A survey of contaminated ground with illustrative case histories

Contaminated ground represents a problem in all the industrialized countrie s of the world. Contaminated ground may give rise to hazards and that impli es a degree of risk which also involves a problem of definition. The invest igation of a site which is suspected of being contaminated differs somewhat from a routine site investigation. Sampling of soils, groundwater and gas producing material may be required. Various precautions may be necessary in doing this and operatives may have to wear protective clothing. The first case history considered involves a site investigation for a relief sewer in Glasgow, Scotland. As the site investigation progressed it ran into made-g round which contained chemical waste. The presence of this waste meant that the nature of the investigation changed and much more stringent safety pre cautions had to be taken. It also meant that the initial location of the se wer tunnel had to be repositioned at greater depth in uncontaminated sandst one rather than in the superficial deposits above. Two further case histori es associated with coal mining in the Ruhr district of Germany are included . The methods involved in investigating these two sites are described, as i s their rehabilitation. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.