What is meant by the term contaminated land?
Contaminated land is land which has substances in, on or under it which are likely to be harmful to health and the surrounding environment. These substances are usually present because of the past use of the land e.g. former industrial uses, but may be due to a pollution incident or a naturally high level of a particular substance in the ground. The legal definition with which local authorities identify such land is set out in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
