Introduction to Contaminated Site Management - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 68

Fig. 1.12 A former with DDT (DichloorDifenylTrichloorethaan) and HCH (HexaChloro
Cyclohexane) contaminated site in Wuxi, China, which has been developed into a residential area
after remediation (photo F. Swartjes)
1.8.6 Integrated Approaches
Some individuals involved in risk-based soil quality assessment believe that the
main purpose of the term 'integrated', mainly in the 1990s, was to 'dress up' polit-
ical reports and letters. Although this opinion does not reflect reality, it is a fact
that plans for and ideas about integration always overruled concrete application.
Today, several variations on integration offer immense benefits in contaminated site
management.
1.8.6.1 Interdepartmental
In all countries in the world, various ministries have a relationship with soil qual-
ity assessment and management. Political themes that have a relationship with soil
include environment, agriculture, water resources, nature protection, and spatial
planning. A balanced interdepartmental approach , however, would practically be
impossible. Therefore, it is essential that laws and acts that influence soil policy do
not permit actions to conflict, or, still better, that they actually strengthen each other.
The same conclusions hold for national versus international regulations. In Europe,
for example, many environmental acts, such as the Water Framework Directive,
overlap with national regulations.
1.8.6.2 Spatial Planning
Traditionally, spatial planning is a process with a two-dimensional scope, that is, it
is related to the arrangement of the soil surface, usually on the scale of a region.
Since the late 1990s, the idea of including the third dimension, that is, soil aspects,
into spatial planning, has become a point of interest. The reason for this is that the