VALERIE CAPPUYNS
1. Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Centre for Economics and Corporate Sustainability (CEDON), Warmoesberg 26,1000 Brussels, Belgium
2. KULeuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Abstract

During the last 10 years, several instances have emerged in which a life cycle approach has been applied to the remediation of contaminated sites. A life cycle management (LCM) approach structuring environmental activities and life cycle assessment(LCA) for a quantitative examination, can be helpful for the selection of site remediation options with a lower impact on the ecosystem and human health. Besides addressing the environmental impacts of the remediation activities for a specific site, attention should also be paid to the engagement of different stakeholders and socio-economical consequences of reintroducing a remediated site into the economy.

INTRODUCTION

Selection of site remediation options (1)
Despite the fact that several EU directives support the prevention and cleanup of soil contamination (e.g. EU Directive on Environmental Liability, EU Waste Framework Directive, EU Water Framework Directive, EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive), there is no general European directive with regard to Soil Remediation and cleanup. This results for example in inherent differences in soil remediation and clean up values between countries. The selection of the most adequate soil remediation option for a given contaminated site is on its turn not subjected to international regulations and even on national level, only very concise guidelines are provided concerning the choice between different soil remediation options. Whereas some countries rely on the best available technology (BAT), other countries, including Flanders (Belgium), take the best available technology not exceeding excessive cost (BATNEEC) as a criterion for selecting soil remediation options. However, during the last decade, the focus on the most technologically and economically feasible option fo ...