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Good Morning Peter, My personal view and understanding would be (I'm not a lawyer or an expert ) that the responsibility for characterising the waste, with the objective to have a full understanding of the waste, lies with the waste producer (and therefore their consultant - if they have commissioned one). Provided the waste producer has undertaken a sufficient frequency of comprehensive testing to inform their classification, they have fulfilled their duty of care and would not be liable any subsequent discovery of bad chemical data. However, if the waste producer did not perform sufficiently broad/targeted analysis when there was evidence to suggest they should have done otherwise, then that would be their fault. I would also say that in the majority of cases, you need to take your chemical results at face value (subject to a quick sense check). A landfill operator needs to satisfy themselves that there is sufficient chemical testing information available to make the assessment of whether or not they accept the waste, but bear in mind they're not going to critically review a desk study, or site investigation works to determine if the correct testing has been carried out in the first instance, and would not be liable if the actual results proved false / incorrect. I read this to mean a landfill operator would check frequency of chemical testing vs. tonnage being disposed, a check to ensure the minimum expected analytes are included in the testing, and a quick check to verify the classification of the waste. All a landfill operator is expected to do is to perform a visual check to verify that the waste being received matches the waste they are expecting, and to carry out periodic verification testing to confirm their chemical results are in line with those being provided. A haulier is just a method of transport, so have no responsibility except ensuring the paperwork / WTNs are in order. Regards, Mark Hamill, BSc, MSc, MIEnvSc Senior Engineer 01244 288 200 INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY Geotechnical House, 18-19 Drome Road, Deeside Park, Deeside, Flintshire, CH5 2NY. www.socotec.co.uk<http://www.socotec.co.uk/> [cid:image003.jpg@01D42B15.282B7030] From: Contaminated Land Management Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Fleming Sent: 03 August 2018 09:51 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Is ignorance an excuse? Ladies and Gentlemen I have had a number of discussions on the subject of whether an "MCERTS analysis" certificate of non-hazardous ( for WAC under WM3) would be enough to protect the haulier, site operator and consultant from future action by the EA/HMRC if the analysis was found to be incorrect (e.g. contained coal tar that the lab missed.) I have been told by some that, provided the operator has acted in good faith, then they are protected. However, I am told by others that they fear this not to be the case, especially with the degree of uncertainty that results from variations between results from different labs. I am told that it is up to the operators to prove that a material is non-hazardous. What is the general view? Regards Peter Fleming 07958 205920 Skype: petermfleming ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the CONTAMINATED-LAND-STRATEGIES list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=CONTAMINATED-LAND-STRATEGIES&A=1 This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named only and may be confidential. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please email the sender immediately and highlight the error. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free from any virus or other defects which might affect any system into which they are opened or received, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure that they are actually virus-free. No responsibility is accepted by SOCOTEC UK Limited for any loss or damage arising in any way from their receipt, opening or use. Please note that this e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a 100% secure communications medium. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us. SOCOTEC UK Limited, registered in England and Wales under company number 02880501. SOCOTEC Asbestos Limited registered in England and Wales under company number 04951688. SOCOTEC UK Limited and SOCOTEC Asbestos Limited are part of the SOCOTEC Group and their registered office is at SOCOTEC House, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Burton Upon Trent, DE15 0YZ. ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CONTAMINATED-LAND-STRATEGIES list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=CONTAMINATED-LAND-STRATEGIES&A=1