Erskinefauld Park, Linwood

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Parts of Linwood were built where the old Sun Iron Foundry and Brediland Chemical Works used to stand. There may be pollution left in the ground from these industries. For example, tar has previously come to the surface near the Linwood Sports Centre.

In 2008, we carried out an inital investigation to see where this tar was coming from and to see if it was likely to cause any problems.

Following on from that investigation, which looked at common ground in Linwood, we are undertaking more extensive investigations and we will use the results of these tests to decide if any clean-up work is needed.

Until we have the results of the tests we would like you to follow some basic precautions which have been enclosed. If there is any pollution in the ground these measures will cut down the chances of you coming into contact with it. These are standard precautions and we issue this advice whenever we are investigating cases where there might be pollution in the ground.

Precautions you should take

These are standard precautions which we issue whenever we are investigating possible pollution in the ground to cut down the chances of residents coming into contact with it.

We'd like people to stick to what they normally do to keep their homes clean and tidy:

• Wipe your shoes, boots or wellies so you're not trailing soil through the house or leave your footwear outside
• Brush any dirt off pets after they’ve been in the garden
• Wear gloves when gardening and wash your hands afterwards
• Toddlers and young children sometimes put soil in their mouths when they are playing in gardens. Try and make sure that children don’t do this. Cats and other
• animals sometimes go to the toilet in gardens so it is a good idea to discourage this as much as possible anyway.
• Vegetables can pick up pollution from the soil and the air. Until we have the results from our tests we’d advise you not to eat vegetables from your garden.
• Hold off landscaping the garden or building a garage, conservatory or extension until the results of our tests are announced

Frequently asked questions about the Erskinefauld Park site

Why was this work done?

Linwood used to be home to a range of heavy industries. The Sun Iron Foundry and Brediland Chemical Works used to stand on the site.

There wasn't much information available on what kind of clean-up work had been done when the area was redeveloped in the 1960s.

Tar started coming up from under the ground at the Erskinefauld/Brediland area and Renfrewshire Council decided to investigate what had been left in the ground when the old industries were demolished.

What did the site investigation involve?

The site investigation involved drilling 30 boreholes into the ground. The boreholes were dug on communal land to minimise any disruption for people living in the area.

The boreholes were about 10cm wide and between 3m and 5m deep. Sixteen of the boreholes were fitted with pipes to allow water and gas in the ground to collect in the borehole.

Samples were collected from all the boreholes and sent to a laboratory. The lab was asked to look for chemicals linked to the iron foundry and chemical works. Specialist equipment was used to monitor the levels of methane, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the boreholes. Slightly higher than normal amounts of methane and carbon dioxide were found in a small number of boreholes. This is not unusual for this type of pollution.

The results of the tests were then used to work out whether the pollution below the ground could affect the health of people living in the area or using the sports centre.

The potential impact on the environment was also assessed.

What were the key finding of the site investigation?

The investigation confirmed that there is pollution in the soil and shallow groundwater where the tests were done.

The pollution is thought to be linked to the former iron foundry and chemical works. It is mainly oil based.

The investigation only focused on communal areas of land in the area. We have no information on whether there is any pollution within the boundaries of properties.

It is possible that there may be pollution under homes or in gardens next to the communal areas. We need to collect more samples to check that there is no pollution that could affect people's health.

The council is currently organising more tests to check if there is any pollution in these areas. Preparations for the work are already underway and you may well see contractors working around the area from early September. The digging within gardens is expected to start in mid to late September 2010.

Why is the council acting now?

The Government is currently revising the guidelines about how to deal with pollution in the ground resulting from historical industrial activities. We thought it was
sensible to carry out further tests now rather than wait for the new guidelines to be published.

Is it safe for residents to live on the estate if potential issues have been identified?

It is possible that the pollution in the ground within the communal land in the Erskinefauld/Brediland area could affect people’s health but only if people come into close contact with it over a long period of time.

There may be similar issues with some properties in the area, but it is impossible to say if this is the case until the new series of tests are done.

Information from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde suggests people’s health in the Linwood area is no different from the rest of Greater Glasgow. However, people should still take some precautions until we have the results of the new tests.

Given the information we have so far, the main way people could come into contact with any pollution in the ground is through outdoor activities. We would like people to follow the advice below until we complete our investigation work. This will minimise the chances of coming into contact with any pollution that may be in the ground.

What are the next steps?

We are going to do more tests to see if there is pollution within the boundaries of individual properties. Once these have been done we will have a clearer picture of whether or not there are any issues that could affect people's health or the environment.

If there is pollution, we can work out a long term plan to deal with it. This could include cleaning up the land or introducing ways of reducing any contact residents have with the pollution.

We will keep you up to date with what is happening.

When will we know the results of the tests?

We will be asking a large number of people if we can dig in their gardens. If people don’t give us permission then it will slow down the whole process because we will have to find someone else to ask.

The boreholes need to be spread over the whole area so that we can get a complete picture of what is under the ground.

Preparations for the work have already begun and you may well see contractors working around the area from early September. The digging is expected to start in mid to late September.

The samples from the boreholes will then be sent to a laboratory to be analysed. Then the results will be carefully examined. This could take some months.

We will tell you what is happening at each stage of the process.

Summary of the findings of the initial site investigation

The area investigated stretched roughly from the Sports Centre to Erskinefauld Road and from Atholl Place to Kilbrennan Drive.

Boreholes were dug on communal land to minimise disruption for people living in the area. The investigation involved drilling 30 boreholes about 5m into the ground. Soil, water and gas samples were then collected and tested.

During the investigation potential pollution was identified under the ground including:

• Spoil from the foundry. This was found across the site ranging in thickness from 0.4m to 4.2m. The spoil had been used as 'artificial ground' to level the site. It contained man made objects including ash, blaes and bricks.
• Thirty of the boreholes were sunk into this spoil. Oily traces were found in the samples collected at 19 out of these 30 boreholes.
• Tar was found about 1m underground at one borehole between Erskinefauld Road and Oxford Drive.
• An oily residue was found about 1m underground at one borehole just off Brediland Road near the redevelopment site.
• Oily traces and/or an oily sheen were seen in the groundwater underneath the site, but there wasn’t a continuous layer of floating oil that could be measured.
• Slightly higher than normal amounts of methane and carbon dioxide in a small number of the boreholes. This is not unusual for this type of pollution.

Specialist equipment was used to monitor the methane, carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the boreholes. High concentrations of these gases can show that the ground is polluted. There were slightly higher than normal amounts of methane and carbon dioxide in a small number of the boreholes.

More monitoring will be carried out to find out the reasons for this. The soil and water samples were analysed to see if they contained chemicals linked to the industries which had occupied the area.

The results of the analysis showed that pollution levels in some samples of soil and water are higher than recommended levels. This is why the equipment at the playparkwasn’t replaced when it got old and why the area is now fenced off. This is also the reason we now need to collect more samples from across the Erskinefauld/Brediland area, including within the boundaries of individual properties.

There may be environmental issues due to oil seeping into the groundwater. There may also be underground structures, such as old tanks, which may have leaked and caused pollution. If there is oil in the ground, it could damage pipework to homes.

We need to do more tests to make sure that there is no pollution in the ground that could affect people’s health.

If you want more information about this work, please email the environmental protection team at e-prot.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk or phone the council contact centre on 0141 842 4411.