Sites impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons represent a significant proportion of Australia’s contaminated land, and proper characterisation of these sites is therefore a major concern. Poorly planned and executed site characterisation is likely to result in additional expense, both during the investigation and subsequent remediation, and inadequate or misleading data may also result in an increased risk to human health and the environment.

Several guidance documents exist at State and national levels, and within Industry (e.g., The National Environmental Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999; NSW EPA Guidelines for Assessing Service Station Sites, first published in 1994) and indicate the types of investigation activities to be carried out at sites of release.  However, through consultation with industry, consultants and regulators, it was recognised the need to develop a national approach for the characterisation of petroleum hydrocarbon impacted sites, and to unify current guidance.

To this end, under the guidance of CRC CARE’s Contaminated Sites Demonstration Program, national guidance for the characterisation of sites impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons has been developed. The guidance has been designed to provide industry, consultants and regulators with a unified and improved national approach to the characterisation of petroleum hydrocarbon impacts at sites. By emphasising an early consideration of potential end-points for the site and a focus on land use considerations, it is envisaged that this will assist in facilitating the provision of accurate information to a level of detail appropriate for the goals of the site characterisation.  

The workshop will be held in Sydney as follows:

• Thursday 26 August 2010, Novotel Melbourne on Collins, 270 Collins Street, Melbourne.

As part of this workshop, delegates will be provided with an overview of the guidance, expected to be included as part of the revised National Environmental Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure, along with a printed copy of the guidance document.  It should be noted that while significant information is provided within the presentations and documentation, the workshop is targeted to users with at least a basic grounding and some experience in contaminated site assessment.