Management of contaminated land is an important issue throughout Europe, and one that involves many stakeholders: governments, regulatory bodies, the community, industry and the wide range of researchers and service providers who support the process. NICOLE supports two workshops a year and produces a meeting report for each. In 2004 NICOLE also held a project meeting for both NICOLE projects and EC-funded projects with a strong NICOLE connection, or connection with NICOLE members. This report provides summaries of the papers given at this meeting, along with a brief discussion based on points raised during the meeting, and comments from a number of delegates after the meeting.
Projects
In 1993, ICI initiated “Project Pathway”, when ICI began a voluntary assessment of the legacy of 160 years of industrial activity on and around the Runcorn manufacturing site. Project Pathway’s aim was to investigate whether these historic activities could pose an unacceptable risk to people or the environment. The presentation focused on the risk management and community work that took place at the village of Weston, resulting from this assessment project.
The PURE project (protection of groundwater resources at contaminated sites) aims to: (a) provide innovative, cost effective, widely applicable solutions to prevent pollution of groundwater from industrial sites (b) bring together problem owners, service providers, end users and research and development performers and (c) develop methods and / or techniques for contaminated land management with the goal of achieving cost savings for site characterization (20 %) and site remediation (20-40%). Two presentations focused on innovative in situ techniques developed by PURE – steam enhanced soil venting and co-solvent flushing, and the PURE “ABC” decision support tool.
A NICOLE-sponsored study to evaluate the risk assessment models currently in use throughout Europe was completed in 2003. An interim presentation was made, pending publication of the project’s final report.
CORONA is a European research project which attempts to build confidence in forecasting natural attenuation. The intention is to provide more quantitative, but relatively user-friendly, descriptions of degrading pollution plumes. For decision-making a predictive tool is needed, but predictions are generally based on qualitative assessments. Most quantitative methods measure history, they do not make future predictions. The goal of CORONA is to deliver a predictive performance model based on dominant processes within plumes. http://www.shef.ac.uk/corona.
NICOLE began an monitored natural attenuation (MNA) project in 1997, with a review of available information to provide technical guidance for the risk-based application of MNA, and so promote acceptance of MNA as a cost-effective and environmentally sound solution for contaminated sites. Further work describing a case study project reviewing MNA opportunities at eleven sites across Europe was presented. http://www.nicole.org
The “Bridging GAPS” project is a joint study of the NICOLE and SENSPOL networks and started in September 2002, and was initiated to bring developers and users together, to share expertise, to identify potential technologies, and to stimulate the application in the field of sensor-based site characterisation and monitoring for contaminated land. http//:www.cranfield.ac.uk/biotech.senspol.htm
The aim of the INCORE project has been to provide a cost-efficient set of tools management tools to optimise the investigation, evaluation, remediation and management of contaminated groundwater and land in urban industrial areas, taking into account regional aspects such as complex land-use patterns, land-use specific contamination, and the extent of urban industrial areas. http://www.uw-d.de/incore/summary.htm
The JOINT project seeks to promote the combination of single results of RTD-activities to a single integrated approach to support their practical implementation, and so promote the development of groundwater quality across the EU. JOINT uses peer review and meetings to develop an overall concept into which specific research results can be mapped for the benefit of risk management and resource management approaches, linking existing research projects and networks.
CABERNET, the Concerted Action on Brownfield and Economic Regeneration Network, is a European multidisciplinary expert network that is working to facilitate sustainable solutions for urban brownfields which enhance social wellbeing, environment quality and economic regeneration. Its vision is to: Enhance rehabilitation of brownfield sites, within the context of sustainable development of European cities, by the provision of an intellectual framework for coordinated research and development of tools. http//:www.cabernet.org.uk
EUGRIS is a project to develop an information gateway on the Internet, i.e. a web-based user-friendly information platform for contaminated land and groundwater information. EUGRIS is an Accompanying Measure Project under the Key Action Water of the Fifth Framework Programme. It is funded by the European Commission from March 2003 up to August 2005, and by matching contributions in money and in kind from a number of national Public and Private sector organisations. www.eugris.org.
