Sustainable management of trace element contaminated soils - Development of a decision tool system and its evaluation for practical application
Abstract
The development of “gentle”, in-situ remediation technologies (i.e. phytoremediation, in situ immobilisation, etc.) has been under intensive research over the last few decades. A great deal of progress has been achieved at the experimental level, but the application of these technologies as practical solutions is still at its early stage. On the one hand, methods for determination of the trace element (metals and non-metals) fractions relevant for their ecotoxicology (i.e., the bioavailable fraction) still have their limitations since they may insufficiently reflect the potential risks. On the other hand, a number of in-situ remediation options are available and thus a decision tool system has to be developed allowing to choose the most suitable technique. TECS (trace element contaminated soils) management moved into a new century where environmental decisions must be ‘socially-robust’ within a context of sustainable development & is a part of the conceptual framework “Risk-based land management”. All efforts need to ensure management and/or remediation is affordable, feasible, effective & sustainable. Additionally, further aspects that are closely related to the remediation process were previously only partly covered by research projects. These aspects include the potential impacts on the local environment (soil processes and functioning, socio-economic impacts on the local population, etc.), but also the principal question on the sustainability of the remediation process and its target. The aim of this project to make a literature and project-based review (including country specific state of the art and current procedures) to identify the current status of research and application in Europe and to (i) derive decision tool systems, remediation scenarios including the potential impacts on the local environment and (ii) define further research needs. The study covers soils contaminated by trace elements (TECS) (singly or in combination with organics), at sites (legacies from the past, recent pollution due to negligence) and their surrounding agricultural or urban areas. All partners involved have excellent research experience in the field of gentle remediation techniques and related aspects (soil processes, environmental impact, use of biomass, etc). Many of them have previously worked together in other European initiatives (such as COST Actions 859 and 837) and projects. This consortium will be a professional “think tank”, bringing together the state of the art, compiling and evaluating this and clearly defining the major knowledge gaps. This will provide a sound basis for any successful further research and development in this very important environmental area.
gentle soil remediation phytoremediation heavy metals trace elements decision tool system
Publikationen
Project staff
Markus Puschenreiter
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Markus Puschenreiter
markus.puschenreiter@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91143, 91163
Project Leader
01.10.2007 - 30.09.2008
Walter Wenzel
Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Walter Wenzel
walter.wenzel@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91143, 91161
Project Staff
01.10.2007 - 30.09.2008
BOKU partners
External partners
ARC Seibersdorf research BmbH, Biogenetics - Natural Resources, Dep. Environmental Research_x000D_ _x000D_
Wolfgang Friesl-Hanl
partner
Hasselt University
none
partner
Luleå University of Technology
none
partner
Saxon State Agency for Environment and Geology
none
partner
University Bordeaux I
none
partner
Institut National de l’Environnement industriel et des RISques
none
partner
INERTEC
none
partner
University of Brighton
none
partner
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
none
partner
Ruhr-University Bochum
none
partner
Université de Technologie de Compiègne
none
partner
University of Florence
none
partner