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Title: Toxic real estate; Thorough site assessments essential

Journal Article · · Hazmat World; (United States)
OSTI ID:5506551

This paper reports on proper site assessments for hazardous waste which are more than windshield surveys or walkovers, and they involve more than boring a few holes in the ground. Done correctly, a site assessment is a helpful tool used in industrial operations and real estate transactions to minimize and manage legal, financial, and environmental risks. Unfortunately, anyone with a business card and a pickup truck can claim to be qualified to conduct site assessments. Competition is stiff, and customers shop for the cheapest price. Borrowers and their banks think of site measurements as pieces of paper critical to closing deals. Sellers and their brokers hope that site assessments will not uncover any wastes. Currently, there is little standardization of site assessment methods and no agency regulation of their contents or of assessors. One can thus buy site assessments in any size, shape or color. Each class of professional geologist, soils engineer, chemist, hydrogeologist, civil engineer; environmental planner or any other expert has a particular specialty, and site assessments inevitably reflect consultants' specialty interests.

OSTI ID:
5506551
Journal Information:
Hazmat World; (United States), Vol. 2:3; ISSN 0898-5685
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English