Important Aspects In The 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.

People may not always realize how important this environmental assessment is. The attitude that the natural environment does not matter or that pollution does not make any difference to it is not acceptable these days, since present governments and society are more aware of the environment and how it operates. An environmental assessment is therefore important.

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 the most important is the water in the area. Water is a good indicator of other conditions because it may contain any toxins that are present. Toxins in the soil and plants are probably also going to be present in the water.

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.

Undesirable plants are those species which are not wanted by the authorities in that specific area. This is almost always because they are not indigenous species. Alien plant species are a threat to the environment because they do not form part of the endemic food chain. They then cause a disruption in the food chain by absorbing too many nutrients or taking up too much space. They may also cause the soil quality to deteriorate. Unhealthy plants are those which have been poisoned or which are carrying diseases. Poisoned plants are sometimes eaten as fodder by insects and animals, and this is how the poison enters into the local food chain.

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.

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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