Introduction to Contaminated Site Management - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 13

1.1.4.3 Protection Targets
With regard to the definition of risk, which is a concept that denotes a potential
negative impact on an asset, a relevant issue is determination of the nature and value
of the asset. Since these assets are potentially negatively impacted, they need to be
protected. Therefore, the term protection targets (aka: receptors ) is often used.
With regard to contaminated sites, several protection targets have been recog-
nised. The principle protection target with regard to contaminated sites, worldwide,
is human health . More specifically, it is the physical health condition, not usually
the mental health condition, of human beings that is considered. Alternatively, sev-
eral risk-based quality assessment procedures use terms such as 'humans', 'human
beings', or 'man' as protection targets, but they all refer to human health, that
is, the state of physical health of human beings. There has, for decades, been an
intensive debate on the extent of human health effects from contaminants in soil
and groundwater. Although often overestimated, many studies have provided solid
evidence that these effects are real. Beard and Australian Rural Health Research
Collaboration ( 2005 ), for example, concluded that there is suggestive evidence for
a role of exposure to DDT and DDE from soils with regard to pancreatic cancer,
neuropsychological dysfunction, and reproductive outcomes. The relevant process
with regard to the determination and often evaluation of risks is Human Health Risk
Assessment ( HHRA ). Swartjes and Cornelis ( Chapter 5 of this topic) give a detailed
overview of Human Health Risk Assessment. The subsequent chapters of this topic
(see Chapter 6 by Bierkens et al., Chapter 7 by Cave et al., Chapter 8 by Mclaughlin
et al., Chapter 9 by Trapp and Legind, Chapter 10 by McAlary et al., Chapter 11
by Elert et al., this topic) give details on the determination of Exposure Assessment,
a crucial process in Human Health Risk Assessment. Langley ( Chapter 12 of this
topic) describes the Hazard Assessment, another indispensable element in Human
Health Risk Assessment.
A second protection target is the soil ecosystem (or Ecosystem health). Although
not always appreciated to the extent it deserves, the soil ecosystem performs some
immensely important tasks for humans ( Ecosystem Services ). Moreover, protecting
the various species in soil contributes to the maintenance of Biodiversity. Only a
few countries formally consider the soil ecosystem to be an protection target. Over
the last few years, however, political and scientific interest in protection of the
soil ecosystem has gained in importance, at least in Europe (Carlon and Swartjes
2007a ). An enormous number of investigations have shown the adverse ecologi-
cal effects of contaminants in soil. Nagy et al. ( 2004 ), for example, demonstrated
the adverse effects of metals on nematodes in Hungarian soils. The relevant pro-
cess with regard to the determination and often evaluation of risks is Ecological
Risk Assessment ( ERA ). Swartjes et al. ( Chapter 13 of this topic) give an overview
of Ecological Risk Assessment. The subsequent chapters of this topic, these are
Posthuma and Suter ( Chapter 14 of this topic) and Rutgers and Jensen ( Chapter 15
of this topic), describe Ecological Risk Assessment in more detail, from a generic
and a site-specific perspective, respectively.
A third protection target is the groundwater . Juhler and Felding ( 2004 ), for
example, demonstrated the presence of many organic contaminants in groundwa-
ter, including toluene, phenol, xylene, trichloromethane, benzene, dibuthylphthalate,