How to identify asbestos in soil and contaminated land

There are many conversations surrounding the continued existence of asbestos in the uk. The substance was banned for use in industries such as construction way back in 1999, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t still around us today, asbestos continues to be found in materials that dated back before it was outlawed. In fact, it is believed that there could still be as many as 1.5 million buildings in this country that still contains the deadly substance.

However, it is important for anyone who owns or manages land in the UK to understand that asbestos can find its way into the ground, too.

Today, we will therefore consider the seriousness of asbestos in soil as a concern, and how the material can be identified in the ground.

Why is asbestos in soil a serious concern?

There is a range of ways in which asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) have often ended up in soil. Such was the fibrous silicate mineral’s extensive use in UK construction from the mid-19^th century until the 1999 ban, it is almost certain that any structure in the country constructed or renovated during that era contains asbestos.

Even in cases where buildings from before the year 2000 have since been demolished, there hasn’t always been enough care taken to remove ACMs from those properties beforehand. This has sometimes led to common ACMs such as asbestos insulating board (AIB), insulation, and/or cement roofing materials being left in the ground.

In other cases, the presence of asbestos in the soil at a given site may be attributable to previous industrial waste handling there, or the illegal dumping of ACMs.

Whatever the exact cause of asbestos in soil, it can be a major concern for a number of reasons:

• Asbestos in soil is a largely hidden hazard. Individual asbestos fibres aren’t always visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, any disturbance of asbestos-containing soil could easily cause the release of potentially harmful fibres.
• Asbestos in soil can bring severe legal and financial consequences. If you own or manage a site where asbestos exists in soil, and you fail to comply with the relevant UK regulations, you could face consequences such as fines, the closure of your site, and the need for expensive remediation work.

Where is asbestos in soil most likely to be found?

In theory, asbestos may be present in soil at nearly any location where ACMs have ever existed – for example, where a building containing ACMs might have once stood.

However, you may be especially likely to discover asbestos in the soil at such high-risk sites as:

• Former industrial sites and factories
• Demolition or construction sites
• Agricultural land with buried building waste
• Roadside verges with historical resurfacing materials

As we have previously written about, thousands of different products made through the decades are known to have contained asbestos.

Again, any one of those asbestos products could theoretically end up in soil at a particular site. However, the following ACMs are known to be particularly common in soil:

• Asbestos cement fragments
• Pipe lagging remnants
• Insulating board pieces
• Asbestos-contaminated hardcore and rubble.

What are the visual signs of asbestos in soil?

We have often emphasised here at Oracle Solutions, that you can’t depend on visual identification alone as a means of determining whether a product or material does or does not contain asbestos.

This advice applies even more strongly to the identification of asbestos in soil. After all, when ACMs come to be buried in the ground, they often aren’t intact as recognisable asbestos products.

Instead, ACMs in soil are frequently highly damaged, and may have been broken down into small fragments. Individual asbestos fibres are microscopic, and ACMs can be embedded in soil without any fragments that can be easily identified as potential asbestos.

However, there are still some potential visual signifiers of asbestos in soil, which you would be well-advised to look out for:

• Grey, white, or blueish cement-like pieces
• Thin, fibrous textures, particularly in insulation remnants
• Corrugated sheet fragments or broken pipe sections.

How can you test soil for asbestos?

So, let’s set out a scenario that could arise: you have spotted relatively intact-looking materials embedded in your land that you suspect could be ACMs. While you may have read about professional testing for asbestos in soil, your head might have also been turned by the existence of “DIY” asbestos testing kits. Could they be the answer for testing your soil?

We have written in great detail about the merits of “DIY” asbestos sampling kits in the past. To reiterate the warnings we gave back then, the quality of these testing kits can be highly variable, and the results they provide can be unreliable, too.

Ultimately, you should be arranging for professionals to arrive at your site and carry out comprehensive surveying and sampling. The subsequent laboratory analysis will give you the definitive confirmation you require of the asbestos situation at your land with full confidence that the results are accurate.

