1. Ecological risk assessment of contaminated landJoop Vegter COMMON FORUM • Risk based management framework • The “Nunspeet” workshop • Concluding remarks

2. COMMON FORUM

3. State-of-the-Art &Research Needs For more information: CARACAS Book – Vol. 1 “Scientific Basis“

4. Risk

6. Risk Based Land Management • Risk:potential or actual adverse environmental (and socio-economic) effects • Human health • Ecological health • As related to human landuse (agriculture,gardens, parks) • Nature, wildlife • Hydrological cycle (spreading to groundwater and surface waters) • Buildings • Land • spatial soil management unit • Management • Manager: industrial owner, municipality, province • Decisions: clean up, landuse restrictions, monitoring, spatial planning, aftercare, and other issues

7. Key issues in decision making • The time frame • Assessment of risks and priorities • Longer term effects of particular choices • The choice of solution • Assessment of overall benefits, costs and environmental side effects • Value and circumstances of the land • Community views and other issues • Objectives • Fitness for use • Protection of the environment • Long-term care

8. The “Nunspeet” workshop • Initiated by CLARINET • Comparison of approaches • USA: wildlife oriented • EU: soil resource oriented • Assessment of chemicals vs. assessment of soil • Common ground • A tiered approach • Toolboxes • Informal ecorisk network • Focal points CONSOIL and SETAC meetings • LIBERATION and NOMIRACLE projects

9. Concluding remark:“Be careful with EU harmonization” • Contaminated land management differs from environmental “anti pollution” policies • Legacies from the past • Finite clean up programs versus permanent care in other environmental policies • Various stages of completion in EU-MS • Decision making criteria may vary accordingly • A complete inventory is not feasible in a reasonable number of years, action cannot wait for inventory based priority setting • Spatial planning becomes the driving force in most clean ups