Contaminated Land Soil Testing
The construction industry is constantly looking for new ways to divert waste away from landfills. This has the primary aim of reducing costs while meeting sustainability targets and compliance with UK regulations. According to Defra, 58% of landfill tonnage is soil, with most coming from building and civil engineering projects.
Key considerations involve soil waste from sites classified as "Yellow" or "Red" per British Drilling Association (BDA) guidelines, or when soil materials are found to be contaminated with asbestos and other hazardous substances. The Environmental Agency estimates that the count of contaminated sites could span from 5,000 to 20,000 solely across England and Wales.
Construction materials testing is a critical part of ensuring the safe disposal of contaminated aggregates and soils. It also enables organisations to identify materials suitable for reuse, informing cost-effective and sustainable material handling processes for a wide range of projects.
Our Aggregate & Soil Contamination Test Services
At CTS, our expert team of engineers and technicians is fully equipped to deliver comprehensive aggregate and soil contamination test services. Operating from our UKAS-accredited "Red" construction materials testing laboratory, we ensure safe and sustainable contaminated land soil testing and grading.
Our state-of-the-art facility includes specialist HEPA-filtered air extraction systems, advanced PPE and RPE, and a custom-built decontamination clean room. Every technician is trained to the highest standards in contaminated material management, ensuring precision and safety in all our investigations.
We're dedicated to processing large volumes of samples to tight reporting deadlines, delivering quick and accurate insights into the characteristics and physical properties of your materials. We can also provide interpretation and consulting services, including support with regulatory compliance, to ensure you have the information and assistance needed to manage your materials effectively.
Our Aggregate Contamination Test Services
- Sampling (from stockpiles)
- Methods of reducing laboratory samples (via rifle box, reduction by quartering, or to test a portion of a specified mass within a small tolerance)
- Particle size distribution (sieving method)
- Flakiness index
- Shape index
- Percentage of crushed & broken surfaces in coarse aggregate particles
- Classification test for the constituents of coarse recycled aggregate
- Micro-Deval coefficient
- Resistance to fragmentation (LA method)
- Resistance to fragmentation of aggregates for railway ballast (LA method)
- Loose bulk density & voids
- Water content
- Particle density & water absorption
- Uniformity coefficient
Our Soil Contamination Test Services
- Sampling site excavated material (from heaps)
- Sampling imported granular material (from stockpiles or heaps)
- Moisture content (oven drying method)
- Crushing value & saturation moisture content of chalk
- Dynamic cone penetrometer
- Liquid limit via cone penetrometer (one point or definitive method)
- Plastic limit
- Plasticity index
- Particle size distribution (wet or dry sieving)
- Particle size distribution of fine grained soils (hydrometer method)
- Particle density (gas jar)
- Bulk density (by linear measurement)
- Dry density / moisture content relationship
- Moisture Condition Value (MCV) relationship
- MCV (natural moisture content)
- Undrained shear strength (triaxial compression)
- California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
- Calculation of equivalent CBR value (using plate bearing test)
- Swelling of soaked CBR specimen
- Vertical deformation & strength characteristics (incremental plate loading test)
- In-situ density via large pouring cylinder (sand replacement method)
- In-situ density (core cutter method)
- In-situ bulk or moisture density (nuclear method)
- In-situ California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Reuse of Materials for Construction
Following an aggregate or soil contamination test that finds any materials suitable for reuse, organisations must generate a Materials Management Plan.
This is required by the Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice (DoWCoP), which offers guidance for the reuse of materials on the site of origin or another site. The plan must then be reviewed and declared to CL:AIRE by a Qualified Person (QP).
As part of the Phenna Infrastructure Division, CTS is partnered with a range of geo-environmental teams who can support your project by recommending innovative uses of site-won materials. Our colleagues are certified QPs and have a wealth of experience producing and reviewing Materials Management Plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is contaminated materials testing?
Contaminated testing, or construction materials testing, involves analysing soil and aggregate samples to identify the presence of hazardous substances. This is key to ensuring safe and compliant disposal of waste construction materials, as well as identifying materials that are safe to reuse.
When is a soil contamination test required?
A soil contamination test is required in several circumstances, including:
- During the planning approval process for sites undergoing redevelopment
- Following a pollution incident
- To characterise materials for waste disposal
- As part of a site condition / verification report
- During the due diligence process during a land process
What contaminants are commonly found in aggregates and soil?
Aggregate and contaminated land soil testing can be used to identify contaminants such as heavy metals (e.g., lead and mercury), hydrocarbons, pesticides, asbestos, and other hazardous chemicals. This is important for ensuring the safe and compliant disposal / use of construction materials.
How is contaminated materials testing conducted?
There are several on-site and laboratory-based contamination testing methods. Most soil contamination tests will involve collecting samples from your site and analysing them in a construction materials testing laboratory using a variety of approved techniques.
Aggregate & Soil Contamination Testing UK
At CTS, we pride ourselves on consistently delivering high-quality on-site and laboratory construction materials testing, enabling our clients to meet compliance obligations and progress projects safely and without delay.
To find out more about our aggregate and contaminated land soil testing services, please get in touch with a member of the CTS team today. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services and how we can help you.