A new development is always an exciting prospect and one which people devote large amounts of money and energy to. Whether the development is a factory or processing plant, the project is always of a substantial magnitude and so it requires extensive assessment and planning before construction can commence. Part of this preliminary activity is the environmental assessment, or Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS), which are conducted to determine whether an area is suitable for the development and what risks exist in it.
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.
An ESAS incorporates several aspects of the environment that indicate its safety and suitability in terms of the development and human health. They are all important and they should all be given attention in deciding whether the area is suitable for the project.
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.
The soil is another aspect that should be examined. This sounds strange, but soil is not as innocuous as it looks. It absorbs any chemical that it comes into contact with, especially from sources such as animal carcases or decomposing vegetation. Poisons sink into the soil and remain, where they can potentially poison anything else. Poisoned soil is not suitable for crops or animal husbandry.
The water in the site area is an important indicator of the chemicals present there. Water stores many different chemicals, and poisons are no exception to this. Where the water is poisoned, plants and animals are also poisoned by using it.
A healthy plant is one which is not poisoned and which has not been infected by any diseases. Alien invasive species are not desirable and they are usually prohibited by law. This is because they do not slot naturally into the local food chain. They either take up too much space or they use excessive amounts of soil nutrients. Some of them also cause the soil to weaken and erode. On the other hand, unhealthy plants are those which have been infected by diseases or which are being poisoned, either by the soil or their water supply. They then transmit the poison into the food chain when animals or insects graze on them.
All of these aspects need to be assessed in order to determine whether the environment is suitable for the proposed development. Developers should not try to pre-empt or bypass this assessment.
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.
An ESAS incorporates several aspects of the environment that indicate its safety and suitability in terms of the development and human health. They are all important and they should all be given attention in deciding whether the area is suitable for the project.
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.
The soil is another aspect that should be examined. This sounds strange, but soil is not as innocuous as it looks. It absorbs any chemical that it comes into contact with, especially from sources such as animal carcases or decomposing vegetation. Poisons sink into the soil and remain, where they can potentially poison anything else. Poisoned soil is not suitable for crops or animal husbandry.
The water in the site area is an important indicator of the chemicals present there. Water stores many different chemicals, and poisons are no exception to this. Where the water is poisoned, plants and animals are also poisoned by using it.
A healthy plant is one which is not poisoned and which has not been infected by any diseases. Alien invasive species are not desirable and they are usually prohibited by law. This is because they do not slot naturally into the local food chain. They either take up too much space or they use excessive amounts of soil nutrients. Some of them also cause the soil to weaken and erode. On the other hand, unhealthy plants are those which have been infected by diseases or which are being poisoned, either by the soil or their water supply. They then transmit the poison into the food chain when animals or insects graze on them.
All of these aspects need to be assessed in order to determine whether the environment is suitable for the proposed development. Developers should not try to pre-empt or bypass this assessment.
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