Remediation Of Contaminated Land Research Articles

Trustee personal liability for contaminated land remediation: the UK position

Abstract Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 creates a liability risk for trusts and trustees. Trustees may indeed be found liable pursuant to Part IIA’s definition of an “owner” of contaminated land. This definition includes trustees to avoid the situation of people evading liability by transferring affected land into trust funds. However, the risk to trustees is sufficiently low. The law shows that trustees possess a lien over their trust funds that can be used to indemnify liabilities. Furthermore, Part IIA’s proportionate approach to sustainable development considers the “hardship” that liability can cause to trustees and obviates the risk.

Chemical Technology and Development Trend of Contaminated Land Remediation

In recent years, the rapid development of industry and agriculture in China has led to the destruction of soil environmental quality caused by pesticides, heavy metals and other pollutants entering the soil, and the decline of crop yield and quality. Therefore, soil pollution remediation is urgent, and it is urgent to explore the remediation technologies of polluted land with good remediation effect, low cost and popularization. This paper summarizes the relevant technologies in the literature, expounds several practical measures of chemical remediation technology of polluted land in detail, and discusses the development trend of contaminated land remediation technology in the future, in order to provide theoretical support for promoting the remediation technology of polluted land in China.

Inclusive Environmental Decision-making in a Developing Nation: Insights from the Ogoni Remediation Project, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Greater involvement of women is globally believed to enhance environmental management outcomes. Despite being disproportionately affected by environmental degradation primarily caused by oil spills in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, women in the region are often excluded in environmental decision-making processes. Women involved in farming and fishing face increased vulnerability to contaminated land, food insecurity and conflicts driven by environmental degradation. Using a mixed approach, women, lawmakers, policymakers, regulators, civil society organizations, environmental management practitioners, and government agents responsible for environmental remediation were engaged through interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires to examine women’s inclusion in environmental decision-making and governance in the Ogoni contaminated land remediation project in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The results indicate that lack of trust and confidence in drivers of the environmental decision-making process could affect women’s participation and involvement in environmental management. Although cultural beliefs and practices impede the participation of women in the region, their actual participation does not independently translate into inclusion in environmental decision-making due to limited capacity, confidence and trust in the process. Creating platforms for capacity building, developing gender policy, adapting appropriate communication strategies, initiating women networks and strengthening social cohesion could enhance women involvement in environmental decision-making in regions with similar cultural context to the Niger Delta region.

Implementing contaminated land remediation in Nigeria: Insights from the Ogoni remediation project

Environmental contamination by hydrocarbons has negative effects on human health and other receptors including air, water and land resources. Following a United Nations Environment Programme report in 2011 which concluded that remediation strategies adopted in Nigeria did not meet international best practice, the Nigerian Government is attempting to develop a fit for purpose model of managing oil-contaminated land and wetlands. It has established the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to coordinate the environmental remediation and the restoration of livelihoods of local communities in the Niger Delta, starting with Ogoniland. HYPREP has been implementing the remediation process for more than five years with limited expected sustainable outcomes. It is now 11 years following UNEP’s recommendations for environmental and livelihood restoration in the region. The challenges of effective land remediation and restoration of traditional livelihoods are explored in the context of the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s hub of oil and gas production. The preliminary appraisal indicates that HYPREP operations are bureaucratic, suffering from capacity gaps and a weak stakeholder engagement strategy. Other extant challenges include the slow implementation of recommended emergency measures, corruption and the absence of infrastructure for hazardous materials management. Additionally, HYPREP has not optimized quality assurance by engaging internationally accredited laboratories for chemical analysis of environmental samples. Opportunities exist for HYPREP to learn lessons from other regimes for effective contaminated land management. Roles for different stakeholders working towards sustainable contaminated land management in Ogoniland and the wider Niger Delta are outlined. These recommendations would benefit regions with similar contexts and contaminated land issues.

