Soil & Sediment Testing
Characteristics and contaminants, established
Soil and sediment sampled and analysed to establish what is present, at what concentration, and what it means for the site.
The sampling plan determines the answer
Contamination is rarely uniform. A plan that samples in the wrong places produces a clean result on a contaminated site, or an alarming one on a site that is broadly fine. The number of points, their positions and their depths decide what you learn.
This matters most in transactions. Buyers who accept a thin investigation regularly inherit liabilities far larger than any discount they negotiated, and the cost of finding out later is measured in remediation rather than survey fees.
What the investigation covers
Contaminated land assessment
Sampling and analysis to establish whether contamination is present, what it is and how far it extends, designed around the site's history.
Due diligence investigation
Pre-transaction assessment so that liability is understood before it transfers with the asset.
Sediment analysis
Analysis of marine, coastal and watercourse sediments where dredging, discharge or coastal works are involved.
Agricultural and soil quality
Characterisation for agricultural and landscaping purposes, where the question is suitability rather than contamination.
Remediation support
Validation sampling during and after remediation, which is the evidence that the work achieved what it set out to.
How the work runs
Review
Site history and previous use are reviewed to target the investigation.
Plan
Sampling positions, depths and determinands are set against that history.
Sample
Fieldwork is carried out under chain of custody, with logs kept for every point.
Assess
Results are compared against the applicable criteria and the implications set out.
A result is only as good as the method behind it.
Have your conditions reviewedWhat you get out of it
History drives the plan
Previous site use determines where we sample and what we look for, rather than a generic grid.
Depth matched to the source
Surface contamination and a leaking tank need very different sampling profiles.
Every point logged
Position, depth and conditions are recorded for each sample, which is what makes the result defensible.
Implications stated
Results arrive with what they mean for the site and its intended use, not just concentrations.
Who needs soil testing
Industrial facilities
Storage areas, process zones and historical spill locations are the usual focus, and a permit condition sometimes requires periodic investigation.
Discuss your siteProperty transactions
Buyers and lenders increasingly require environmental due diligence, and contamination is one of the few liabilities that cannot be walked away from.
Discuss your siteFuel and chemical storage
Tank farms and fuel stations carry a recognised risk of hydrocarbon contamination, and leaks are frequently historical rather than current.
Discuss your siteQuarries & extraction
Soil characterisation supports the rehabilitation plan, and stripped topsoil has to be assessed before reinstatement.
Discuss your siteConstruction
Ground conditions are established before works begin, both for contamination and for disposal classification of arisings.
Discuss your siteRemediation projects
Validation sampling is what closes a remediation out, and without it the work is difficult to demonstrate.
Discuss your siteCommon questions
How many samples does a site need?
What contaminants do you test for?
How deep do you sample?
What if contamination is found?
Is soil testing required for a property purchase?
Not sure what your permit requires?
Send us the conditions and we will tell you exactly which parameters, methods and frequencies apply. No charge for the review.