Introduction to Contaminated Site Management - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 5

1.7.15 Risk Perception and Risk Communication .....................

62

1.8 Approaches Towards Contaminated Site Assessment and Management ........ 64

Evolution ........................................ 1.8.1 64

1.8.2 Multifunctionality ................................... 64

Fitness-for-Use .....................................

1.8.3 65

1.8.4 A More Pragmatic Approach .............................

66

1.8.5 Market-Oriented Approach to Site Development ................. 67

Integrated Approaches ................................. 1.8.6 68

Technical Approaches ................................. 1.8.7 70

1.9 Sustainability ...........................................

74

1.10 Actors Involved ......................................... 75

1.10.1 Decision-Makers and Regulators ..........................

75

1.10.2 Scientists ......................................... 77

1.10.3 Decision-Makers Versus Scientists ......................... 77

1.10.4 The Risk Assessor ................................... 78

1.10.5 Project Managers .................................... 79

1.10.6 Major International Institutions ...........................

80

1.11 Scope of the Topic ........................................ 82

References ................................................

83

1.1 Status of Contaminated Sites

1.1.1 History

1.1.1.1 Early Soil Contamination

Over thousands of years, since humans started mining for the iron-containing min-
eral hematite and later for malachite for copper production, potentially harmful
chemical compounds ( contaminants ) have been added to the upper soil layers.
And for centuries humans have dumped their waste materials into primitive waste
dumps. However, large scale mining and, hence, large scale soil contamination, only
came into existence in Europe, the USA and many other parts of the world in the
19th century. One phenomenon that sped up soil contamination was the Industrial
Revolution which began in England and subsequently spread to several developed
countries in Europe, the USA and Japan, from the turn of the 18th and 19th cen-
turies. But the impact of the Industrial Revolution on contaminated sites was minor
compared to the impact of the technological developments that took place mainly
during the 20th century. These developments were characterized by a more than pro-
portional increase in emissions of contaminants into the environment. Soil can often
be considered as the ultimate sink for contaminants that enter the environment. As
a consequence, emissions of contaminants to soil increased, for example, through
the large-scale use of fertilizers, expansion of industrial production, the use of fossil
fuels and, as an overall impact factor, a huge increase in population growth. It was
not only the bulk rate of production of contaminants that significantly expanded. It
was also the enormous increase in variety of types of chemical compounds that were