The EA has published its updated Land Contamination guidance: Risk Management (LCRM) document, which overrides the existing CLR11 publication.
The latter was first published in 2004 as a research document. It provided a technical framework for applying risk management processes for land contamination, meeting the criteria of the British Standards. In its place, the LCRM guidance has been designed to be accessible, and includes a list of basic site details and general information required for all risk assessment reports. It also contains links to relevant guidance via the CL:aire Water and Land Library, as well as links to British Standards and CIEH/LQM guidance documentation.
Chris Loaring, MD of Argyll Environmental said: “It offers a far more intuitive approach to the management of land contamination and includes up-to-date terminology to advise users on how to assess if there’s unacceptable risk, decide which options are the most suitable to manage the risk and implement remediation if needed.”
The main amendments include a shorter and simplified remediation strategy that focuses on three stages similar to CLR11. Stage 1 focuses on risk assessment, stage 2 options appraisal and stage 3 remediation and verification. The remediation process has been improved with the main emphasis being on a single remediation strategy. LCRM includes a matrix to determine which remediation options are most appropriate and presents options depending on what contaminants are found within the soil or water.
