A housing estate in Motherwell has been built on contaminated land, unfortunately probably nothing new in the world, however this time toxic vapours have accumulated in at least one property, leading to reports of nausea, dizziness and nosebleeds, and now a court case.
Who is to blame, the company who built the development while ignoring the remediation notice (if there was one)? The council who didn’t enforce the notice / check the work? The current landlord? It’s a long list and they’re currently filtering through it to find out exactly what has occurred and who may be responsible. I hope they’re paying to looking after the affected families while it goes on.
Other questions may arise, was the site investigation carried out properly and by a trusted and experienced contractor, or just by the cheapest available? Another issue may be the volatility of the contaminants which may not have been there during development, but have travelled through the ground / groundwater from an adjacent site.
The council in question have carried out research and are yet to identify any linkage between contamination and human health impacts. Reports can be found here.
The Scotsman has and interesting report here http://bit.ly/Nvviqv
2021
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