Risk Evaluation and Diagnosis of Soil Contamination (Phase 1 & 2)

Japanese

When buying land, people often do not give consideration to soil contamination.

The number of cases is increasing in which land with contaminated soil, which is not apparent to the eye, is purchased by buyers unaware of the contamination, which then is discovered only when building on the land or selling it in the future, resulting in unexpected costs arising from suspension of construction or disposal of contaminated soil.

The number of lawsuits related to soil contamination also is on the increase. For example, in 2008 a condominium developer in City A after purchasing land from Prefecture B sued for 57 million yen in damages when natural arsenic contamination was discovered on the land. Also, in 2007 Prefecture C purchased land from a manufacturer and then, after developing the land, sold it to Company D, which built homes on the land and sold them. When City E conducted a soil-contamination survey as demanded by residents, it discovered contaminants including lead and arsenic, and five residents sued Prefecture C and Company D for damages.

In these ways, the risk of soil contamination is present everywhere, regardless of the size of land. Conducting a soil-contamination survey is recommended when selling or purchasing land.

When conducting speedy, low-cost simplified assessment, a simplified land-use history survey is recommended. The possibility of soil contamination will be assessed from the past four generations of maps.

When a high-precision assessment is desired, a Phase 1 inspection (land-use history survey) is recommended. Such an inspection assesses the possibility of soil contamination from sources including a survey of past maps published five years apart, a survey of official records, and interviews with officials at administrative institutions. Land for which, as a result of the Phase 1 survey, there are concerns about the possibility of soil contamination is then subjected to a more precise soil-contamination risk survey (Phase 2 inspection) based on collection and analysis of actual soil and groundwater samples from the site and results of interviews with related parties.

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Cost for simplified land-use history survey will be 40,000 yen per site, and cost for Phase 1 will be roughly 200,000 yen per site. For other menu, feel free to contact us for an individualized estimate.