Construction law and environmental harm: the liability interface.

Construction professionals are increasingly exposed to risk deriving from legal responsibility for environmental harm. To assess the levels of exposure to this risk, those involved in property need to understand the impact of environmental issues upon construction law. Construction law literature and specialist environmental law sources on construction can provide a basis for study. The main themes found in these sources are planning law, environmental protection, waste and waste management and contamination, including water pollution, and these are reviewed. A study of the litigation reported in the principal specialist construction law sources reinforces the significance of these themes through the identification of the case law embodying them. There are other areas of impact and potential impact: visual/aesthetic harm, harm to acoustic amenity, the use and removal of deleterious materials (such as asbestos) and other 'indirect' risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]