Scientific and engineering improvement of environmental risk management - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 423

Parts of the research need identified 15 years ago have been (to some extent)
fulfilled. These are:

- Improved methods for estimating the accuracy and variability of the whole

sampling and analytical process;

- Methods to assess migration of groundwater contamination;

- Methods to assess the natural potential of soil to reduce contaminants to acceptable

risk levels and to monitor the process;

- Detection of non-aqueous phase liquids and the prediction of their fate;

- Natural attenuation in groundwater.

SNOWMAN (Sustainable maNagement of sOil and groundWater under the pres-
sure of soil pollution and soil contaMinAtioN) and the research projects funded by
SNOWMAN reflect the fact that the unsolved problems raised by CARACAS are still
alive and the European scientific community is still working on improving our knowl-
edge in this field. Some of the latest research projects relevant to ERM are the following:

- ENACT: Extending the Monitored Natural Attenuation Toolbox for Chlorinated

Solvents (2007-2008);

- IOPSIM: (Im)mobilization of organic pollutants by soil constituents in the

soil/groundwater system—Strategies for innovative management (2007-2008);

- MUSA: Integrating Multiple Scale Impact Assessment on Ecosystems for Contam-

inated Land Management (2007-2008);

- PERSPEC: Perspectives on mobilization of prioritized contaminants in soil (2007-

2008);

- Rejuvenate: Crop-based Systems for Sustainable Risk Based Land Management

for Economically Marginal Degraded Land (2008-2009);

- SUMATECS: Sustainable management of trace element contaminated soils—

Development of a decision tool and its evaluation (2007-2008).

End users of environmental management tools and contaminated land are leg-
islators, authorities, managers, consultants, vendors and owners. Edwards (2009)
conducted a survey in 2007-2008 within the EURODEMO project about end users'
need concerning innovative technologies and demonstration projects in contaminated
land management. His conclusions are as follows:

- Information on innovation and demonstration is needed;

- Success reports are needed. These should be general rather than detailed, until the

fully specified database architecture is finalized;

- Reporting of failures and their explanations is necessary;

- A database should be set up containing all demonstrations of innovative environ-

mental remediation, differentiating between projects that have been assessed and
projects that have not. A database search engine must be developed.

- To promote innovative technology demonstration

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simplified procedures are needed for setting up and operating demonstration
projects;