The first stage of investigation of a site suspected as being contaminated, whether it is a residential place, a gasoline station or an industrial plant, is collecting data and historical information from different bodies in order to characterize its potential for pollution. The requirement for performing such investigation can be a regulatory requirement (from the Ministry of Environmental Protection) or a private request to ensure the soil is not polluted.
The mass of data and historical information is gathered into a single document, referred to as “Phase I assessment”. Its purpose is to identify and determine the potential for pollution at the site – in the soil, in the soil gas and/ or in the groundwater – based on the historical data which includes, among others, the use of hazardous materials, leakage events, etc., and also data about the current state of the site.
The findings of the assessment map the potential for pollution at the site and describe the need for performing further environmental investigation, its scope and its type. In case the recommendation is to proceed with the environmental investigation, the assessment includes a sampling plan fitting the findings of the survey, with the purpose of verifying or refuting the suspicion for pollution.
Wintest has vast experience in performing Phase I assessments to different sites at different sizes.
