Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
resources. Adverse environmental effects are generally considered as the result of a
process where some potential hazard (a toxic chemical or other agent) affects a tar-
get to be protected (people, animals, plants, ecosystem processes, water resources
or buildings). For this process to operate, there must be a connection (a pathway)
between the potential hazard (the source) and target for protection (the receptor).
If an adverse effect has occurred, the consequences are often described as damage.
Poor soil and water quality may in turn lead to adverse social and economic effects.
23.6.1.2 Land
Land represents a geographical area. For example, it could be a single site, a number
of sites in the same locality, or it could be a region such as municipality or larger
area. It also includes the soil, surface water and groundwater beneath the surface of
the sites, adding a third dimension to the traditional spatial planning interpretation
of land. The reason why the word land is used here instead of sites is that RBLM
wants to put contaminated sites in a spatial planning context and to move away from
the classical management of incidents approach for individual contaminated sites.
23.6.1.3 Management
Management is a set of activities involving decisions about assessment, remediation,
land use restrictions, monitoring, spatial planning, aftercare and other issues. In the
context of Risk Management, it is a much broader activity than the selection of
a remediation technique. It includes all aspects of developing and implementing a
sustainable approach. The scope of this management may also be wider than the
contaminated sites issue. Other environmental impacts and stressors may need to be
dealt with at the same time. There are also different types of “managers” of land -
they may be, for example, the owner or user of an industrial site or a municipal
authority.
23.6.2 The Components of Risk-Based Land Management
23.6.2.1 Fitness for Use
Fitness for use relates to the reduction of risks to human health and the environment
as much as necessary to ensure the safe use or reuse of the site. It focuses on quality
requirements of the site for the land use and soil functions, and takes into account
the timeframe of the particular use of the site. For example, the assessment considers
how long a receptor might be exposed to contamination.
Risks related to the use of the site should be “acceptable” for the people con-
cerned. This acceptance might be obtained if the quality of the site meets certain
minimum quality requirements. In some cases, obtaining acceptance might require
additional quality requirements to create confidence and security. It is essential in
determining the “total quality requirements” to know all the aspects of the site use.
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