In 1985 I visited universities, a government laboratory and a commercial firm in the United States, researching ways to harness the natural processes in soils and aquifers to degrade pollutants. The United States was leading the understanding and development of practical methods to clean up spills of fuels and solvents, driven by progressive legislation.

Back in the UK, I was supported by my employer, the Water Research Centre, to disseminate my findings and undertake a demonstration project. This complemented a major survey of the nature and extent of UK groundwater contamination. It took until 1994 to further the UK approach when the report A Framework for Assessing the Impact of Contaminated Land on Groundwater and Surface Water was published by the then Department of Environment under my management. This report opened the risk-based assessment methodologies for land and groundwater remediation that have since been continuously developed. I carried on remediating nuclear licensed sites and produced the industry SAFEGROUNDS guidance.

During my 35 years as a hydrogeologist and land-quality manager I have strived to remove pollution legacies and recycle land for a better use.