Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 22 - Updates on Current Good Practice - from 22 May 2023

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar. Duration of webinar 30 mins. Available from 22 May 2023.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

This Toolbox Talk will explore what practice is "good" practice and why any claims of or requirements for "best" practice should be resisted.  Technical guidance, and especially the Land Contamination Risk Management guidance, is at the core of good practice.  New guidance from the BSI and others will be summarised. The process of establishing good practice, and how you can get involved in this process, will be described. It will summarise what good practice can be on PFAS from CIRIA, the Environment Agency, the UK Committee of Toxicity, NICOLE and beyond.

Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 24 - Practical Experience with Planning Issues - from 25 September 2023

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar.  Available from 25 September 2023.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

Much work on contaminated land management takes place as a result of sites being redeveloped and thus in the context of the Planning regime. This webinar will talk about what helps sites affected by land contamination go through planning smoothly,  illustrated by experiences (good and less good) of a range of recent sites.  Land contamination is usually of only minor materiality in development planning but is a much more significant material  consideration in development control. The pros and cons of standard and bespoke planning conditions for both applicant  and regulator will be discussed.  The benefits to applicants and regulators of adhering to the Land Contamination Risk Management guidance on report contents will be discussed.

Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 29 - Verification for Planning Do's and Don'ts - from 22 January 2024

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar.  Available until 31 March 2026.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

The endpoint for a site affected by contamination is for all potential contaminant linkages relevant to the development to have been demonstrably broken.  One way this is achieved is via verification. Verification plans should be designed before the remediation starts and need to be properly executed and recorded.  Often lines of evidence will be used to demonstrate the land has been rendered safe and suitable for use.  The advantage of formulating and then implementing a verification plan tied into the site specific planning conditions and local development plan will be discussed. The conceptual site model is the simplest means of communicating how contaminant linkages have been broken. The (very limited) role of classical statistics will be explored. This webinar will talk about good practices for verification with examples from real sites.

Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 34 - LCRM Updates, Accounting for Climate Change and All That!

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar.  Available from 24 June 2024.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

Climate change will result in extreme weather events with more precipitation, pronounced droughts, extremes in temperature, stronger winds and more wildfires. This Toolbox Talk goes through what the EA Land Contamination Risk Management (LCRM) guidance expects at each stage in terms of how climate change and extreme weather events affect the outcomes.  You will see that there is a clear break between each Stage so you can jump straight to that section if you want. 

Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 39 - PFAS - What Are They and How Do They Behave?

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar.  It is available from 2 September 2024.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

Per and poly fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemicals known for their extreme resistance to chemical and biological breakdown as a result of the incredibly strong carbon-fluorine bonds in their structure. Some behave as surfactants and have been used to form foams to smother fires. Others are used for a range of purposes in textiles, electronics, food wrapping and cooking utensils to name but a very few uses. Once released in the environment many PFAS are persistent, mobile, toxic and bioaccumulative. Some "precursors" can naturally transform in the environment or after being taken up in the body to "terminal" fully fluorinated structures.  Some are carcinogenic and for many there is very little if any information on how potent their toxicity is. Regulatory attention has grown over the past thirty years and public awareness has been heightened by high profile cases, notably in the USA and Australia. This tool box talk is an introduction to the universe of PFAS structures, their uses, investigation, analysis, risk assessment and remediation. It is a starting point for a journey we will all be on for many years to come.

Contaminated Land Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talk No. 42 - Planning Conditions, Generic, Local or Site Specific?

This is a pre-recorded mini-webinar.  It is available from 13 January 2025.

Fee = £65.00 plus VAT or 1 credit

The toolbox talk highlights the role of conditions to planning permissions making otherwise unacceptable development acceptable. The underlying theme is land contamination. The 6 rules conditions need to meet - whether in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland or England - are described. Grampian, tail-pieced, pre commencement and irrational conditions are covered. Conditions are a powerful catalyst to making development sustainable that need to be used deliberately and incisively.