Published: Thursday, 4th June, 2009 7:40am

SEPA figures show 300 West Fife sites may be contaminated

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INDUSTRIAL spills and the dumping of toxic matter dating back two centuries has meant 300 sites in West Fife continue to be investigated as potentially contaminated.

A further 60 areas are to be tested for contaminants such as metals, cyanides and asbestos this year.

The shock figures come on the back of a progress report published last week by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The landmark review is the first attempt to show the extent of contaminated land in Scotland. It blames poorly managed waste operations in the last 200 years which led to chemical and fuel spillages.

Douglas Mayne, Team Leader in Environmental Strategy at Fife Council, told the Press that around 7000 sites across the Kingdom have been identified as requiring investigation.

He said, 'Because of their previous uses they would warrant an investigation and our inspection strategy is designed to work our way through that list. That does not mean they are contaminated.

'Places such as metal works, coal mines, paper mills, dockyards - basically any site that has had a previous industrial use would be subject to an investigation.

'Once we get sufficient information to make a decision as to whether a site is within the legal definition, then at that point we would issue the appropriate notices and that"s the point where it would go on to the public register.'

This means Fife Council could not yet reveal the locations of potentially contaminated areas.

As a result of a drive to bring potentially polluted areas back into use, a contaminated land regime was introduced in 2000 to implement the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This legislation means local authorities are required to investigate potentially contaminated land.

Mr Mayne continued, 'We have done 296 phase one inspections to date (in West Fife) since around 2000 and there are another 60 under investigation scheduled for this financial year. Thirty sites have had the phase two intrusive investigation.'

Phase one is a desktop study looking at historical information and documentary evidence from the site, while phase two involves testing onsite, such as taking soils samples and drilling bore holes.

In Scotland, the SEPA report estimates there are more than 40,000 sites that still require investigation. Only five per cent of all investigations carried out by local authorities in Scotland involved a site/ground investigation.

The majority (67 per cent) were site walkovers/inspections.

Martin Valenti, SEPA"s principal policy officer for contaminated land, wrote the new report.

He said, 'The industrial achievements of the last two centuries have invariably left a legacy of contamination as, in common with other countries, it was established practice to dispose of waste by tipping on the land often, but not always, close to site production. 'Poorly managed raw materials, chemicals and fuels can also lead to spills and releases to land.'