Contaminated land (brownfield sites)

Contaminated land contains substances that are causing or could cause:

• significant harm to people, property or protected species
• significant pollution of lakes, rivers or groundwater
• harm to people from radiation

Some land in the UK - often call brownfield sites - has been contaminated in the past by: 

• gasworks 
• tanneries 
• chemical works 
• landfill sites

There are also areas with high levels of naturally-occurring substances like arsenic that also count as contaminated land.

Brownfield sites can be a problem because:

• there may be harmful substances in, on or under the land
• water pollution might be caused by substances at the site