dataset · United Kingdom

Estimated Ambient Background Soil Chemistry England and Wales

The Estimated Ambient Background Soil Chemistry England and Wales dataset indicates the estimated geometric mean topsoil Arsenic(As), Cadmium (Cd), Cr (Chromium), Nickel (Ni) and Lead (Pb) concentrations (mg kg-1). The soil chemistry data is based on GBASE (Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment) soil geochemical data where these are available. Elsewhere the stream sediment data are converted to surface soil equivalent potentially harmful element (PHE) concentrations. This dataset covers

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Source details

Licence: ["The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in an

Evidence quality: 38.1

Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).

Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified: estimated geometric mean topsoil arsenic (As) concentration (mg kg-1) · estimated geometric mean topsoil cadmium (Cd) concentration (mg kg-1) · estimated geometric mean topsoil chromium (Cr) concentration (mg kg-1) · estimated geometric mean topsoil nickel (Ni) concentration (mg kg-1) · estimated geometric mean topsoil lead (Pb) concentration (mg kg-1)
Coverage docs-verified: England and Wales; data available for the whole of Great Britain except the London area · 2012 (dataset reference date, creation)
Update frequency docs-verified: as needed (no fixed schedule stated)
Access docs-verified: Open access via data.gov.uk (no API key or auth in ENTRY); reuse restricted by BGS/NERC copyright, reproduction or transmission requires prior permission of the copyright holder; dataset licence not set on data.gov.uk

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: Contaminated land screening: comparing site topsoil As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb results against ambient background concentrations · Excavated soil reuse and waste classification: providing a regional metals background reference for England and Wales · EIA or planning soil quality baseline: characterising pre-development topsoil metal levels where site sampling is limited
Audience llm-inferred: contaminated land consultants · geoenvironmental engineers · environmental risk assessors · civils engineers managing excavated material · planning and EIA environmental consultants

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: No data for the London area due to an inadequate number of geochemical samples · Outside GBASE coverage, values are derived by converting stream sediment data to surface soil equivalent PHE concentrations · Covers only topsoil As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb, not other determinands · BGS gives no warranty as to quality, accuracy or suitability and accepts no liability; use is at the customer's own risk

Evidence

Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.