SITE CONTAMINATION Land

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SITE CONTAMINATIONLand Groundwater
Presentation, reference, author, date
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SITE CONTAMINATION

• UNIVERSITY
• OF
• SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 2003

Mike Fanning - Principal Adviser, Site
Contamination South Australian Environment
Protection Agency
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Land Groundwater
SITE CONTAMINATION

• 1. Introduction to Site Contamination
• 2. Assessment of Site Contamination
• 3. Remediation of Site Contamination
• 4. Long Term Issues
• 5. Closure

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Land Groundwater
SITE CONTAMINATION

• 1. Introduction to Site Contamination
• Fundamentals
• and
• General Guidance

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Land Groundwater
SITE CONTAMINATION

• contaminated site/contaminated land
• vs
• Site Contamination

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What is a Contaminated Site?
SITE CONTAMINATION

• No acceptable definition
• Stigma
• Name sticks
• Applies to whole site - irrespective of nature
  and extent of the contamination and any
  subsequent subdivision of the site
• Nobody likes to own or buy
• Records remain with the stigma
• Potential liabilities if wrongly named
• NEPM refers to assessment of site contamination
  NOT contaminated site

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• CONTAMINATION means the condition of land or
  water where any chemical substance or waste has
  been added at above background level and
  represents, or potentially represents, an adverse
  health or environmental impact
• Reference National Environment Protection
• (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure
  (NEPM),
• December 1999

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• IN SA IF WE HAVE
• SITE or PART of a SITE within which there is
• CONTAMINATION - taking into account the current
  or proposed use of the site
• then we have
• SITE CONTAMINATION

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Therefore SITE CONTAMINATION is

• Any chemical substance or waste
• added to land or water at a site
• above background concentrations
• that represent, or potentially represent, an
  adverse health or environmental impact, taking
  into account the current or proposed use of the
  site

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• If Site Contamination is present, then we should
  do something about it because the site (or part
  of the site) may not be fit for its current or
  proposed use
• We should REMEDIATE
• treat, contain, remove or manage
• (NOT the site, but) the chemical substances
  or waste so that, taking into account the
  current or proposed use of the site, they no
  longer represent, or potentially represent, an
  adverse health or environmental impact

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• If remediation has been completed at a site
  (chemical substances or waste - treated,
  contained, removed or managed)then,
  contamination no longer exists and we have a
  SITE
• fit for use

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• The use of the terminology SITE CONTAMINATION is
  therefore of significant benefit to

• Owners/occupiers of sites
• Developers
• Real estate industry
• Government and
• South Australia.

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• NEPM hierarchy of options
• On-site treatment
• Off-site treatment and return to site if the
  above not practicable
• Consolidation and isolation (containment) on-site
• Removal to an approved site or facility
• or
• On-site management - no net environmental benefit
  or a net adverse environmental benefit
• N.B. 1. Remediation MUST take into account public
  
• and community interests and concerns
• 2. Remediation should optimise current and
• future land use(s)

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• Remediation
• ON-SITE CONTAINMENT and/or MANAGEMENT
• Should take into account
• ANZECC, Guidelines for the Assessment of On-site
  Containment of Contaminated Soil, Dec. 1999
• And in particular the FOUR PRINCIPLES
• Ensure adequate protection of human health and
  the environment
• Minimise on-going management and regulatory
  scrutiny
• Minimise constraints on reasonable and usual use
  of the site
• Minimise unnecessary disposal to waste depots and
  maximise recycling and reuse

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SITE CONTAMINATION
How Is Site Contamination Currently Managed in SA?

• 1. Environment Protection Act 1993
• 2. NEPM - automatically an Environment Protection
  Policy - effected by EPA licences and other means
• 3. Planning Authorities responsibilities -
  Planning Advisory Notice 20/02 - Site
  Contamination
• 4. Land Business (Sale Conveyancing) Act 1994
  
• 5. EPA recommendations and publications
• 6. Use of Environmental Auditors (Contaminated
  Land)

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FUTURESITE CONTAMINATION PACKAGEHOLISTIC
APPROACH TO ADDRESS SITE CONTAMINATION
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Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and
Remediation
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• Prof. Ravi Naidu environmental chemist, risk
  assessment
• Assoc. Prof Megharaj Mallavarapu environmental
  microbiology, terrestrial ecotoxicity
• Dr Albert Juhasz environmental microbiology,
  bioavailability
• Dr Zuliang Chen environmental analyst
• Dr Euan Smith soil chemistry, risk exposure
  pathways
• Dr Gary Owens soil chemistry, remediation

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 2. ASSESSMENT OF SITE CONTAMINATION

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
• not necessarily in order
• Site contamination assessment and management
• Soil sampling design and methodology
• Assessment and management of major environmental
  issues involving discharge/disposal of industrial
  waste onto land or into air or aquatic
  environments
• Other environmental sampling design and
  methodology eg industrial wastewater, regulated
  waste or air sampling programs
• groundwater sampling design and methodology
• assessments of impacts on groundwater from site
  contamination
• cont/d

