Scanner detects illegal pollution

The agency claims its new scanner will help speed up the prosecution process for illegal polluters and save tax payers thousands of pounds each year.

Steve Openshaw, chief executive of Bentham Geophysical Consulting and contractor of the device, said that the technology could provide a more effective tool for distinguishing between different materials below the surface compared to current bore-hole drilling methods.

‘This is an improvement on traditional techniques,’ he added. ‘For the EA’s application we’ve used a large number of electrodes to collect more detailed data… If you know roughly where an illegal landfill site is, you will be able to detect it with this device.’

Bentham’s scanner uses a technique known as resistive tomography, which collects data from up to 256 electrodes placed at regular intervals in the ground. An electrical current is passed between the electrodes to measure the resistivity in the soil, rock and surrounding material.  

Data from the electrodes is then sent to an on-site computer to reveal static images of the subsurface environment. These images can show the depth and shape of most potential landfill zones, however, problems still remain in identifying materials with similar properties.