Various types of asbestos soil testing exist, including:

• Phase contrast microscopy (PCM), which involves basic fibre counting
• Polarised light microscopy (PLM), which can identify the specific asbestos type
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allows for high-precision analysis

It is typical for someone who is concerned about the potential presence of asbestos on land for which they are responsible, to request that an asbestos-contaminated land survey is conducted. This survey – which may include trial pits and inspection to required depths – will encompass such steps as asbestos bulk sampling and asbestos in soil testing and analysis.

You might be interested in consulting our previous in-depth guide to the asbestos soil sampling and testing procedure.

In order to provide an asbestos testing service, UK testing laboratories must be accredited to ISO/ESO 17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). All soil testing carried out by Oracle Solutions is undertaken by laboratories that are fully UKAS-accredited.

What are the UK regulations for asbestos-contaminated land?

There are various pieces of legislation in the UK with implications for the approaches responsible individuals will need to take to the management of asbestos-contaminated land:

• The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012)

   

  CAR 2012 is the overarching legislation for asbestos management in Great Britain. Its sets out a “duty to manage” asbestos, including an obligation for dutyholders to put together a plan outlining how the risks from asbestos materials on their site will be managed.

• The Environmental Protection Act 1990

   

  A strict legal definition of “contaminated land” is provided in Part 2A of this Act, Section 78A (2). Your asbestos-contaminated land could be subject to this legislation if significant harm is being caused, or is likely to be caused, as a consequence of the asbestos in the ground.

The UK’s planning and development rules can also have major implications for how you respond to suspected ACMs you discover on your land.

For further information, you might be interested in reading our comprehensive guide to how you can keep on the right side of the UK’s asbestos regulations.

How to conduct a risk assessment for asbestos-contaminated soil

It is very important that a risk assessment is carried out on land where asbestos is known to be present in the soil. Such a process will greatly help you in determining the most appropriate remediation response at your site.

The broad step-by-step process of risk evaluation can be described as follows:

• The identification of potential contamination sources
• The arrangement of initial inspections of your site
• The determination of the level of asbestos exposure risk

For the purposes of the risk assessment on your land, you will need a combination of an asbestos-contaminated land survey, asbestos in soil sampling, and Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) testing.

Furthermore, the risk presented by the asbestos in your soil will need to be assessed against how the land is set to be used. Any construction plans for the site, for example, could greatly heighten the likelihood of the asbestos fibres there being disturbed.

The outcome of your risk assessment should be included in the asbestos register for your site. The information gathered from the surveying and risk assessment stages will then need to be fed into the asbestos management plan for your site.

What should you do if you find asbestos in soil?

We have written in the past about the exact steps you are advised to take in the event that you come across suspected asbestos materials in your soil.

To summarise here, in such circumstances, you should be taking the following immediate steps:

• Stopping any ground disturbance work at the site
• Securing the affected area
• Calling an asbestos specialist

Whenever you are looking for a company to help manage asbestos at your site or land, we would urge you to prioritise hiring a contractor that has been licensed by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out asbestos work. This will help to ensure the work your chosen contractor undertakes is of a high standard, as judged by the HSE itself.

Can asbestos-contaminated soil be remediated?

There are many circumstances – for example, if the ACMs in the ground have fragmented significantly, and/or are located beneath the surface – in which it will be necessary to have the contaminated soil and waste fully removed. If this route is chosen, the contaminated materials will then need to be transported to a licensed asbestos landfill site for disposal.

However, depending on the specific situation at your site, other methods of asbestos remediation may be possible.

Your options here could include encapsulation of the contaminated soil to guard against fibre release, or even bioremediation. The latter involves using microorganisms and plants to break down, remove, or detoxify asbestos in soil.

Next steps…

In summary, then, while initial visual inspection can help you pinpoint materials buried in the ground at your site that theoretically could be asbestos, you will need to take various other steps – including calling upon professional services such as surveying and laboratory testing – to determine whether ACMs are genuinely present in the soil.

Once you have gone through these stages, you will be well-placed to make informed decisions to manage any asbestos-contaminated soil in a safe, compliant, and responsible manner.

Contact a licensed asbestos specialist today for a risk assessment, and to discuss the actions you should take next. It is a quick and straightforward process to reach out to the Oracle Solutions team via phone or email.