Engineered Solutions for Ground

Gas and Vapour Protection

Measures
By Peter Atchison

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Hazards

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 The gas contamination problem

If buildings are constructed on or

near contaminated land there is a
risk that hazardous gasses may
enter the building. They would pose
a risk to human health if allowed to
concentrate.
Gasses which may cause problems
include carbon dioxide, methane,
radon and hydrocarbon vapours.
Common causes of their presence
include brownfield sites, landfill and
natural occurrence.

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Guidance

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 Recently Published Guidance
2007 NHBC - Guidance on evalua5on of development proposals on sites where methane
and carbon Dioxide are present Report No 10627-RO1 (04)

2007 CIRIA - C665 Assessing Risks posed by hazardous ground gases to buildings

2007 BS8485 – Code of Prac5ce for the characterisa5on and remedia5on from ground gas
in affected developments

2008 LA Guide to Ground Gas (Ground gas handbook)– Wilson, Card and Haines

2012 CIRIA C716 remedia5ng and mi5ga5ng risks from Vola5le organic compound (VOC)
vapours from land affected by contamina5on
 New guidance

BS8576 Guidance on investigations for ground gas – permanent

gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

CIRIA Good Practice on the testing and verification of protection

systems for buildings against hazardous ground gases July 2014

BS8485 revised and reissued June 2015

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Monitoring

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 ‘Spot’ & ‘Continuous’ Sampling

•  Discrete, periodic, static measurements of borehole gas

concentrations and flows on a weekly or monthly frequency

•  Ground-gas movement is dynamic, it is influenced by many

parameters (e.g. barometric pressure, temperature) and can
change over hours or minutes

•  The monitoring frequency should ideally match the frequency of

these changes

•  When the frequency of monitoring matches the frequency of

ground gas change the monitoring can be considered to be
‘continuous’

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 Cross Sec6on Conceptual Model

BS8576 requires cross sec6ons for migra6on of permanent gases

 Gas Screen Value (GSV)
(aka hazardous gas flow rate BS8485)

GSV = Concentration/100 x flow

or

Chg – Concentration of a specific hazardous gas expressed as a

percentage of total gas volume (%v/v)
q – Total gas flow from a borehole in litres per hour (l/hr)
Qhg - Calculated flow rate of a specific hazardous gas from a
borehole reading

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Principles of
Protection

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 Guiding Principles Breaking the Pollutant Linkage

• Remove the source

• Break the pathway

• Protect building envelope

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 Removing the Source

CIRIA 716

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 Breaking the pathway

Impermeable layer Receptor

Source

Migra5ng gas plume in

permeable strata

• Ground-gas plume migra5on prevented by

• Installing a preferen5al pathway to atmosphere
•  backed up by a barrier
 Protecting the Building Envelope

A)  Dilute and disperse

(provide preferential
pathway to atmosphere)

B) Exclude ground-gases

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“Gorebridge homes to be
demolished after carbon dioxide gas leak”

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 Design of
Gas Protection
BS8485
An introduction

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 BS8485 application

§  To “qualify” a gas protection design:

§  Refer to Table 4 to select a range of

measures which contribute to the required gas protection score

§  Only one element from each sub section

–  Ventilation
–  Floor slabs
–  Membranes (including installation+ Validation)
–  Pathway intervention
–  Validation / Verification

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 NHBC Traffic Lights

§  Green site – Ground gas protection measures not required

§  Amber “1” site – Low to Moderate measures required may consist

of barrier installed by ground worker to good standards and involve validation towards
the upper end. Ventilation should offer 1 change in 24hrs

§  Amber “2” Site – Moderate to high measures required membranes

should be installed by specialist contractor, involve appropriate CQA measures and
should be validated, Integrity testing should be considered at the upper
end.Ventilation should offer 1 change in 24 hrs as with amber “1”

§  Red site – Residential housebuilding not allowed unless the

site characteristic situation can be demonstrably lowered.

