Monday, October 5, 2015

Technical Information On Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS)

By Della Monroe


A proposed development, whether it is a factory or other industrial facility, is always the focus of great interest. People are prepared to sink massive sums of money into it and work hard on establishing it. This necessitates large-scale planning and examination of the relevant factors before a sod can be turned. One of the main areas of assessment is Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS), which examines the natural environmental in order to understand whether the site is acceptable for the development, or if not, why not.

The consistent attitude of the developer should be that the environment matters and that pollution is not acceptable. The old-fashioned view that the environment should be taken for granted is not popular these days, and neither is a lax approach to pollution. The public and government are not going to appreciate that approach and where there is enough opposition, government can sometimes restrict or even curtail the entire project. An environmental assessment is part of a more responsible attitude.

The overarching philosophy of developers should therefore be that the environment should be protected and conserved. The public and the authorities will not tolerate the approach that environmental questions can be ignored or that pollution is something that people should simply live with. In extreme cases, opposition to a development can actually lead to official sanction and termination, or at least the intervention of the authorities.

The ESAS looks at several factors in the natural environment that are of extreme importance in determining the safety of the area. These factors are related to aspects of the environment that can potentially have an influence on human health and the ability of the area to sustain the development or planned activities.

One of these is the nature of the soil. Soil is important in assessing the environment because it absorbs and stores substances. Dangerous chemicals seep into the soil (a process known as leaching). These chemicals may originate from a variety of sources, such as dead animals, rotting plant matter or simply the rain. The soil then becomes poisoned and is not suitable for agriculture or other activities.

Another aspect to be examined is the plant matter. This examination may revolve around two factors - whether the plants are desirable, and secondly whether they are healthy.

The plants themselves pose another examination entirely. They need to be assessed on the basis of two properties - their species and their health.

Then there is the soil. The soil may seem uninvolved in trouble such as toxins or diseases, but it is equally pollutable. Soil is polluted by toxins in water (such as rain) and the dead bodies of animals and decaying plants. Once soil is poisoned, it has the potential to poison anything else. Farming is not possible in such areas.

The ESAS is too important for developers to ignore or to leave aside. These aspects of the natural environment are all essential in the assessment and should all be taken into account.




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