remediation of site contamination

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Remediation of Site Contamination Ravi Naidu & Euan Smith & Ming H. Wong & Mallavarapu Megharaj & Nanthi Bolan & Albert L. Juhasz & Enzo Lombi Published online: 15 November 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 The effect of industrial contaminants on human health came to world scientific prominence in the 1950s when human exposure to mercury (Hg) in Japan led to poison- ing of thousands of local people (i.e. Minamata disease). Since that time, the effects of other contaminants such as arsenic, selenium, and asbestos has been reported in many countries. The race for economic growth in most countries has seen a dramatic increase in industrial activities which in turn has led to an exponential rise in the production of toxic wastes, many of which were disposed of into land and water bodies. These activities coupled with under- ground fuel storage tanks, mining, and military activities have resulted in millions of potentially contaminated sites worldwide (Table 1) which are largely located in densely populated areas. At a conservative estimate, there are more than 5,000,000 potentially contaminated sites worldwide. These represent both a lost economic opportunity and a real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans and the natural environment. With half of the population now living in cities, the demand for residential proper- ties has forced local councils, planners, and regulators to consider new ways to manage contaminated sites. However, these sites represent a growing challenge given the nature of contaminants and the presence of complex chemical mixtures in most sites. These mix- tures result in major differences in the fate and behav- iour of the contaminants in both the soil and ground water environment and so, make remediation extreme- ly challenging. Although site contamination was recognised some 60 years ago, efforts to remediate have been hampered by the complex and challenging nature of contamination, lack of regulatory policies enforcing polluters to remediate, or lack of adequate financial support. 1 Knowledge Gaps There is a need for a change in the way we manage contaminated sites from both a regulatory as well as a remediation technology perspective. The former requires Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1723 DOI 10.1007/s11270-013-1723-x Guest Editors: R Naidu, Euan Smith, MH Wong, Megharaj Mallavarapu, Nanthi Bolan, Albert Juhasz, and Enzo Lombi This article is part of the Topical Collection on Remediation of Site Contamination R. Naidu (*) : E. Smith : M. Megharaj : N. Bolan : A. L. Juhasz : E. Lombi Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia and CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE), Mawson Lakes Boulevard, SA 5095 Adelaide, Australia e-mail: [email protected] E. Smith e-mail: [email protected] M. Megharaj e-mail: [email protected] N. Bolan e-mail: [email protected] A. L. Juhasz e-mail: [email protected] E. Lombi e-mail: [email protected] M. H. Wong Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, Peoples Republic of China e-mail: [email protected]

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Page 1: Remediation of Site Contamination

Remediation of Site Contamination

Ravi Naidu & Euan Smith & Ming H. Wong & Mallavarapu Megharaj &Nanthi Bolan & Albert L. Juhasz & Enzo Lombi

Published online: 15 November 2013# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

The effect of industrial contaminants on human healthcame to world scientific prominence in the 1950s whenhuman exposure to mercury (Hg) in Japan led to poison-ing of thousands of local people (i.e. Minamata disease).Since that time, the effects of other contaminants such asarsenic, selenium, and asbestos has been reported in manycountries. The race for economic growth inmost countries

has seen a dramatic increase in industrial activities whichin turn has led to an exponential rise in the production oftoxic wastes, many of which were disposed of into landand water bodies. These activities coupled with under-ground fuel storage tanks, mining, and military activitieshave resulted in millions of potentially contaminated sitesworldwide (Table 1) which are largely located in denselypopulated areas.

At a conservative estimate, there are more than5,000,000 potentially contaminated sites worldwide.These represent both a lost economic opportunity anda real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans andthe natural environment. With half of the populationnow living in cities, the demand for residential proper-ties has forced local councils, planners, and regulatorsto consider new ways to manage contaminated sites.However, these sites represent a growing challengegiven the nature of contaminants and the presence ofcomplex chemical mixtures in most sites. These mix-tures result in major differences in the fate and behav-iour of the contaminants in both the soil and groundwater environment and so, make remediation extreme-ly challenging. Although site contamination wasrecognised some 60 years ago, efforts to remediatehave been hampered by the complex and challengingnature of contamination, lack of regulatory policiesenforcing polluters to remediate, or lack of adequatefinancial support.

1 Knowledge Gaps

There is a need for a change in the way we managecontaminated sites from both a regulatory as well as aremediation technology perspective. The former requires

Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1723DOI 10.1007/s11270-013-1723-x

Guest Editors: R Naidu, Euan Smith, MH Wong, MegharajMallavarapu, Nanthi Bolan, Albert Juhasz, and Enzo Lombi

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Remediation ofSite Contamination

R. Naidu (*) : E. Smith :M. Megharaj :N. Bolan :A. L. Juhasz : E. LombiCentre for Environmental Risk Assessment andRemediation, University of South Australia and CRC forContamination Assessment and Remediation of theEnvironment (CRC CARE), Mawson Lakes Boulevard, SA5095 Adelaide, Australiae-mail: [email protected]

E. Smithe-mail: [email protected]

M. Megharaje-mail: [email protected]

N. Bolane-mail: [email protected]

A. L. Juhasze-mail: [email protected]

E. Lombie-mail: [email protected]

M. H. WongCroucher Institute for Environmental Sciences,Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, SpecialAdministrative Region, People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: [email protected]

Page 2: Remediation of Site Contamination

sound evidence-based policies that lead to more realisticenvironmental and human health investigation levels.While much effort has been directed towards this, theprocess has mainly been driven by a few affluent coun-tries. Many current remediation technologies were de-veloped 30 years or more ago and are slowly beingmodified to suit contaminants being remediated; theyneed to be extensively updated to take account of thegrowth in complexity of contamination. Also, there is anurgent need to develop next generation green remedia-tion technologies able to minimise greenhouse gas emis-sions. Furthermore, bio- and nano-technologies may of-fer a way forward, given the universal presence of mi-crobes in soils, surface and ground water and the devel-opment of innovative high-reactivity nanomaterials ableto tackle both organic and inorganic contaminants.

This special issue of WATE contains selected con-tributions from the CleanUp 2011 conference partici-pants that highlight the current scientific and technicalknowledge of contaminant site assessment and reme-diation. The papers in this special issue focus on:

(1) Fate and dynamics of contaminants;(2) Potential risks associated with certain contami-

nants, and(3) Soil and ground water remediation.

References

FCSAP. (2005). Federal contaminated sites action plan. TreasuryBoard of Canada Secretariat Website. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/fcsi-rscf/home-accueil-eng.aspx. Accessed 25 Aug 2013.

ICCS. (2004). Management and remediation of contaminatedsites: 30 years of German experience. International Centrefor Soil and Contaminated Sites. http://germany-wuf.de/upload/Management_Remediation.pdf. Accessed 25 Aug2013.

Johnston, N. (2010). Unlocking the potential of brownfield sites.Remediation Australasia, 3, 20–25.

USEPA. (2004). Cleaning up the nation’s waste sites: marketsand technology trends. http://www.clu-in.org/download/market/2004market.pdf. Accessed 25 Aug 2013.

Table 1 The scale of environmental contamination challenge

Region Number of contaminated sites Value of current market Reference

Australia 10,000 to 160,000 Unknown Johnston (2010)

Canada ∼22,000 Unknown FCSAP (2005)

Germany ∼360,000 Unknown ICCS (2004)

USA ∼350,000 ∼$US 250 billion USEPA (2004)

1723, Page 2 of 2 Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1723