Contaminated Land and industrial ruins

We provide advice to private companies and public bodies on matters related to contaminated land.

We conduct contaminated land studies at various levels: desk studies to demonstrate that intrusive investigations are not necessary; desktop studies of the history and environmental context of the site; phase 1 (exploratory) and phase 2 (detailed) intrusive investigations; risk analyses; and characterization of the soil remaining after excavation.

Services

Soils

  • Declaration of the quality of the soil.
  • Preliminary report
  • Soil quality report
  • Baseline report
  • Exploratory and detailed investigations
  • Risk analysis
  • Characterization of the remaining soil
  • Soil and groundwater sampling, and sample characterization
  • Monitoring and supervision of contaminated sites
  • Environmental supervision of works
  • Hydrogeological studies
  • Excavation plans

Industrial ruins

  • Studies of industrial ruins.
  • Decontamination of industrial ruins.

Wastes

  • Sampling and characterization of wastes.
  • Waste management final reports.
  • Management plans for construction and demolition waste.

Landfills

  • Prioritization of actions
  • Landfill authorizations.

Liaison with authorities

  • Dialogue with Government representatives
  • Technical and legal advice regarding Government requirements

Liability for pollution

  • Technical and legal advice in the negotiation between parties in regarding historical contamination
  • Identification of the responsible person in proceedings involving the declaration of contaminated soil

Real estate development

  • Estimation of costs relating to soil contamination
  • Adaptation of project design to take into account soil contamination
  • Liabilities regarding contaminated land

Industries

  • Soil quality reports
  • Baseline reports
  • Exemptions from the declaration of contaminated land
  • Report on fitness for purpose

Experience

  • Study of the impact on the surrounding area caused by landfills containing waste from steel production in electric arc furnaces
  • Inventory, characterisation and environmental impact of waste dumps in the districts of Alto Deba and Sasieta
  • Sampling of beaches to assess the impact of spillages from the Prestige oil tanker
  • Environmental monitoring of the impact of building a road on potentially contaminated soils.
  • Statement of Soil Quality, including exploratory soil investigations, for companies belonging to several sectors (hazardous waste management, timber, production of detergents and metal processing).
  • Drafting of preliminary reports on soil quality in various industrial sectors (railways, automotive, waste management, foundries, textiles)
  • Detailed soil investigation and decontamination of a derelict industrial site in Basauri.
  • Geotechnical surveys and study of the industrial ruins of a company located in the town of Ermua (Bizkaia).
  • Drafting of a technical procedure for rapid risk identification and prioritisation to design action plans for industrial waste dumps.
  • Advice on oil spills on the coast and preparation of a protocol to act upon such spillages.
  • Completion of the Administrative Register of Contaminated Soils in the Basque Country
  • Development of a methodology for risk management in contaminated soils in the Basque Country.
  • Management of the information on soil contamination in the Basque Country.
  • Expert assessment of soil contamination studies conducted by consultants in the Basque Country
  • Detailed study of soil movements and guidelines to identify their possible destination in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
  • Investigation of contamination by HCH in a former mining area.
  • Groundwater monitoring in a former industrial site in Derio.
  • Environmental monitoring of landfills in Biscay.
  • Environmental supervision of the project “Channeling of the Nervión-Ibaizabal River. Phase 2. Stretch from Urbi to Bengoetxe”.
  • Technical environmental assistance for the residential development of a former industrial site located in Tolosa (Gipuzkoa).
  • Monitoring of gases and complementary parameters in an urban wastes landfill in Gipuzkoa, according to the conditions of the Integrated Environmental Authorisation.
  • Groundwater monitoring in industrial sites
  • Soil contamination study in a site located in Vitoria (Alava) as requested by the potential purchaser (due diligence).
  • Study to remove a site from the Inventory of Potentially Contaminated Sites.
  • Soil characterization before excavation in a site located in Mallabia (Bizkaia)
  • Soil characterization before excavation in an active industrial site located in Amorebieta (Bizkaia).
  • Desk study of potential soil contamination in a site located in the “El Campillo” Industrial Park in Abanto-Zierbena (Bizkaia).
  • Investigation of the impact of abandoned landfills on the surrounding environment.
  • Quantification of gases in a municipal waste landfill.
  • Landfills water balances (industrial and municipal waste landfills)
  • Desk study of potential soil contamination in a former machinery manufacturer (Bizkaia)