Abstract
The redevelopment of brownfields has become an important issue, as the number of contaminated sites has been increasing. However, a comprehensive regulatory framework is lacking that includes urban planning and a sustainability plan at the national level to support brownfield redevelopment in Taiwan. Few studies have explored sustainable management objectives to reduce the environmental impact of increasing economic value of the proliferating redeveloped brownfields. This study proposes a feasible definition for “brownfield” in Taiwan and analyzes the remediation goals to enable their inclusion in future land-use categories for urban planning. In order to rank the various options for brownfield development by sustainability, this study evaluates the external costs and benefits based on the environmental impact. Finally, the brownfield sustainability index (BSI) was developed to determine the feasibility of sustainable redevelopment relevant to the different land reuse scenarios. For the selected study site, the option of green land with solar energy (ground P-Si panels) was determined to be the best choice compared with the commercial, residential, and industrial scenarios. This study provides a framework for planning brownfield assessment strategies to address the current soil and groundwater remediation and land use policy issues in Taiwan.
Highlights
In developed countries, brownfields are usually associated with high crime levels, population decline, and the downturn of economic activity in cities
The study site, an abandoned chemical factory previously engaged in the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs), was investigated because the copper pollution of the soil exceeded the regulation standard
Copper is classified as a group D chemical in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database, which indicates there are no data in terms of carcinogenicity relevant to humans of copper compounds [47]
Summary
Brownfields are usually associated with high crime levels, population decline, and the downturn of economic activity in cities. The United States Environmental Protection Administration (U.S EPA) defines brownfields as “industrial and commercial sites which were abandoned, idled or unused, with the presence of environment pollutants or the possibility of existence of pollutants” [7]. The U.S EPA proposed the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act in 2001, which changed the way contaminated lands were managed. To provide a general guideline for managing brownfield sites, the U.S EPA established statutory provisions, regulatory requirements, and policies [8]. Strategies are yet to be developed for restoring a large number of potentially contaminated sites based on thorough investigation and efficient management approaches for reuse, such as the life-cycle perspective. Useful tools need to be established for the regeneration of potentially contaminated lands, and sustainable management strategies need to be developed further and incorporated into land and environmental regulations
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