Contaminated Land

Common parameters include:

• Metals – As, B, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, Al, Be,
• Metals – Na, K, Ca, Mg
• Metals – Hg, including speciation
• Inorganics/physical – pH, EC, calorific value
• Anions (water soluble) – Cl, NO3, NO2, SO4, PO4
• Cyanides – Total, Free (easily liberatable), Thiocyanate
• Sulphur compounds – total sulphur, sulphide, sulphate
• Asbestos – screening, identification, quantification and water absorption
• TOC – total organic carbon, loss on ignition
• VOCs – volatile organic compounds
• SVOCs – semivolatile organic compounds
• TPH – GRO, EPH, speciated TPH, BTEX
• PAHs – polyaromatic hydrocarbons
• PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls
• Pesticides & herbicides – chlorinated, phosphorylated, triazines
• Dioxins and furans
• Waste characterisation – see Waste Management

Samples are given a brief description to comply with MCERTs, mixed, then subsampled. Most analyses are performed on the wet, as received soil, but where possible, samples are dried at 30°C, then crushed. Analyses performed on the wet soils are corrected and reported on a dry weight basis, again to comply with MCERTs.