The NRB (Nederlandse Richtlijn Bodembescherming, the Dutch Soil Protection Guideline) sets out whether and how a business must protect the ground beneath it against soil-threatening substances. For each activity — refuelling, storing oil, washing plant, decanting chemicals — it prescribes a matching combination of physical provisions and management measures.
The core idea: provisions plus measures
The NRB works in combinations. A physical provision on its own is never enough; organisational measures always go with it. The rule of thumb is:
- Heavy provision + light measures — for example a liquid-tight floor with periodic inspection
- Light provision + heavy measures — for example a drip tray with strict supervision, immediate clean-up and record keeping
In both cases the target is the same: a negligible soil risk.
Examples of soil protection provisions
| Provision | Application |
|---|---|
| Liquid-tight floor or paving | Refuelling point, wash bay, workshop |
| Liquid-resistant floor | Areas with limited spill risk, always with supervision |
| Drip tray | Under drums and IBCs holding liquid hazardous substances |
| Collection sump or pit | Under plant and at transfer points |
| Upstand kerb | Stops spilled liquid running off the slab |
A liquid-tight provision must be inspected periodically by an accredited inspector, and the resulting certificate has to be available at an inspection.
Status under the new Dutch environmental law
The NRB was for many years the reference document for soil protection at industrial sites in the Netherlands. With the introduction of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act it has lapsed as a best-available-techniques document. Its substantive measures were carried over into a new document, Bodembescherming: combinaties van voorzieningen en maatregelen (BB-CVM). The term NRB is still widely used in practice and in older permits.
In practice
- For a new industrial building, work out which activities are soil-threatening; that drives the floor specification and often a significant part of the budget
- A liquid-tight floor costs more than an ordinary industrial slab, because of joint sealing, falls to a collection point and the mandatory inspection
- Record a baseline soil survey before operations start; it protects you later against liability for pre-existing contamination
Related terms
- Soil survey
- Liquid-tight floor
- Industrial floor
- Environmental permit
- Hazardous substance storage
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