All cores supplied by the British Geological Survey were heavily polluted with wide variety of organic compounds. The total organic carbon (TOC/ppm) values increased over tenfold between 5m and 10m levels. Each core of borehole VF 1020 was characterised by soil lithology, microbial numbers and metabolic activity at l0°C and 30°C, using air as the gas phase. The metabolic activity at 10°C was approximately 40% of that found at 30°C in the two core samples examined. The fluctuation in bacterial numbers and their metabolic activity show some correlation with the type of soil present, being higher with smaller the particle size and vice versa. No correlation was observed between depth, pH, moisture content, redox values, temperature or TOC values.