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Environmental Pollution and Applicability Environmental Pollution and Applicability of Remediation Technologies in Latin of Remediation Technologies in Latin

American CountriesAmerican Countries

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Contaminated Land Management in

Switzerland

Dr. Urs Ziegler, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape

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ContentsContentsBUWALBUWALOFEFPOFEFPUFAFPUFAFPSAEFLSAEFL

• Introduction

• The problem

• Fundamentals, concepts, objectives

• Step 1: registration of the polluted sites, initial evaluation

• Step 2: decision about need for monitoring and remediation

• Step 3: clarification of objectives and urgency of remediation

• Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site

• Who has to take action, who pays for it?

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Introduction

Switzerland: a clean country?

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Introduction

Yes, partly

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IntroductionIntroduction

• What was once tolerated can present a problem today --> even if the former practices of use were legally compliant

• Contaminated sites management = remediation of the sins of yesterday

• Costs frequently affect only a small number of people

• Interpolicy coordination is essential between environmental law and civil law etc.

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The ProblemThe Problem

• 40‘000 to 50‘000 polluted sites in Switzerland

• 3‘000 sites in need of remediation

• Investigation and remediation costs over the next 20 years approx. 2.7 billion USD

• Approx. 85 % of the cases < 1 million USD

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The ProblemThe Problem

Swiss pecularities:

• no significant minig activities

• hardly any heavy industries

• very few extended industrial complexes

• no war-related contamination

• organic-chemical waste is incinerated rather than landfilled

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Types of SitesTypes of Sites

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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts,

objectivesobjectives

• Long term, sustainable elimination of hazard

• solution to the contaminated sites problem within a generation

• rapid remediation of severely contaminated sites

• stop emissions at source

• cooperation among those affected

• stepwise management of polluted sites

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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts, objectives cont‘dobjectives cont‘d

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Fundamentals, concepts, Fundamentals, concepts,

objectives cont‘dobjectives cont‘dStepwise procedure:

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Step 1: Registration & Initial Evaluation

Purpose of the register of polluted sites:

• Information instrument

• Planning instrument

• Dividing recorded sites into harmless sites and those that have to be investigated further

• Prioritization tool

• Orientation for those affected

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Step 1: Registration & Initial Evaluation cont‘d

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Step 2: decision on need for monitoring & remediation

• Historical investigation (who has done what where?)

• Technical investigation: is the site violating environmental standards in groundwater, surface water, soil, ambient air or is there a concrete risk of such violations?

• Classification of the site as

• pollution without hazard for the environment

• pollution which needs monitoring

• contaminated site ( = need to remediate)

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Step 3: clarification of objec-tives & urgency of remediation

• Detailed technical investigation: exact information about kind and extent of pollution as well as about fate and transport of pollutants into the environment

• Principal goal of remediation: Stopping emissions at source

• Urgency of remediation is determined by the effective environmental hazard and not by any pending conversion of land use

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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site

• Objective is to prevent unlawful impact on the environment

• It must remove the danger over the long term and in a sustainable way

• It should considerbaly reduce the danger to the environment

• The remediation project must deliver complete and understandable decision bases for the final establishment of remediation objectives and deadlines

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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d

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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d

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Step 4: remediation of the contaminated site cont‘d

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Who has to take action, who pays for it?

• Investigations, monitoring, remediation and aftercare are fundamentally the concern and are to be performed by the owner of the site

• The polluter has to bear the costs of remediation

• If there is more than one polluter responsible each bears the cost in proportion to his share of the pollution. Joint and several liability among polluter and owner does not exist

• The Confederation levies a tax on waste disposal in order to finance remediation of sites where the polluter is not capable of bearing the costs any more