Introduction to Contaminated Site Management - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 7

site for the construction of a residential area, channels and ditches had been filled
in with chemical waste-containing materials. The scandal started after a water pipe
exploded because of the presence of aromatic contaminants in the soil. The specific
known fact that benzene, a carcinogenic agent, was involved raised public concern.
Nearly 300 families were evacuated, 1600 barrels of chemical waste were removed,
and the soil under the residences was excavated.
Today, the Love Canal and Lekkerkerk cases still are often mentioned in intro-
ductions to reports on contaminated sites and in oral platform presentations at
contaminated site management-related congresses.

1.1.2 The Present Situation

1.1.2.1 Extent of Soil Contamination

In the last two decades of the 20th century, the number of potentially contami-
nated sites grew in most developed countries to six or seven digits. During this
period, most developed countries established monitoring systems for the purpose
of assessing the extent of their contaminated sites. According to the European
Environmental Agency (EEA) the number of contaminated sites requiring reme-
diation in the EU member states was approximately 250,000 in 2007 (European
Environmental Agency 2007 ). Today, it is expected that this number has grown sig-
nificantly. According to the same source, potentially contaminating activities are
estimated to have occurred at nearly 3 million sites (including the 250,000 sites
already mentioned). In the European Union, 3.5 million sites are contaminated,
affecting 231 million people and representing a market value of 57 billion Euros
(Commission of the European Communities 2006 ). Soil contamination is one of
the eight threats mentioned in the EU Thematic Soil Strategy (Commission of the
European Communities 2006 ).
A contaminated soil map would roughly coincide with an anthropogenic map,
since humans are generally recognized as the main polluters. Most of the contami-
nated sites are found in or close to cities.
In the present day, most countries have become aware of the huge practical, social
and financial impact of contaminated sites.

1.1.2.2 Emissions to Soil

Emissions into the environment might occur through the air (atmospheric depo-
sition) or directly (conscious or subconscious disposal). Examples of possible air
emissions are:

• the deposition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) due to heating pro-

cesses, often emitted tens or hundreds of kilometres away from the source (e.g.,
Ollivon et al. ( 2002 ), who measured substantial amounts of PAHs in atmospheric