Sustainability and Remediation - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 888

Chapter 20
Sustainability and Remediation

R. Paul Bardos, Laurent M.M. Bakker, Hans L.A. Slenders,
and C. Paul Nathanail

Abstract Sustainable remediation has come to exist as a popular term used
to describe contaminated site management that is demonstrably sustainable, i.e.
where some form of sustainability appraisal has been used in decision making
to identify the “most sustainable” approach for any particular management inter-
vention required. The “most sustainable” approach is one that, in the view of
the stakeholders involved in making or considering management decisions, has
the optimal balance of effects and benefits across the three elements of sus-
tainability: environment, economy and society. This chapter describes how the
Brundtland Report concept of sustainable development can be linked with con-
taminated site remediation practice, both how sustainability can be assessed and
used as a tool in decision making; and also how sustainability thinking is creat-
ing new contaminated site remediation approaches, for example, marrying concepts
of Risk Management and renewable energy production. The chapter discusses
the individual “indicators” or metrics that contribute to an understanding of sus-
tainability, the tools available for combining these into a sustainability appraisal,
and the types of boundary conditions that need to be considered in setting the
scope of sustainability appraisal. The chapter also discusses the linkage of “sus-
tainability” with “Risk Management”, the importance of engaging stakeholders
in sustainability appraisal, and an emerging set of international initiatives in the
field. Finally it presents a series of sustainable remediation case studies (technolo-
gies and decision making tools) and a view of the possible future for “sustainable
remediation”.