Optimizing Remediation Decisions Based on Soil Volumes and Transport Distances Reduces the Environmental Impacts of Contaminated Land Remediation

Optimizing Remediation Decisions Based on Soil Volumes and Transport Distances Reduces the Environmental Impacts of Contaminated Land Remediation

Semi-analytical finite element method for simulating chemical dissolution-front instability problems in fluid-saturated porous media

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to develop a semi-analytical finite element method for solving chemical dissolution-front instability problems in fluid-saturated porous media.Design/methodology/approachThe porosity, horizontal and vertical components of the pore-fluid velocity and solute concentration are selected as four fundamental unknown variables for describing chemical dissolution-front instability problems in fluid-saturated porous media. To avoid the use of numerical integration, analytical solutions for the property matrices of a rectangular element are precisely derived in a purely mathematical manner. This means that the proposed finite element method is a kind of semi-analytical method. The column pivot element solver is used to solve the resulting finite element equations of the chemical dissolution-front instability problem.FindingsThe direct use of horizontal and vertical components of the pore-fluid velocity as fundamental unknown variables can improve the accuracy of the related numerical solution. The column pivot element solver is useful for solving the finite element equations of a chemical dissolution-front instability problem. The proposed semi-analytical finite element method can produce highly accurate numerical solutions for simulating chemical dissolution-front instability problems in fluid-saturated porous media.Originality/valueAnalytical solutions for the property matrices of a rectangular element are precisely derived for solving chemical dissolution-front instability problems in fluid-saturated porous media. The proposed semi-analytical finite element method provides a useful way for understanding the underlying dynamic mechanisms of the washing land method involved in the contaminated land remediation.

Sustainability assessment framework and indicators developed by SuRF‐UK for land remediation option appraisal

AbstractThe scale of land‐contamination problems, and of the responses to them, makes achieving sustainability in contaminated land remediation an important objective. The Sustainable Remediation Forum in the UK (SuRF‐UK) was established in 2007 to support more sustainable remediation practices in the UK. The prevailing international consensus is that risk assessment is the most rational approach for determining remediation needs and urgency. Sustainability in this context is related to the effective delivery of whatever risk management is necessary to protect human health or the wider environment. SuRF‐UK suggests that decisions made at the project planning stage, and also in the choice of remediation approach used to reach particular objectives decided upon, are both opportunities for sustainability gain. In 2011, SuRF‐UK issued a set of wide‐ranging indicators to support sustainability assessments made during project planning and remediation option appraisal. This advice was reviewed over 2018–2020 and new guidance on process and indicators has been released. Within this guidance, SuRF‐UK has provided a checklist of possible sustainability indicators/criteria that can be used to benchmark the scope of sustainability assessment for remediation projects. These indicators are divided into 15 overarching (“headline”) categories, divided in a balanced way across the three elements of sustainability: Environmental (emissions to air, soil and ground conditions, groundwater and surface water, ecology, and natural resources and waste); social (human health and safety, ethics and equity, neighborhoods and locality, communities and community involvement, and uncertainty and evidence); and economic (direct economic costs and benefits, indirect economic costs and benefits, employment and employment capital, induced economic costs and benefits, and project lifespan and flexibility). The majority of this study explains these categories and their various considerations in more depth and provides the supporting rationale that led to their inclusion in the revised SuRF‐UK guidance.

‘He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith’:1 Challenges for Contaminated Land Remediation after Brexit

Eight years have passed since the Contaminated Land Capital Projects (CLCP) funding was abolished in Wales; this was the main source of public sector funding for contaminated land identification and remediation. Yet, despite the CLCP’s abolition in 2010, the Welsh Government announced in October 2018 that it would assist in funding a significant proportion (some 60%) of the remediation of a residential site in Anglesey. Research into the site’s remediation has showed that this public sector engagement has been made possible by EU funding. However, the replenishment of the Welsh Government’s funds is not wholly uplifting. In fact, the situation gives rise to a deep sense of foreboding. It ultimately leads to questions as to what will happen to land remediation following Brexit, when European funding is no longer available to supplement the public sector’s purse.

Nature based solutions for contaminated land remediation and brownfield redevelopment in cities: A review

Urban industrialization has caused severe land contamination at hundreds of thousands of sites in cities all around the world, posing a serious health risk to millions of people. Many contaminated brownfield sites are being left abandoned due to the high cost of remediation. Traditional physical and chemical remediation technologies also require high energy and resource input, and can result in loss of land functionality and cause secondary pollution. Nature-based solutions (NBS) including phytoremediation and conversion of brownfield sites to public greenspaces, holds much promise in maximizing a sustainable urban renaissance. NBS is an umbrella concept that can be used to capture nature based, cost effective and eco-friendly treatment technologies, as well as redevelopment strategies that are socially inclusive, economically viable, and with good public acceptance. The NBS concept is novel and in urgent need of new research to better understand the pros and cons, and to enhance its practicality. This review article summarizes NBS's main features, key technology choices, case studies, limitations, and future trends for urban contaminated land remediation and brownfield redevelopment.

