Guideline for Contaminated Site Remediation - Literature review Example

Contaminated site (Environmental Studies) : TITLE : Contaminated site remediation Contaminated site remediation In most parts of the world, contaminated site has regularly been defined as that part of the land which contains soil, underlying water and or sediment that are hazardous. The level of hazardous materials in the mentioned ingredients of soil is described as hazardous when it exceeds the levels of quality set by the environmental administration of the place. A contaminated site is unsuitable for any particular use. Contamination is measured on the water available, plain soil on land and sediment (Conner 190). In many parts of the world, site contamination was witnessed in the past industrial revolution for commercial and industrial use. During that time, many toxic materials and chemicals were spilled carelessly into the environment. For instance, metals were the common wastes injected into the three components of the environment. Such metals included heavy metals such as calcium, arsenic, and mercury among others. Organic substances included benzene and toluene found in gasoline. Since the industrial revolution times, contamination continues to be the greatest threat to human existence (Malviya & Chaudhary 267). The contamination has brought potential health dangers, environmental degradation, and safety loop downs. Observation of contamination effects takes place from minor physical effects in the presence of living organisms to extreme life threatening diseases such as cancer. The most affected generation by contamination is children. They risk a high level of exposure to contaminated soil, air, water, and food (Malviya & Chaudhary 268). The site is not only hazardous to people but can also be hazardous to the environment. Such harm may affect the presence of other living organisms in water such as fish, on soil such as other mammals, and sediment (Wolf 116). Researchers have claimed that when these effects are to the extreme, they cause an imbalance to the ecological functions and systems. Contamination is also categorized to create a dent in the business implications of a system. The main reason attributed to financial loss is due to loss of equity and remediation implications and costs (Wolf 116). The purpose of documenting this guideline is to develop a clear understanding of contamination in all levels. It also assists in facilitating knowledge of remediation possibilities and implications in order to solve the problem (Rotten & Barile 143). The structure assumed in this guideline is identification, assess and remediation of contaminated and potentially contaminated sites. Governments across the world have jurisdiction surface and ground water. The implications are that these governments are responsible for citizens’ security. They collaborate with private parties to ensure that remedial strategies reduce or eliminate the contamination (Wolf 116). Reasons for government control of contaminated site There are several reasons why the government falls on the forefront when it comes to regulating contaminated land. The state is mandated with care for the citizens. The government collaborates with other stakeholders in ensuring that contaminated land is identified and regulated in order to reduce the impending danger it may cause in the environment and the life around it. In doing so, the state helps to regulate and improve human health, environmental safety and improve infrastructure and safety (Rotten & Barile 144). The other reason is facilitating and enhancing business certainty in land and environmental transactions. The state is a just determiner of the existence of different bodies in different territories. The government is involved in increasing fairness in liability determination. It acts as a middle listener and determiner of issues affecting different parties on the basis of contamination. Such bodies include financial institutions, land owners and local governments among other stakeholders (Rotten & Barile 144). The government is involved in the provision of access rights to public on the basis of information acquisition. The government is involved in regulating its involvements in site cleanups. The state is also liable to facilitating smooth access for health officials in order to promote the development of alternative health standards. Last but not least, the state is responsible for genuine and formal provisions on certification of cleanups and engages indefensible and scientific based standards to guard and reduce negative effects of contaminated sites (Malviya & Chaudhary 269). The world has come together to enact laws and guidelines that will help in control and contaminated site management. Through the global warming summits, leaders from many parts of the world have deliberated on the issue and stipulated measures that will help in remedial actions. Both the user and the owner of contaminated sites face regulation in the laid down regulations. The acts in the regulation stipulate that there should be identification and notification of investigated areas (Malviya & Chaudhary 270). All the leaders in such summits have agreed on a common basis to develop policies that involve contamination control and remedial injection. The regulating authorities have frameworks that state the scope of policies. One of the scope states that an environmental protection policy should be made in regards to the environment or any other factor that affects the environment. It is mandatory for the environmental policy to critically state its application and identify the environmental values aimed (Malviya & Chaudhary 271). The policy may also state the objectivities for and parameters for measuring environmental conditions. The environmental protection policies fall under subordinate category until they are enacted by the governing authorities. Examples of