Our client was concerned that gas protection measures installed in a new warehouse development might have been compromised. GGS was commissioned to carry out a series of internal ground gas survey sweeps to check if any hazardous ground gases were found to be entering the warehouse, which was now operational.
Our clients’ concerns were found to be justified with a significant number of gas ingress points identified during our surveys. Thankfully none of the concentrations were significant enough to pose an immediate risk to the use or occupation of the warehouse. However, it was clear that the installed gas protection measures were not effective.
All survey locations were recorded and presented within our survey report providing clear data and descriptions of locations where ingress was identified.
The majority of leaks were found around slab penetrations and slab joints and thus a retrofit solution of sealing these locations could be undertaken, however this building will require a careful maintenance programme going forward, including management, monitoring and seal checks.
This case study demonstrates that gas ingress can be identified and stresses the need to take gas protection installation seriously during the construction phase. Had the ground gas risk been assessed and mitigated earlier, this additional and costly work could have been avoided and time and money saved.
