What is the legal definition of Contaminated Land?
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 introduced a legal definition of ‘Contaminated Land’ for the first time. Section 78A of the Act states that: ‘Contaminated Land’ is 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: significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused; or pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be, caused. Due to recent amendments where contamination is due to radioactivity, harm or significant possibility of harm is limited to human receptors only at present.