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 Housing using BS8485

Ground bearing concrete slab

•  The slab (0.5-1.5pts) is poured directly on to
the gas barrier, (2.0pts) below which is a
venting layer. Ventilation paths must be
provided from the venting layer to
atmosphere (0-2.5pts)

Suspended beam and block floors

•  Gas barrier (2.0pts) is laid over the beam &
Block floor (0pts) and covered with a screed.
The sub floor is ventilated by air bricks
(2.5pts)

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 Active (Passive Assisted)

§  Constant performance
irrespec5ve of wind speed
§  Dilu5on/dispersion based
on air changes
§  Single geosynthe5c barrier
component
§  Provable via probe system
§  Flexible/upgradeable
§  Cost effec5ve w.r.t. well
designed passive system

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Components of
Protection
Systems

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 Ventilation & Ancillary Products

•  Void former
–  Made from cuspated High
Density Polyethylene
(HDPE).

–  High strength and crush

resistance.

–  Available as fully wrapped or

single-sided geotextile.

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Principle of Passive Dilute and Disperse in Ventilated Void

WIND

Plan
Zone of
Zone of nega5ve
posi5ve pressure
pressure (suc5on)

After CIRIA 149, 1995

 Gas-Proof Membranes

High quality membranes are only as good as their installation!

Wilson, Card and Haines, 2008

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The three most important elements of
membrane efficiency

• INSTALLATION
• INSTALLATION
• INSTALLATION

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 Detailing is IMPORTANT

•  Penetra6ons for services,

and junc6ons, must be
sealed

•  Preformed ‘Top Hat’ units

and adhesive membrane
sec6ons are used for this
purpose

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How to do it well!

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And How not to!

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The good!

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The bad!

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And The Ugly!

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Attention to detail

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 NVQ/SVQ Structure

•  NVQ level 2 “qualifica5on in gas membrane installa5on

available since 2012
•  Based on work to the NOS standards
•  Two methods of adainment:

1.  OSAT (on site training and assessment) aimed at exis5ng

“experienced” opera5ves
2.  SUP (Specialist Up-skilling Program) aimed at less experienced
opera5ves who take a 5 day course followed by 6 month
assessment
RESULT in NVQ level 2 adainment and “Blue” CSCS card
UKCG (Main Contractors and house builders) increasingly requiring
appropriate qualifica5ons on site

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Sealing Techniques

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 Validation
&
Verification

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 Validation and Verification

Presumptions:
ALL installations should be subject to some form of
validation
Validation should be proportionate to the risks from the
site AND the experience of the installation operatives
Validation should be conducted by suitably qualified
INDEPENDENT practitioners.
In the event of appropriate self validation this should be
AUDITED by a suitably qualified independent auditor.

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 Validation / Verification
–  Increasingly being specified as part of a well designed solu5on
–  May consist of a variety of or combina5on of prac5ces and should
be specified appropriately according to risk
–  There is no “One off” Valida5on!
May consist of:
–  Check for compliance with specifica5on (Including materials,
qualifica5ons of installa5on opera5ves and posi5on of components.)
–  Visual inspec5on of work
–  Close physical inspec5on of work including “pick tes5ng”
–  Seam and seal tes5ng using test equipment
–  Full installa5on integrity tes5ng using gas, smoke or dielectric
tes5ng techniques.
–  CIRIA Project currently under way to offer guidance – was due to be
published 2013! …..available spring – summer 2014!

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 WHY Verification?

a.  Join6ng tape not a.  Corner not sealed or welded to main
con6nuous body of membrane
b.  This was installed by a self proclaimed
specialist installer

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 WHY Verification?

a.  Scaffolding pole pushed straight a.  Crease straight through Joint (known
through membrane a fishmouth)
b.  Lack of educa6on for other trades b.  Par6cular problem 2000g centre and
tri fold membranes

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WHY Verification?

Follow on trade damage

- Lack of understanding of importance of
gas protec5on
- Lack of care
- Lack of site management
- Timing of valida5on?

Solu6ons
- Tool box talks
- Protec5on of membrane
- Use of a ‘skid’

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 In Conclusion

v Much has been accomplished over the last 10 years

v Much is s6ll to be done
v Quality design relies on quality data.
v Good quality materials need good quality
workmanship to perform
v Standards exist and can be applied
v Valida6on and verifica6on form part of a quality
design

v So could you be a “validator”………………..?

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Spot The difference!

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Thank You
And remember ………………..

“Be a yards5ck of quality. Some people

aren't used to an environment where
excellence is expected.”

Steve Jobs (1955 -2011)

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 Thank You

Any questions?


By Peter Atchison

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