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT OF SUBSTANDARD PESTICIDE RESIDUES AND REMEDIATION AND RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL

In Ukraine, there is still a great number of unused, unidentified and substandard pesticide preparations (PPs) and other toxic substances which have an extremely dangerous impact on humans and other living ecosystems and the environment. Besides, more than 75 thousand tons of pesticides are imported and produced annually in Ukraine, but some of them are not used during the period of their suitability. Consequently, when stored mostly in dilapidated warehouses and repositories of agrochemicals, as well as in the open areas, they fall into underground and ground water, and then through trophic chains into the organisms of living systems, causing severe poisoning and diseases. We note that till now, the problem of unsuitable PPs was solved only in the context of their utilization or export for processing outside the state, while the rest of this ecological problem – the restoration of soils and the remediation of contaminated lands at the state level, is not virtually solved. Therefore, the substantiation of the scientific and practical aspects of environmental safety management of such remediation processes is on time.

Resilient remediation: Addressing extreme weather and climate change, creating community value

AbstractRecent devastating hurricanes demonstrated that extreme weather and climate change can jeopardize contaminated land remediation and harm public health and the environment. Since early 2016, the Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF) has led research and organized knowledge exchanges to examine (1) the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on hazardous waste sites, and (2) how we can mitigate these impacts and create value for communities. The SURF team found that climate change and extreme weather events can undermine the effectiveness of the approved site remediation, and can also affect contaminant toxicity, exposure, organism sensitivity, fate and transport, long‐term operations, management, and stewardship of remediation sites. Further, failure to consider social vulnerability to climate change could compromise remediation and adaptation strategies. SURF's recommendations for resilient remediation build on resources and drivers from state, national, and international sources, and marry the practices of sustainable remediation and climate change adaptation. They outline both general principles and site‐specific protocols and provide global examples of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Opportunities for synergy include vulnerability assessments that benefit and build on established hazardous waste management law, policy, and practices. SURF's recommendations can guide owners and project managers in developing a site resiliency strategy. Resilient remediation can help expedite cleanup and redevelopment, decrease public health risks, and create jobs, parks, wetlands, and resilient energy sources. Resilient remediation and redevelopment can also positively contribute to achieving international goals for sustainable land management, climate action, clean energy, and sustainable cities.

Do remediation experts have what it takes to explain empirical uncertainty?

AbstractWords matter in risk communication, and experts’ choice of words is critical when remediation risks are being explained to nonexperts. In risk communication studies, communication gaps between experts and nonexperts are investigated but there is lack of primary research. An Australian project addresses this shortcoming through research into communication about the risks of contaminated land remediation, and this paper provides some of its findings. Seventeen experts completed a questionnaire about the meaning of some scientific terms, and analysis found that they have capacity to improve communication through their selection and use of language.When experts undertake risk communication, the language they use may increase or reduce communication gaps. When the topic is uncertainty about health risks, communication gaps about the extent of uncertainty may reduce the effectiveness of social engagement, leading to unintended consequences such as cost overruns. This situation makes for a good case study since remediation is about benefit as well as risk, and communication about benefit, while desirable, may not always be achievable. The study suggests how to improve risk communication by exploring the accuracy, clarity, and depth of expert language. It identifies attributes of language that can bridge gaps in knowledge and understanding and characterizes them as integration mechanisms. These are defined as knowledge forms and mental processes that support cooperation between different epistemic communities to achieve mutually agreed outcomes. Two integration mechanisms are suggested. Bridging content addresses communication gaps through the selection of content (what knowledge is selected). Bridging process addresses communication gaps through the use of language (how knowledge is explained). Bridging content and bridging process can be expressed through cognitive and experiential platforms, or a blending of both, so whether words are positioned in the science‐based or mental model of risk communication, a utility value can be found in their quality, whether reflected by accuracy or the power to communicate meaning.