environmental policies include CSR (contaminated site control), EPA (environmental protection law) which is mostly applied in English land, RMA (resource management act), BCA (building and construction act) and FA (food act) among others (Gabridge & Lundin 155). The RMA is enacted to provide working management guidelines on the natural resources and physical resources. It is a basic land regulatory act since it stipulates guidelines that help in dealing with land contamination. It defines the scope of contaminated land and offers control measures for remediation (Gabridge & Lundin 156-157). The EPA is used in the control and management of land in a view to protect environmental ecology and sustainable development. The act ensures that contaminated lands attain proper definition, managed and potentially contaminating activities identified to remediate. CSRs involve constructing criteria based approaches in addressing the issues of sediment quality situation at a contaminated site (Gabridge & Lundin 160). The waste management act (WMA) was enacted in order to outlay a critical guideline for site contamination. The guidelines are all inclusive of soil and water standards. The law outlines sediment contamination and its remedial criteria. The aims of the policies are many. For example, the policies are geared towards meeting federal and departmental policies requirement and legal obligations towards contaminated site management (Conner 192). The policies are geared towards early rehabilitation of suspected contaminated sites. It ensures that the early assessment is carried out and in a timely manner. The policies also make sure that measures stipulated are under the bar of cost effective strategies. Many formulations are made via scientific constructions hence the policies ensure that scientifically valid frameworks that fall under the risk management stipulations are highly observed (Conner 195). Contaminated site management Contaminated site has the potential of causing harm to the environment and all the organisms that live in that environment. Consequently, contaminated site management is geared towards quelling the issues that may accrue due to contamination. Contamination control is classified as an act or doing or taking any actions that may help to reduce or eliminate contamination symptoms (Conner 196). The process of management pass through specific guidelines or steps. In addition, the measures are used strongly to define management in a broader perspective. Management may include doing any work, carrying out operations or taking any specified actions for the purpose of prevention or minimization, remedying and or mitigation of contaminating effects (Barile & Mcgarrity 160). Management may also be categorized as an act of restoration on contaminated sites such as sediment, waters or soil. Management is completed by making subsequent inspections on the managed situation from time to time with the purpose of maintaining a healthy existence. Land remediation under the Lands Act in many territorial boundaries stipulates that the remediation of contaminated land is called “Standard of Remediation.” Any enforcing authority is mandated with establishment and implementation of the standards of remediation (Barile & Mcgarrity 161). The regulatory authority, under voluntary remediation, appraises the proposed measure ensuring that they meet the quality, and ethical stipulations required. The authority ensures that the standards of remediation are attained paving way for implementation strategies. In the case of a remediation notice, the enforcing authority is mandated in classification of standards of remediation (Rotten & Barile 148). The classification has a set target of achievement, the authority flags off a go ahead in review implementation of the strategies upon target attainment. The authority in charge is supposed to observe the best practicable techniques under standards of remediation. Procedures for assessing and remediating contaminated sites are stipulated in the WMA, the CSR and SWR (special waste regulation) in many regulatory authorities. Site management stipulated in the policies is geared towards establishing strong and efficient basis of the contaminated site deconstruction (Rotten & Barile 149). The contaminated sites regulation (CSR) section 8and section 9 demands for a notification of contamination protocol. Notification for determining whether contamination takes the form of two steps. Step one is evaluating whether a Tier 1 Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) that determines the use of land is in excess. The main gauging method is comparison of sample results through numerical values. The other step involves the determination of a claim of notification to exemption from notification stands. The policies under notification stipulate that for contamination to hold ground, the contamination levels must exceed EQS stipulated standard measure. And if the contamination is beyond the EQS measure with lack of exemption condition, the CSR apply fully (Rotten & Barile 150). EQSs are determined through an analysis of samples of water (groundwater and surface water), soil and sediments. The analyzed samples are compared against substances that formulate the composition of Tier 1 EQSs. The plan is to determine the use of the components (water, soil, and sediments) and carry out a soil texture classification (Malviya & Chaudhary 271). There is also an aim to determine the usability of ground water and its portability or non-portability properties. However, there are conditions that do not require notification. For instance, when there is evidence of min or contamination. Another condition that does not require notification is when a 30-day clean-up exemption is in the process. The exemptions must be considered under certain policies (Malviya & Chaudhary 273). There are also exemptions placed on naturally