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ASTM Updates Standard for Vapor Encroachment Screening – How do the key changes affect you?

ASTM recently released updates to the E2600-15: Standard Guide for Vapor Encroachment Screening on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions. The…

By Bill Tryon | Updated on February 18, 2016
Bill Tryon Bill Tryon
ASTM recently released updates to the E2600-15: Standard Guide for Vapor Encroachment Screening on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions . The update includes many changes that are important to the professionals completing the work, but have no practical impact on users. The use of more precise language in some definitions or the addition of new definitions, for example, improves the Guide; but probably do not warrant close review by most users.  What are key items to be aware of?

Why Vapor Risk Is a Concern

Property value, business operations, occupancy and cash flow can be significantly impacted when contamination is found at a property. Contamination affecting soil or groundwater is generally confined below the ground surface soil, which can limit the impact on occupants and properties unless it becomes necessary to remediate the issue, usually as a result of regulatory requirements or the discovery of contamination as a result of property transfer or refinance of the property.

Some contaminants; however, can be released from impacted soil or groundwater in vapor form. When those vapors migrate into structures, the equation is changed. Resultant health risks to occupants can expose them to health threats which can disrupt business operations, reduce occupancy, and require more immediate cleanup or mitigation. In some cases, it could even allow tenants to break or renegotiate an over-market or otherwise undesirable lease, which may dramatically affect the cash flow and value of properties. This is true whether the vapor originates on-site, or has migrated to the property from an off-site source.

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