Sustainability and Remediation - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 890

Rio de
Janeiro
1992

Stockholm
1972

Johannesburg
2002

1983 1987

United Nations
Conference on
the Human
Environment
“Only One
Earth: The Care
and
Maintenance of
a Small Planet”
1971
Linkage of
development &
environment

World
Commission on
Environment &
Development
Chair Gro
Bruntland, PM
Norway
Brief: review
the critical
environment &
development
problems and
formulate
realistic
solutions

“Brundtland
report”- Our
Common
Future
Defined the
concept of
sustainable
development
for the first
time, linking 3
elements:
social,
environmental
and economic
Or
People, planet
and profit

Earth Summit
(United Nations
Conference on
Environment &
Development)
Considered:
sustainable
production,
alternative
energy, water &
transportation
Kyoto
Biodiversity
Indigenous
people

Earth Summit '02
8 Millennium
Development
Goals
Poverty
Education
Gender equality
Child mortality
Maternal health
Disease control
Environmental
sustainability
Global
partnership for
development

Fig. 20.1 The international sustainable development debate

the use of fossil fuels (and CO 2 emissions) have led to questioning about whether
it is truly sustainable to apply energy intensive remediation processes to relatively
low levels of contamination. Remediation that does not deliver tangible benefits in
the form of reduced risk cannot be said to be a wise use of resources and there-
fore cannot be seen to be sustainable. Another dimension to this debate has arisen
in response to the emergence of interest in the use of marginal land for alternative
energy production. For example, in 2008 the US EPA (United States Environmental
Protection Agency) launched a national map linking renewable energy opportunities
to contaminated sites and mining sites. 1 This chapter explores, conceptually, what
might be meant by the term “sustainable remediation”; links this concept to frame-
works for contaminated site management and explores how sustainability can be
considered in contaminated land or site management decision making and practice,
concluding with a selection of case studies.

20.2 Concepts

20.2.1 Sustainability

20.2.1.1 Sustainability Appraisal in Overview

Sustainability is perhaps best described as a measure of how well a particular
endeavour is able to meet the goals of sustainable development, for example as