The oil of Grain - Environmental monitoring of a disused oil refinery on the Isle of Grain, Kent

British Gas plc has bought the site of a disused oil refinery on the Isle of Grain in Kent for future development. There was the possibility of contamination on the site arising from the old refinery operations; an environmental survey was therefore required. The water discharging from the site to the adjacent River Medway was found to be of acceptable quality and there was some improvement in the quality of the water on the site itself, particularly in oil content. The soils investigations suggested that although there is generally a low level of contamination, occasional increased levels of both organic and inorganic contaminants are present, but these do not extend to the subsoil. The ground-water monitoring to date has shown no contamination arising from the refinery's waste disposal site.