Environmental Assessments
Knowledge of the chemical environment all around us is useful in a variety of situations; most notably during land use planning at both the municipal and county level. There may be many possible sources of contaminants which need to be mapped, both natural and anthropogenic, that could affect children, adults and animals. What can be found in the daycare playgrounds? Are hazardous leachates from waste landfills reaching the river? Are the tailings from a mine radioactive?
While monitoring of the environment around us, information on a site's natural geochemical background and anthropogenic activity are both important. In areas with alum slate, for example, you should be aware of radiation emissions. In urban environments, there are a number of anthropogenic pollutants, for example, and you have to have monitor how construction soils are being recycled, removed and disposed. Over the past 10 years, NGU has surveyed the quality of urban soil in a number of Australian cities.