Foreword

Publishing information

This British Standard is published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution, and came into effect on 30 April 2015. It was prepared by Technical Committee AW/20, Topsoil, other growing media and turf. A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

Supersession

This British Standard supersedes BS 3882:2007, which is withdrawn.

Relationship with other publications

This British Standard is intended to complement BS 8601 which specifies subsoil.

Information about this document

This is a full revision of the standard to bring it up to date and to make it complementary to the new British Standard for subsoil, BS 8601.

Test laboratory accreditation. Users of this British Standard are advised to consider the desirability of selecting test laboratories that are accredited to BS EN ISO/IEC 17025 by a national or international accreditation body.

Use of this document

It has been assumed in the preparation of this British Standard that the execution of its provisions will be entrusted to appropriately qualified and experienced people, for whose use it has been produced.

Hazard warnings

WARNING This British Standard calls for the use of substances and/or procedures that can be injurious to health if adequate precautions are not taken. It refers only to technical suitability and does not absolve the user from legal obligations relating to health and safety at any stage

Presentational conventions

The provisions of this standard are presented in roman (i.e. upright) type. Its requirements are expressed in sentences in which the principal auxiliary verb is “shall”.

Commentary, explanation and general informative material is presented in smaller italic type, and does not constitute a normative element.

Requirements in this standard are drafted in accordance with Rules for the structure and drafting of UK standards, subclause J.1.1, which states, “Requirements should be expressed using wording such as: ‘When tested as described in Annex A, the product shall ...’”. This means that only those products that are capable of passing the specified test will be deemed to conform to this standard.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

Particular attention is drawn to:

• Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 [1]
• The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) [2]
• The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) [3]
• Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment (CLEA) model (EA/DEFRA:2009) Soil Guideline Values [4]
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)/Land Quality Management (LQM) Generic assessment criteria for human health risk assessment (2nd Edition, 2009) [5]
• The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended) [6]
• Definition of waste: Development industry code of practice (Guidance Bulletin GB 03, CL:AIRE, 2011) [7]

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