| Title: |
Progress in management of contaminated sites (CSI 015) - Assessment published August 2007
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| Resource Type: |
maps, data, statistics, registers
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| Country: |
European Union
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| Year: |
2007 |
| Availability: |
On line report
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| Author 1/Producer: |
European Environment Agency
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| Author / Producer Type: |
Agency, regulator or other governmental or inter-governmental body
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EUGRIS Keyword(s): |
Contaminated land-->stats, registers, inventories etc
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| Short description: |
The EEA monitors a number of environmental indicators across the EU. One of these is:
Progress in management of contaminated sites (CSI 015. The latest assessment was published August 2007.
Its 'key message' follows, and is supported by a web link with related statistical information.
Soil contamination requiring clean up is present at approximately 250,000 sites in the EEA member countries, according to recent estimates. And this number is expected to grow. Potentially polluting activities are estimated to have occurred at nearly 3 million sites (including the 250000 sites already mentioned) and investigation is needed to establish whether remediation is required. If current investigation trends continue, the number of sites needing remediation will increase by 50% by 2025.
By contrast, more than 80000 sites have been cleaned up in the last 30 years in the countries where data on remediation is available. Although the range of polluting activities (and their relative importance as localised sources of soil contamination) may vary considerably across Europe, industrial and commercial activities as well as the treatment and disposal of waste are reported to be the most important sources. National reports indicate that heavy metals and mineral oil are the most frequent soil contaminants at investigated sites, while mineral oil and chlorinated hydrocarbons are the most frequent contaminants found in groundwater. A considerable share of remediation expenditure, about 35% on average, comes from public budgets. Although considerable efforts have been made already, it will take decades to clean up a legacy of contamination.
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Submitted By:
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Professor Paul Bardos WhoDoesWhat?
Last update: 17/01/2008
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