occurring substances that do not take the form of human activities. The activities must cause contamination beyond the level of EQS. Eventually, a notice is produced indicating contamination on the components under scrutiny (soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater) (Malviya & Chaudhary 274). Site identification and screening The beginning step in site assessment and management goes through screening the site identified as contaminated. The people involved in the screening prepare a site profile. The site profile is then forwarded to the regulatory authority (government agency) through the application (Malviya & Chaudhary 274). The use touches on several components such as subdivision, zoning, development, or demolition of a structure. It may also involve the removal of soil that is later sent to the relevant authority for scrutiny. After the site profile is received by authority officials, a determination is made to evaluate possibilities of contamination in the site. After all the evaluation of the above, no other activities are carried out and considered not potentially contaminated (Malviya & Chaudhary 276). Site investigation and determination The profile evaluation will give detailed information on whether the site is contaminated or not. In the next stage (site investigation and determination), a preliminary and thorough investigation is launched on the site. The determination is in the light of the CRS requirements. The first step will involve determination of a contaminated site. The assessment is through the study of archival documents and conducting site visits. Another important informant is relying on previous knowledge of the site (Barile & Mcgarrity 163). The next step will involve a PSI or DSI. Its conduction asserts the claim of a contaminated site. The stage goes through sampling of materials and chemical analyses of the components. The results will highly show whether a site is contaminated or not (Barile & Mcgarrity 163). Site management planning is the next step. In this process, the first task is to determine the party liable for causing contamination. It is within this process that the party liable for clean-up is identified. The step helps in identification of remediation and assessment. Another important step initiated in this forum is initiation of the remediation process. The process initiates through the two ways mentioned earlier, voluntary remediation agreement or remediation order. The development of remediation plan takes place, and approval initiation undertaken. Still in this step, development of sedimentary quality standards is undertaken (Barile & Mcgarrity 164). There are two methods followed in this development. The two methods are criteria-based and risk-based. Criteria-based adopts SedQC directly. Risk-based approach stipulates that the evaluation is done on set standards such as levels less than or equal to sediment quality evaluation criteria. Risk-based standards evolve around numeric. The numeric evaluation helps in the determination of remediation measures of the site and their satisfaction (Wolf 119). Remediation is the next step that follows. Remediation involves a work plan that carries all the activities mentioned form the clean-up process. Remediation definition is the securing a contaminated site. The set policies carry two valid definitions of remediation according to the functions that it takes. The first stipulates that remediation includes removal of contaminated materials such that the materials do not remain in the site. The second definition stipulates that the remediation is the process of treating the contaminated site via treating the contaminated materials (Barile & Mcgarrity 164). The set standards applied after clean-up process in order to determine whether the clean-up process was of quality standards and stipulated in the regulations guarding a remediation process. Risk-based method can also be used to assert that the clean-up process was the quality according to stipulated guidelines. Environmental quality standards guide remediation. For a site to be rated as fully clean, the site must meet all the stated and stipulated standards (Conner 200). A post-cleanup sampling and analyses happen in order to assert that there are no more contaminating materials in the site. There exist stipulated measures that guard on the relocation of contaminated materials from a contaminated site (Wolf 119-120). After remediation, monitoring and evaluation are the next steps that involve steps that affirm the actions of remediation and clean-up. The steps geared towards showing whether the contamination has reduced. When all the factors count, and satisfactory report evaluated, a certificate of compliance is awarded to indicate that all policies were observed (Conner 200). Works Cited Barile, M. and McGarrity, GJ. Isolation of Mycoplasmas from Cell Cultures by Agar and Broth Techniques. in Methods in Mycoplasmology, Vol. 2, J. G. Tully and S. Razin, eds. (Academic Press, New York, 1983) 159-165. Conner, J.R. Chemical Fixation and Solidification of Hazardous Wastes; Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York, 1990. Conner, J.R. Guide to Improving the Effectiveness of Cement-Based Stabilization/ Solidification; EB211; Portland Cement Association: Skokie, IL, 1997. Gabridge, M. G., and Lundin, D. J. Cell Culture User’s Guide to Mycoplasma Detection and Control. Bionique Testing Laboratories, Saranac Lake, NY (1989). Malviya, R, & Chaudhary R. Factors Affecting Hazardous Waste Solidification/ Stabilization: A Review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 137(1), 267-276. (2006). Rottem, S. and Barile, M. F. Beware of Mycoplasmas. Trends in Biotechnology 11:143-150 (1993). Wolf, K. Laboratory Management of Cell Cultures. in Methods in Enzymology: Cell Culture, Vol. 58, W. B. Jacoby and I. H. Pasten, eds. (Academic Press, New York, 1979) 116-119. Read More