Soil contamination Proposed EEA/ETC contribution to the working group on Soil Contamination European Topic Centre on Terrestrial Environment SESSION 2 Contamination

TWG mandate Problems and issues Local vs diffuse pollution Definition of “contaminated site” Extent of sites and costs of remediation More prevention and corrective actions Historical vs future pollution Soil diversities Locally risk-based,fit for use approaches Promote incentive measures Objectives Complete picture of extent of contamination in the EU enlarged Fully exploit results of expert networks Identify best contaminated sites management practices and remediation techniques Identify measures to prevent new contamination SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Definitions Diffuse Contamination extended locally not defined areas sources can often not be clearly identified Local Contamination limited locally defined areas point sources can be identified SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Definitions Contaminated site site poses considerable risk to human health and the environment Contaminated soil soil functions are endangered because of impacting contaminant levels N.B.: –Site uses and soil functions to be defined –Natural background levels may be a threshold for “new or future contamination” SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Objectives Prevention: avoid deterioration of soil quality, loss of soil functions and water resources degradation. –does relevant legislation (waste&sludge, air, IPPC, EIA,WFD, pesticides/fertilizers) apply and protect soil efficiently? Remediation: restore land use and soil functions (or natural background levels). –Diffuse contamination: application of acceptable input levels is generally a sufficient remediation measure. –Historic local contamination: remediation (clean-up) according to Risk-Based Land Management. –New local contamination: contaminant removal as far as appropriate with respect to natural background. SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Objectives: targets for environmental quality Avoid and/or reduce any (future?) contamination exceeding the background concentration of contaminants in agricultural soils Reduce the input of acidifying substances and those that enhance eutrophication in forest ecosystems down to concentrations that are ecologically acceptable (critical loads) Avoid irreversible contamination of soil with genetically modified organisms that can have lasting effects on the soil ecosystem Ensure sustainable land use - water resources included - according to its dedication (sustain the relevant soil functions) N.B.:more homogeneous objectives needed for diffuse and local contamination SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Diffuse contamination - assessment Problems Acidification Eutrophication Heavy metals and chemicals (organics, radioactive) accumulation/impacts Extent Exists across all Europe due to air transmission Additional direct contamination from agriculture and waste management Wide range of contaminants Wide contamination extent: from very limited to strongly polluted SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Assessment indicators Acidification: critical loads (P), base saturation of soils (S), forest crown/soil condition (I) Heavy metal: air deposition/agricultural input (P), topsoil/subsoil concentration ratio (accumulation) (S), mobility indicators (I) Monitoring according to regular (space&time) intervals may be appropriate in order to Ensure comparable results Chose a uniform method Diffuse contamination- assessment SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Diffuse contamination - assessment & monitoring Suggestions Plan different investigation stages (Level I+II) Consider special cases (e.g. urban soil) Consider space&time relation between values (trends) in addition to absolute values Evaluate scenarios (how many years it takes to reach the condition/target) Assess soil use and functions Identify cause-effect relations (DPSIR) Assess risks (e.g. ecotoxicological) SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Local contamination - assessment Problems Industrial activities Landfills Mining sites Extent Estimated 1.5 million contaminated sites from preliminary surveys across all Europe Estimated remediation costs up to million Euro per year across Europe Wide range of contaminants Wide contamination extent: from limited to strongly polluted; from small sites (gas stations) to mega sites (thousand hectars each) SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Causes of soil pollution What is the extent of contaminated sites problems? Is the problem of contaminated areas being solved? How much is being spent on cleaning up soil contamination? Soil polluting activities Number of sites at different management levels Progress in management of contaminated sites Expenditures on remediation of contaminated sites Local soil contamination - assessment Driving forces / Pressure State Impact Responses DPSIRQuestionIndicator SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Local contamination - monitoring sources from soil polluting activities - monitoring of aggregated data possible and already started - historic contamination: surveys started in Member States, however far from completeness - new contamination:landfills: making use of LFD - reporting obligation helpful; industrial sites: IPPC Directive not suitable for monitoring purposes environmental impacts - no information available in MS, e.g. amount of hazardous substances released to soil; restriction to selected chemicals (CHC, mineral oil); impact on drinking water supply management progress - surveys in MS are “management-oriented” information available - partly based on estimations SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Local contamination - assessment & monitoring Considerations: Generic monitoring requirements not appropriate. Focus on EU dimension of problems: mega sites, hot spots, areas of concern Assessment as a tiered process: potentially contaminated sites (polluting activities) contaminated sites management progress Integrated assessment needed: soil, groundwater, land planning, brownfield redevelopment Consider soil variability and inhomogeneity: uniform standards or screening values (even for different land uses) are difficult to apply Common definition of “impact level” or “contaminated site” needed: common acceptable risks? SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment Diffuse Local 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Historic local contamination - management strategies Short-medium term remediation for all contaminated sites is not feasible. Adopt strategic RBLM principles: a) fitness for use: human health and ecological risk at the site must be reduced in order that the site is fit to its use b) environmental protection: surrounding soils and water resources must be protected (no contamination spreading) c) long-term care: consider monitoring needs for residual contamination and for containment measures Promote reuse of derelict industrial sites as opposed to greenfields consumption. Adopt timeframes: 20 years for assessment, 25 years for fit for use remediation, 50 years for sustainable land management (?) SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Diffuse contamination - strategies In order that soil protection policy to be applied at EU and national level: Goals for soil protection from diffuse contamination should be incorporated into or integrated with other environmental policies: air, water, agriculture, waste, industry, traffic, energy (where soil quality is generally neglected) EU regulations shall enable/promote/improve regulation at national level Should maximum inputs for pollutants be set ? Should “action values” for severe, already existing contamination, be set ? SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW

Soil and groundwater contamination Distinguish old and new contamination for assessment and management Define hot spots and risk management zones for local contamination (point sources) Define receptors, uses and assess site specific risks Assess chemical background levels Monitor contamination trends and progress Careful use of generic standards (“good status”) or screening values as remediation goals. Site specific goals for old sites. Same protection goals principles for gw contaminated by agricultural practices (diffuse contamination) and point sources Integrate land management into ‘catchment areas’ SESSION 2 Contamination 1. Mandates 2. Definitions 3. Objectives 4. Assessment 5. Strategies 6. Soil and GW