employed.
Remediation companies have welcomed the updated policy because the deployment of portable instruments will improve both the speed and
quality of land assessment thereby improving the efficiency of the remediation process.