CIRIA C659 Assessing Risks posed by Hazardous Gound Gases to Buildings C659







Summary

Following the high profile gas explosions at Loscoe and Abbeystead during the 1980s, a number of reports were published in the 1990s on the measurement of soil gases, the

assessment of risk such gases may present along with the measures that can be

employed to mitigate such risks. More recent guidance has tended to focus on licensed

landfill sites but there is a need for up-to-date guidance relevant to existing or planned

development.

With government policy encouraging redevelopment on brownfield sites, including

those sites where there is a potential for the presence of elevated concentrations of

potentially hazardous soil gases, the lack of clarity in the existing guidance has become

more apparent. The resulting uncertainty is compounded by the lack of currency with

respect to guidance on the methods of investigation, the adequacy of monitoring, the

methods of risk assessment and the selection of options for remediation. There is

evidence that this current lack of clear and up-to-date guidance is leading to

inappropriate, over- and under-conservative design, consequent resource inefficiencies

and potentially unacceptable levels of risk.


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