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
• not necessarily in order (cont)
• interpretation of chemical analytical data
• quality control/assurance procedures
• industrial processing, chemical use and waste
  disposal practices
• environmental chemistry
• soil science
• hydrogeology
• human toxicology
• environmental toxicology
• environmental impact assessment associated with
  land, water and air pollution cont/d

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
• not necessarily in order (cont)
• contaminant transport and assessment of exposure
  pathways and risk
• remedial technologies and geotechnology
• risk communication in relation to site
  contamination issues including demonstration of a
  high level of oral communication skills
• health and safety issues associated with field
  work for site contamination
• other relevant specialised competencies (eg
  contaminated groundwater fate and transport
  modelling and modelling of contaminated vapours
  in soils)

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• Assessment of Site Contamination
• References
• NEPM - Assessment of Site Contamination, December
  1999 - and related references
• Contaminated Sites Monograph Series - Nos 1 to 7
  - various
• Victorian EPA - Environmental Auditor
  (Contaminated Land) Guidelines for Issue of
  Certificates and Statements of Environmental
  Audit - May 2001
• AS 4482.1 Guide to the sampling and investigation
  of potentially contaminated soil, Part 1
  Non-volatile and semi-volatile compounds - 1997
• AS 4482.1 Guide to the sampling and investigation
  of potentially contaminated soil, Part 2
  Volatile substances -
• websites - US EPA - www.epa.gov.au

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 2. NEPM SCHEDULES
• Schedule A Flow Chart - General process for
  assessment of site contamination
• Schedule B
• B (1) Guideline on Investigation Levels For Soil
  And Groundwater
• B (2) Guideline on Data Collection, Sample Design
  and Reporting
• B (3) Guideline on Laboratory Analysis Of
  Potentially Contaminated Soils
• B (4) Guideline on Health Risk Assessment
  Methodology
• B (5) Guideline on Ecological Risk Assessment
• B (6) Guideline on Risk Based Assessment of
  Groundwater Contamination
• B (7A) Guideline on Health-Based Investigation
  Levels
• B (7B) Guidelines on Exposure Scenarios and
  Exposure Settings
• B (8) Guideline on Community Consultation and
  Risk Communication
• B (9) Guideline on Protection of Health and the
  Environment During the Assessment of Site
  Contamination
• B (10) Guideline on Competencies and Acceptance
  of Environmental Auditors and Related
  Professionals

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• Assessment of Site Contamination
• Trigger (refer to Planning Advisory Notice)
• Purpose (land use, due diligence, liability)
• Site History
• Preliminary Site Assessment
• Total Site Assessment, including Risk Assessment
• Site Remediation Options and Strategies
• Remediation Validation
• Long-term Monitoring
• Community Information
• THINK - who, what, where, when, why, how

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• REMEMBERSITE CONTAMINATION is
• Chemical substances or waste
• added to land or water at a site
• above background concentrations
• that represent, or potentially represent, an
  adverse health or environmental impact taking
  into account the current or proposed use of the
  site

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 3. Remediation of Site Contamination

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 3. Remediation of Site Contamination
• NEPM hierarchy of options
• On-site treatment
• Off-site treatment and return to site
• if the above not practicable
• Consolidation and isolation (containment) on-site
• Removal to an approved site or facility
• or
• On-site management - no net environmental benefit
  or a net adverse environmental benefit
• N.B. 1. Remediation MUST take into account public
  
• and community interests and concerns
• 2. Remediation should optimise current
  and
• future land use(s)

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 3. Remediation of Site Contamination
• ON-SITE CONTAINMENT and/or MANAGEMENT
• Should take into account
• ANZECC, Guidelines for the Assessment of On-site
  Containment of Contaminated Soil, Dec. 1999
• And in particular the FOUR PRINCIPLES
• 1. Ensure adequate protection of human health and
  the environment
• 2. Minimise on-going management and regulatory
  scrutiny
• 3. Minimise constraints on reasonable and usual
  use of the site
• 4. Minimise unnecessary disposal to waste depots
  and maximise recycling and reuse

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 3. Remediation of Site Contamination
• Worldwide there are extensive ESTABLISHED,
  INNOVATIVE and EMERGING technologies for the
  TREATMENT of contamination
• In SA, there must be an increasingly greater
  emphasis on the TREATMENT of contamination - in
  preference to the alternative options
• Industry should actively encourage the
  introduction and utilisation of treatment
  technologies in SA
• Treatment technologies developed or introduced
  must be readily available for use
• ALL REMEDIATION MUST take into account public and
  community interests and concerns - CONSULTATION

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 4. Long Term Issues

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 4. Long Term Issues
• 1) Land use (current/future)
• 2) Restrictions (reasonable and usual use)
• 3) Monitoring (consider)
• 4) Management (who and how)
• 5) Information (must be readily available)
• 6) Alternatives (consider)

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 5. Closure

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SITE CONTAMINATION

• 1. Extremely complex issue
• 2. Extensive and wide range of opportunities
• 3. Develop high level of technical expertise and
  experience
• 4. Emerging and developing
• 5. High level of professional satisfaction and
  positive impact on health and the environment
• 6. Remuneration