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

Bill Tryon

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.