Thursday, October 1, 2015

Important Factors In The Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS)

By Della Monroe


A new factory or industrial installation is usually a project that evokes great interest, and one which people spend enormous sums on. They also dedicate large amounts of time and attention to the project. The planning and forecasting which go into the project are copious, and part of these are the Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS). This is an environmental assessment which is performed in order to detect the natural profile of the project area and what threats it contains, as well as its general suitability.

People may not always realize how important this environmental assessment is. The attitude that the natural environment does not matter or that pollution does not make any difference to it is not acceptable these days, since present governments and society are more aware of the environment and how it operates. An environmental assessment is therefore important.

As a rule, then, developers should always take cognisance of the environment. They should maintain the approach that the latter needs to be preserved, not damaged or polluted. This is in keeping with the modern philosophy of conservation and respect.

An ESAS examines a variety of environmental aspects in order to determine if the natural environment in the area demarcated for development is safe, and if not, what risks it presents to the developers. These aspects are all part of the natural environment and they relate to health, hygiene and the capacity of the site to support what the developers plan to do there.

The vegetation in the site area is one of these aspects. Plants are of interest to the assessors for two reasons. Firstly, they may be an alien species. Secondly, they may be vectors of environmental toxins or infections.

Another aspect to be examined is the plant matter. This examination may revolve around two factors - whether the plants are desirable, and secondly whether they are healthy.

The water in the site area is an important indicator of the chemicals present there. Water stores many different chemicals, and poisons are no exception to this. Where the water is poisoned, plants and animals are also poisoned by using it.

The water in the area also needs to be assessed. This is an easy assessment because the water harbors the toxins that are present in the soil and plants.

These are all significant aspects in the environmental assessment. In general, developers should not try to skimp on the assessment or eliminate it from their planning.




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