Land contamination is when liquid or solid waste enters the land or groundwater. It is usually from industrial or commercial sites or landfills. Land contamination is generally a localised issue. Environmental audits are a way of making sure land is safe for use. EPA oversees this audit system.
Number of environmental audits done in Victoria
Source: EPA Victoria Note: 53X Audits completed between 2000 and 2018 under the EPA managed audit scheme. A 53X audit finds out if a site is suitable for industrial, commercial or residential use. These are the most common type of environmental audit.
Source: EPA Victoria
Note: Measured by number of environmental audits
year to assess suitability for proposed use
The effect of land contamination on your health
Swallowing contaminated soil or, drinking contaminated groundwater may affect your health. Young children can become exposed when playing outside particularly by putting dirty hands in their mouths.
If contamination from land gets into rivers, lakes or groundwater, it can move some distance and may even get into drinking water sources such as bore water. Bore water is water from natural storage underground.
Sometimes, certain chemicals in contaminated soil and groundwater can create gases that can enter buildings. This is called vapour intrusion. Breathing in these vapours can harm your health.
What you can do if you’re concerned about land contamination
- Keep children from playing in soil in and around industrial and commercial properties.
- If you drink water from a groundwater bore, regularly check for chemical contamination. Check with your local water authority about how to do this.
- Check Victoria Unearthed to understand site land use history so you know what activity was on your property, and potential land contamination.
- Report suspected land or water contamination