Nine out of 10 "high-risk" toxic sites have not been tested by councils, BBC investigation finds

Thousands of potentially toxic sites that councils have identified as “high risk” have not been tested due to a lack of funds, a BBC investigation has revealed.

According to the report, scientists fear the untested sites could pose a health risk as they are thought to contain substances such as lead or arsenic.

The Environmental Protection Act requires local authorities to list all potential contaminated sites, and inspect the high-risk ones to make sure people and property are not at risk.

However, the BBC Shared Data Unit found that of 13,093 potentially toxic sites that councils have identified as “high risk”, only 1,465 have been inspected.

After contacting all 122 unitary authorities in Wales, Scotland and England about their contaminated land, 73 responded to the BBC's Freedom of Information request which revealed there were 430,000 potential sites identified in the early 2000s. Of those, 13,093 were considered to be potentially high risk.

Contaminated land is defined by Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as:

Any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that:

1. significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused; or
2. significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such pollution being caused.

Contamination can arise from various past industrial activities, waste disposal practices, and the introduction of harmful substances into the soil or groundwater.

Although local unitary authorities have a statutory duty to inspect potentially contaminated sites, councils claim that funding is the reason they are “unable to meet the requirements being placed on them”.

A Local Government Association (LGA) spokesperson said: “Councils in England face a funding gap of up to £8 billion by 2028/29. While they continue to innovate and transform services to deliver for communities and provide greater value for money, they desperately-need a significant and sustained increase in overall funding in the Spending Review to meet the requirements being placed on them. 

“Without adequate funding, councils will continue to struggle to provide crucial services – with devastating consequences for those who rely on them.”

A Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) spokesperson said: “Local authorities have a statutory duty to inspect potentially contaminated sites, require remediation, and maintain a public register of remediated land. Any risk to public health from contaminated land is a serious matter. 

“That’s why we’ve recently commissioned the Environment Agency to produce a new State of Contaminated Land Report, which will help provide the best possible baseline of data to measure future policies related to contaminated land against.”

Lottie Winson