Climate change mitigation potential of contaminated land redevelopment: A city-level assessment method

Under the Paris Agreement, nations and cities are under increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Brownfield land redevelopment promises climate change mitigation benefits; however, no studies have attempted to quantify the mitigation potential on a city level. Here we propose a method for this purpose. The method is based on life cycle assessment of GHG emission as compared to greenfield land development, in three categories: (1) primary impact (associated with physical state of brownfield sites and greenfield sites), (2) secondary impact (associated with remediation activities at brownfield sites), and (3) tertiary impact (associated with post-remediation usage of the brownfield sites and avoided usage of greenfield land). A quantitative assessment was conducted for the city of San Francisco in the US, a growing city with ambitious carbon reduction plans. City wide contaminated land remediation activities were found to render a significant secondary impact, resulting in increased GHG emission of 3.54 Mt CO2 eq. However, by averting the development of greenfield land, this negative impact was partially off-set by a primary impact reduction of 1.22 Mt CO2 eq. Moreover, the redevelopment of brownfield land offers large tertiary impact reductions due to higher housing density, less utility and road construction needs, shorter commute distances, and smaller household energy consumption. Overall, the results show that brownfield land redevelopment led to a net GHG reduction of 51.9 Mt CO2 eq. over a 70-year period, or 0.74 Mt CO2 yr−1, the equivalent of 14% of San Francisco's 5.3 Mt CO2 eq. GHG emission in 2010. It was found that reduced household electricity and space heating energy consumption and shorter commute distances were the main contributors, accounting for 41.2% and 34.0% of the tertiary impact reduction, respectively. While it is not expected that all cities can fully capture these climate change mitigation benefits, the present study demonstrates a quantification method and emphasizes the large climate change mitigation potential associated with brownfield land redevelopment. Progression of this premise will require regulators and policy makers to better align cities' climate change mitigation strategies with urban planning and development actions.

Environmental and socio-economic sustainability appraisal of contaminated land remediation strategies: A case study at a mega-site in China

Green and sustainable remediation (GSR) has become a global trend in the contaminated land remediation field. Growing numbers of countries have adopted GSR procedures published in regulatory and/or technical guidance. China is fast becoming one of the largest remediation markets in the world, and is beginning to engage with GSR. Among other efforts, a taskforce is currently developing the first Chinese technical standard on GSR. This paper presents the context positioning and development of a sustainable remediation assessment indicator set for China. This sustainability indicator set was formed based on existing sustainable remediation guidelines and literature. LCA was used to evaluate environmental impacts, and the results combined with social and economic appraisal via MCA. The indicator set was applied to a remediation ‘mega-site’ in China. The results showed that compared to excavation and landfill, an alternative treatment strategy of soil washing, thermal desorption and S/S brought about relatively less waste generation, better worker safety, and preferable local impacts, leading to higher scores in the environmental and social-economic domains. However, the social-economic scores were limited by a lack of public engagement. The results of the case study have shown that the indicator set is valid, with lessons learnt and suggestions for improvement discussed.

In Situ Resource Recovery from Waste Repositories: Exploring the Potential for Mobilization and Capture of Metals from Anthropogenic Ores

Wastes and the waste repositories in which they reside are becoming targets for resource recovery, both for legacy wastes and for future waste arisings as part of a desire to move toward a circular economy. There is an urgent requirement to explore concepts for practicable technologies that can be applied to these ends. This paper presents a synthesis of concepts concerning in situ technologies (developed from mining and contaminated land remediation industries) that have enormous potential for application to technospheric mining. Furthermore, potential target waste streams and their mineralogy and character are presented along with a discussion concerning lixiviant and metal capture systems that could be applied. Issues of preferential flow (critical to the success of in situ techniques) and how to control it with engineering measures are discussed in detail. It is clear that in situ recovery of metals from anthropogenic ores is a novel technology area that links new sustainable remediation approaches for contaminated materials and technospheric mining for closing material loops, and warrants the further research and development of technologies applicable to major waste streams.

Divergence in stakeholder perception of sustainable remediation

The modern society is increasingly demanding sustainable practices in engineering fields. In the specific case of engineering practices for restoring contaminated land, there is an ongoing sustainable remediation movement which has rapidly drawn attention from both the industry and governments. It is well recognized that decision making in contaminated land remediation depends on the interaction of a variety of stakeholders. However, there is still no consensus as for how various stakeholders perceive sustainable practices in remediation, and how stakeholders interact in decision making that may lead to sustainable practices. The present study proposes a hypothetical model depicting the mediating effect of stakeholder perception in decision making. Using empirical experiences, questionnaire survey, and qualitative interview results, the present study found that there is divergent perception by various stakeholders regarding how sustainable behavior is adopted and how it is affected by stakeholder influence. The divergent view was attributed to varying organizational objectives, information access, and self-perception. Moreover, it found that incorporating sustainability into real engineering practice is transdisciplinary and requires transdisciplinary processes that can help various stakeholders to reach consensus.

