Environmental Impact Assessment

Proposal for a IAEG Commission on
Risk based contaminated land management

Invitation to become involved

    Sustainable urban land management involves innovative methods of construction and facilities management coupled with resource efficient and effective mitigation of legacy issues such as old structures and foundations or soil and groundwater contamination. Land contamination is a legacy of historic industrial processes and waste disposal activities. It is both economically and ecologically unnecessary to remove all historic contamination. Instead an approach based on the assessment of the risks posed by such contamination and mitigation of unacceptable risks is becoming internationally accepted.
    Technologies to assist in ground characterisation and soil and groundwater remediation have been developed notably in the USA, Germany, Netherlands and UK. Mature policies and standards have been in place for both ongoing and new land uses in Western Europe, North America and Australia.
    The overall aim of the IAEG Commission on Risk Based Contaminated Land Management is to achieve increased understanding of the role of engineering and environmental geologists and of other related professionals in the chacterisation, assessment and remediation of naturally and anthropogenically contaminated land and water. This will be achieved through a range of activities such as those listed below. The intent is both to ensure that geo-professionals worldwide are better informed and equipped to contribute to risk based land management and other professionals understand – and commission – the services of geo-professionals.

Activities:
    1. establish a network of interested geo-professionals through the setting up of a JISCMAIL email server
    2. develop a catalogue of key technical guidance relevant to the services offered by geo-professionals (eg development of conceptual models, design of site investigations, selection and verification of remediation strategies)
    3. disseminate good practice in characterisation, assessment and remediation
    4. promote the role of geo-professionals to other professionals in the land contamination management sector (eg chemists, engineers, surveyors, lawyers, insurers, developers & builders)
    5. develop a succinct guide on the principles of risk based contaminated land management to inform geo-professionals
    6. develop a succinct guide of the role of geo-professionals aimed at other professionals highlighting the need for geo-professional expertise

Timescale
    The aim would be to present draft versions of both Guides at the 11th Congress of the IAEG in 2010. Opportunities for face to face discussions would be sought at annual intervals at appropriate technical conferences etc appropriate to the composition of the commission such as IAEG events, CABERNET 2009 or Battelle 2009.

    Feedback on the above and expressions of interest in being involved or being kept informed would be most welcome.

Paul Nathanail, Professor of Engineering Geology
University of Nottingham
UK

paul@lqm.co.uk