Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments

Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments

Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments (PRSAs) are a new instrument under the Environment Protection Act 2017.

PRSAs assess the likelihood of land contamination in relation to a site’s existing or proposed future use and determine if an environmental audit is required.

PRSAs relate to a site’s existing or proposed future use. They consider the potential presence of contaminated land.

PRSAs don’t replace environmental audits, they:

• work out whether there’s a need for an environmental audit
• recommend the scope for the environmental audit if it’s required.

A PRSA doesn’t make a conclusion on the suitability of a site for its existing or proposed use. Only an environmental audit can do this.

In some circumstances it may be clear that a site is contaminated. In these scenarios it may be appropriate to go straight to an environmental audit.

Only EPA-appointed environmental auditors can perform PRSAs. The PRSA process may involve environmental consultants. They can prepare assessment reports that are considered by the auditor in the PRSA.

For more information on data quality, see Data quality: accuracy and reliability where Data Quality Statements are available for download.

For more information on PRSAs, visit the EPA website.

Page last updated: 28/07/23