The rationale for simple approaches for sustainability assessment and management in contaminated land practice

The scale of land-contamination problems, and of the responses to them, makes achieving sustainability in contaminated land remediation an important objective. The Sustainable Remediation Forum in the UK (SuRF-UK) was established in 2007 to support more sustainable remediation practice in the UK. The current international interest in ‘sustainable remediation’ has achieved a fairly rapid consensus on concepts, descriptions and definitions for sustainable remediation, which are now being incorporated into an ISO standard. However the sustainability assessment methods being used remain diverse with a range of (mainly) semi-quantitative and quantitative approaches and tools developed, or in development. Sustainability assessment is site specific and subjective. It depends on the inclusion of a wide range of considerations across different stakeholder perspectives. Taking a tiered approach to sustainability assessment offers important advantages, starting from a qualitative assessment and moving through to semi-quantitative and quantitative assessments on an ‘as required’ basis only. It is also clear that there are a number of ‘easy wins’ that could improve performance against sustainability criteria right across the site management process. SuRF-UK has provided a checklist of ‘sustainable management practices’ that describes some of these. This paper provides the rationale for, and an outline of, and recently published SuRF-UK guidance on preparing for and framing sustainability assessments; carrying out qualitative sustainability assessment; and simple good management practices to improve sustainability across contaminated land management activities.

Opportunities and challenges of environmental geotechnics in China

Environmental problems in waste management and soil contamination are serious in China. The Chinese government has paid great attention to these problems, and environmental geotechnics has become a new and promising direction for both research and industry. The opportunities and challenges of environmental geotechnics in China are presented from two aspects, that is, solid waste management and soil contamination control/remediation. New methods and technologies are required for the design and management of Chinese sanitary landfills, which contain high food waste content municipal solid wastes and commonly have high leachate mounds. The market of contaminated site remediation is developing rapidly in China as a result of growing reuse of brownfields left by relocation of old and polluting industries. The valuable experience and mature technologies of the developed countries in contaminated land remediation are helpful to promote technological advancement in China.

Effects of a manganese oxide-modified biochar composite on adsorption of arsenic in red soil

The arsenic adsorption capacity of a manganese oxide-modified biochar composite (MBC), prepared by pyrolysis of a mixture of potassium permanganate and biochar, was investigated in red soil. Adsorption experiments using batch procedures were used to estimate the arsenic adsorption capacities of the absorbent materials. Adsorption and desorption isotherms, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterise the prepared adsorbent materials, and a plausible mechanism for arsenic removal by MBC was proposed. Arsenic in red soil–MBC mixtures exhibited lower mobility than that in soils amended with pristine biochar. The improved removal performance of soil–MBC mixtures was attributed to a lower H/C ratio, higher O/C ratio, higher surface hydrophilicity, and higher surface sorption capacity, even though the impregnation of manganese oxide decreased the specific surface area of the biochar. Arsenic retention increased as the biochar content increased, mainly owing to an increase in soil pH. Several oxygenated functional groups, especially O–H, CO, Mn–O, and Si–O, participated in the adsorption process, and manganese oxides played a significant role in the oxidation of arsenic. This study highlights the potential of MBC as an absorbent to immobilise arsenic for use in contaminated land remediation in the red soils region.

Exchangeable cations-mediated photodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on smectite surface under visible light

Clay minerals saturated with different exchangeable cations are expected to play various roles in photodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via direct and/or indirect pathways on clay surfaces. In the present study, anthracene and phenanthrene were selected as molecule probes to investigate the roles of exchangeable cations on their photodegradation under visible light irradiation. For five types of cation-modified smectite clays, the photodegradation rate of anthracene and phenanthrene follows the order: Fe3+>Al3+>Cu2+>>Ca2+>K+>Na+, which is consistent with the binding energy of cation–π interactions between PAHs and exchangeable cations. The result suggests that PAHs photolysis rate depends on cation–π interactions on clay surfaces. Meanwhile, the deposition of anthracene at the Na+-smectite and K+-smectite surface favors solar light absorption, resulting in enhanced direct photodecomposition of PAHs. On the other hand, smectite clays saturated with Fe3+, Al3+, and Cu2+ are highly photoreactive and can act as potential catalysts giving rise to oxidative radicals such as O2− , which initiate the transformation of PAHs. The present work provides valuable insights into understanding the transformation and fate of PAHs in the natural soil environment and sheds light on the development of technologies for contaminated land remediation.