Liquid-proof and liquid-resistant floors

If you carry out activities that could negatively impact soil quality, you must make arrangements and take measures to protect the soil to prevent contaminating liquids from ending up in the soil or groundwater. These arrangements and measures to protect the soil are laid down in the Activities Decree (Activiteitenbesluit). You may have to have a liquid-proof or liquid-resistant floor. The Soil Protection Guide for Entrepreneurs (Wegwijzer bodembescherming voor ondernemers) will help you determine whether you need a liquid-proof or liquid-resistant floor. This guide can be found on the (Dutch-language) website Bodembescherming.nl which is powered by the Foundation Infrastructure for Quality Assurance of Soil Management (SIKB).

Installation and inspection of liquid-proof floor

Once installed, you must have liquid-proof floors inspected by a certified body. The expert inspector must satisfy a number of requirements that are laid down in Recommendation 44 (Aanbeveling 44) of the Centre for Civil Engineering Research and Codes (CUR). Once approved, you will be issued a certificate which is valid for six years. Every year, you must check the floor yourself for defects and cracks.

You will find a list of inspection companies certified to approve liquid proof floors at the site of NL Environment.

Incident management and liquid-resistant floors

If you have a liquid-resistant floor, you must clear up the substances released before they end up in the soil. You are required to carry out management measures, supervision and inspection yourself. This is referred to as incident management.