What is a Phase 1 Desk Study?
A Phase 1 Desk Study identifies risks to the environment, human health and buildings from existing data. It can flag up issues relating to the development or purchase of a site. (e.g. historical records may reveal the past presence of contaminating activities such as an industrial activity). A visual inspection of the site and its surrounding is sometimes undertaken to gather additional data on the site and to confirm the desk study findings; this is known a site walkover survey.