buwalofefpufafpsaefl environmental pollution and applicability of remediation technologies in latin...
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Environmental Pollution and Applicability Environmental Pollution and Applicability of Remediation Technologies in Latin of Remediation Technologies in Latin
American CountriesAmerican Countries
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Contaminated Land Management in
Switzerland
Dr. Urs Ziegler, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape
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ContentsContentsBUWALBUWALOFEFPOFEFPUFAFPUFAFPSAEFLSAEFL
• Introduction
• The problem
• Fundamentals, concepts, objectives
• Step 1: registration of the polluted sites, initial evaluation
• Step 2: decision about need for monitoring and remediation
• Step 3: clarification of objectives and urgency of remediation
• Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site
• Who has to take action, who pays for it?
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Introduction
Switzerland: a clean country?
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Introduction
Yes, partly
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IntroductionIntroduction
• What was once tolerated can present a problem today --> even if the former practices of use were legally compliant
• Contaminated sites management = remediation of the sins of yesterday
• Costs frequently affect only a small number of people
• Interpolicy coordination is essential between environmental law and civil law etc.
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The ProblemThe Problem
• 40‘000 to 50‘000 polluted sites in Switzerland
• 3‘000 sites in need of remediation
• Investigation and remediation costs over the next 20 years approx. 2.7 billion USD
• Approx. 85 % of the cases < 1 million USD
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The ProblemThe Problem
Swiss pecularities:
• no significant minig activities
• hardly any heavy industries
• very few extended industrial complexes
• no war-related contamination
• organic-chemical waste is incinerated rather than landfilled
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Types of SitesTypes of Sites
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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts,
objectivesobjectives
• Long term, sustainable elimination of hazard
• solution to the contaminated sites problem within a generation
• rapid remediation of severely contaminated sites
• stop emissions at source
• cooperation among those affected
• stepwise management of polluted sites
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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts, objectives cont‘dobjectives cont‘d
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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts,
objectives cont‘dobjectives cont‘dStepwise procedure:
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Step 1: Registration & Initial Evaluation
Purpose of the register of polluted sites:
• Information instrument
• Planning instrument
• Dividing recorded sites into harmless sites and those that have to be investigated further
• Prioritization tool
• Orientation for those affected
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Step 1: Registration & Initial Evaluation cont‘d
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Step 2: decision on need for monitoring & remediation
• Historical investigation (who has done what where?)
• Technical investigation: is the site violating environmental standards in groundwater, surface water, soil, ambient air or is there a concrete risk of such violations?
• Classification of the site as
• pollution without hazard for the environment
• pollution which needs monitoring
• contaminated site ( = need to remediate)
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Step 3: clarification of objec-tives & urgency of remediation
• Detailed technical investigation: exact information about kind and extent of pollution as well as about fate and transport of pollutants into the environment
• Principal goal of remediation: Stopping emissions at source
• Urgency of remediation is determined by the effective environmental hazard and not by any pending conversion of land use
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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site
• Objective is to prevent unlawful impact on the environment
• It must remove the danger over the long term and in a sustainable way
• It should considerbaly reduce the danger to the environment
• The remediation project must deliver complete and understandable decision bases for the final establishment of remediation objectives and deadlines
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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d
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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d
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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d
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Who has to take action, who pays for it?
• Investigations, monitoring, remediation and aftercare are fundamentally the concern and are to be performed by the owner of the site
• The polluter has to bear the costs of remediation
• If there is more than one polluter responsible each bears the cost in proportion to his share of the pollution. Joint and several liability among polluter and owner does not exist
• The Confederation levies a tax on waste disposal in order to finance remediation of sites where the polluter is not capable of bearing the costs any more