Contaminated Land Definition
Contaminated land is defined at Section 78A (2) of Part IIA - Environmental Protection Act 1990) as:
“any land which appears to the LA in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that –
a) significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being cause; or
b) pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be, caused."
The local authority has the sole responsibility for determining whether any land appears to be contaminated land.
The local authority should identify a significant pollutant linkage to declare that a land is contaminated. For pollution linkage to be formed there must be three separate elements:
· Contaminant (Hazard) - a source of contamination must be present
· Receptor (Target) - a receptor for that contamination to affect
· Pathway (via air, soil or water) - a pathway for the source to be able to affect the receptor
Unless all three elements of a pollutant linkage are identified, land cannot be declared contaminated. Consequently, land can only be contaminated land where it is causing an unacceptable risk to human health or other specific receptors such as rivers or groundwater.