Introduction to Contaminated Site Management - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 18

Fig. 1.5 Potsherds and pipe remains, found in the upper soil layers of the Central Western Peat
area of the Netherlands, as evidence of layers of municipal waste of often several decimetres
that have been brought onto the land from the 16th century until the 1940s (photo: M. Rutgers;
reproduced with permission)
the 1940s, layers of municipal waste of often several decimetres have been brought
onto the land in the Central Western Peat area, including potsherds and pipe remains
(see Fig. 1.5 ), over areas as large as hundreds of square kilometres. Meuser and
Blume ( 2001 ) describe the problematic classification of man-made soils, with regard
to the anthropogenically influenced soils around the city of Osnabrück, Germany.
Some of these soils contain coal and ore mining materials and waste materials.
Meuser and Van de Graaff ( Chapter 2 of this topic) give a detailed description of the
characteristics of and processes related to natural soils, urban soils and Technosols.
In fact, in all countries in the world all kind of waste materials have been brought
onto the land over many centuries for the purpose of getting rid of these materials,
whether or not in combination with soil improvement. After decades or centuries of
evolution, these soils might have developed their own structure, for example, with
an organic matter-rich upper layer. In any soil, whether disturbed or not, uncon-
solidated rock material on top of consolidated rock is found at greater depths.
Typically, human activities that directly caused soil contamination also have resulted
in disturbance of the original soil profile.
Unlike most bodies of water and air volumes, the soil is often privately owned.
It is widely recognised that soil is a valuable and, at least on the time scale of
decades, a non-renewable material. It serves several functions that are crucial for
human survival such as crop production and as a supporter of buildings and humans
themselves. Moreover, soil is the habitat and nutritional source for organisms.
1.2.2 Contaminated Sites
Contaminated sites are locations at which the soil and/or the groundwater are chem-
ically polluted. In this context, a broad, three-dimensional definition is given to the