SearchWeighing up the Risk
Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) A new framework for assessing risks to ecological systems from contaminants in soils was published by the Environment…
Articles
Water Testing Cost Amendments
DEFRA’s Water Classification Directions to the Environment Agency Could water testing costs (either as part of due diligence work or operationally in…
FPS Electronic Pile Schedule
The long nights of re-typing pile schedules could be a thing of the past as the Federation of Piling Specialists launches a…
Eurocode 7 letter
Dear Editor I have been delivering lectures on EC7 parts 1 and 2 for a while now, and I remain amazed and…
Use of Standard Laboratory Tests in the Assessment of Slope Stability of Peat
In December 2006 the Scottish Executive (SE) published a best practice guide for proposed electricity generation developments entitled “Peat landslide hazard and…
Two new guidance documents on ground gases
The RSK/NHBC “Guidance on evaluation of development proposals on sites where methane and carbon dioxide are present” is now available as a…
Classification and testing in BS 5930 and BS 1377-9
The BSI Committee for Geotechnical Testing has been working to help provide guidance on the changes to geotechnical testing methods introduced by…
Reinforced Fill
BS EN 14475:2006 establishes general principles for the construction of reinforced fill. It covers engineered fills which are reinforced by the inclusion…
Soil Classification
BS EN ISO 14688-2, together with BS EN ISO 14688-1, establishes the basic principles for the identification and classification of soils on…
Annual meeting comes to London
The annual meeting of ISO/TC190 (Soil Quality) is to be held in London this year at the BSi Headquarters, Gunnersbury near Hammersmith,…
Testing times for soils
The Environment Agency has issued a revised version of its MCERTS policy for the chemical testing of soils. The Agency established its…
Modernising Waste Regulation – Environment Agency Update
Exemptions Under new procedures “simple” exempt activities can now be registered by calling the National Customer Contact Centre on 08708 506506. Trained…
The problem of made ground
The categorisation, analysis and reporting of ‘made ground’ is a recurring nightmare for the modern laboratory. Traditionally a by-product of land reclamation…
BRE SD1:2005 – Implication for SI & Specifications
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has recently revised Special Digest 1 “Concrete in aggressive ground”. This new edition (SD1: 2005), funded by…
PID Instruments: Read the Manual – Understand the Risks
The use of Photo Ionisation Detectors or PID’s to delineate hydrocarbon, or solvent, plumes is common practice these days. Since its introduction…
Contaminated Land Analysis – Introducing Doubt Into An Uncertain World
Let’s be honest, to most of us in the ground engineering community, chemistry is something of a black art. It’s a subject…
MCERTS
The Environment Agency’s Monitoring Certification Scheme for the Chemical Testing of Soils: What it is. How it affects you. What you need…
SGV Task Force
The Soil Guideline Values Taskforce (SGV TF) is a joint initiative between Government Departments, local authorities and other private and public sector…
ISO/TC190 Meeting, Paris Note prepared by Peter Rodd
For the fourth year running I attended the ISO/TC190 Soil Quality meeting, this year in Paris. The meeting comprises sessions of the…
“The Geology of Site Investigation Boreholes from Hong Kong”
AGS (Hong Kong) have announced the publication of the above title. The author is Chris Fletcher but in an effort to promote…
Reinforced soil design code to be revised
When BS 8006, the code of practice for Strengthened / Reinforced soils and other fills, was first published in 1995, it was…