Status of Local Soil Contamination in Europe and outlook
Ana PAYA PEREZEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre
Session 1- Regulation, management approaches, financing and best practices
20 September 2018
RemTech Expo 2018 (19, 20, 21 Settembre) FerraraFierewww.remtechexpo.com
Setting the scene
• No comprehensive EU soil legislation: soil protection isaddressed partly by other EU policies
• Absence of EU standards: MS apply their own risk approach &some MS have a solid legal basis on soil contamination whileothers do not have national legislation
• Inventory of soil-related policies at EU and national level in2015 launched by the Commission
– Review of 35 EU and 671 national policy instruments acrossEU-28 Member States
– Gap analysis by clusters
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/pdf/Soil_inventory_report.pdf
EU soil policy gaps: general findings
• In absence of comprehensive soil legislation, soil is not subject to a coherent set of rules in the EU. No binding EU targets, but some MS have national values.
• Protection and sustainable use of soil is scattered in different Community policies contributing in various degrees to soil protection.
• Lack of common definitions across EU policies
• Some definitions at global level (Sustainable Soil Management, LDN) but not binding and not integrated in EU policies
• No obligation to monitor contaminants
EU Policy gaps – Soil local contamination
• No coordinated approach to set baselines (except IED), references, targets or priorities
• Historical activities not covered – IPCC 1996, IED and ELD 2007 - IED does not cover small installations
• No EU approach for orphan sites
• No unified approach to identify (potentially) contaminated sites
• Regional funds (ERDF, Cohesion fund) under certain conditions & national funding according to EU state aid guidelines
• No coherent set of rules defining liability, responsibilities, thresholds and monitoring
What next?
Invitation to Open Call
Two Working Groups
1. Working Group “for developing feasible and regionally contextualized guidelines formeasuring, mapping, monitoring and reporting on soil pollution” (WG 1);
2. Working Group “to create a database on the best available techniques for themanagement and remediation of polluted soils according to land use and edapho-climatic conditions, that can be adapted locally to assess and monitor soil pollution andto support management decisions” (WG 2).
Before 1st October 2018 Email: [email protected]@fao.org
• Only few MS address contamination in holistic and systematic way
• Some MS have very comprehensive legislation, others have no legislation beyond EU policies
• No systematic or binding rules to identify historical contaminated sites
• Some MS have no register, others have difficulties to introduce it or to update it regularly
• Different approaches to identify, investigate, remediate and prioritize sites
• Standards used to assess risks very variable (screening, guidance, intervention values etc.)
MS Policy gaps – Soil local contamination
Indicator Progress in the management
of contaminated sites in Europe
Summarises the actual status of soil contamination and highlightingthe differences between countries.
1. What is the extent of soil contamination?
2. How is Europe dealing with soil contamination? How much progress has been achieved in the management and control of local soil contamination?
3. Which sectors contribute most to soil contamination?
4. Which are the main contaminants affecting soil and groundwater in and around contaminated sites?
5. How much is being spent on cleaning-up soil contamination? How much of the public budget is being used?
Coverage of the survey 31 replying countries of the 39 surveyed countries with their membership (EU, EEA, EEA cooperating
countries in the West Balkans).
Coverage of the survey in 39 European countries
Countries surveyed Total
Countries 31 39
Population (Million inhabitants) 513,4 621,2
Total surface area (thousands of km2) 4 869,6 5 994,9
Artificial surface (thousands of km2) 217,7 239,1
Surveyed of total population 83 % 100 %
Surveyed of total artificial surface 91 % 100 %
1. What is the extent of soil contamination?
How much progress has been achieved in the management and
control of local soil contamination?
• 2,8 million sites have been estimated where polluting activities have taken place considering the artificial surface.
• 694 000 registered sites where polluting activities took/are taking place in national and regional inventories of replying countries;
• more than 235 000 sites have been remediated.
• Efforts focused on investigation and remediation of sites where polluting activities took/are taking place due to many countries already have an accurate inventory.
How much progress has been achieved in the management and control of local soil
contamination? (EU 28)
Identification
•Only 13 countries have estimated the number of contaminated sites
• 45% of estimated contaminated sites are already identified
Investigation
170 000 sites are in need of detailed investigation
125 000 of registered sites need remediation
More than 120 000 sites investigated where no remediation needed
Remediation
•Near 14 400 sites under remediation
•more than 63 000 sites remediated
How much progress has been achieved in the management and
control of local soil contamination?
Waste disposal and treatment (38%)
Industrial & commercial activities (34%) represents almost 2/3 of
the local contamination
Which sectors contribute mostThe most
frequently reported
sources are
mining activities,
metal industries
and gasoline
stations
However, the range
of polluting
activities varies
considerably from
country to country.
Remediation techniques
Off-site techniques (dig-and-dump) still seems tobe the most commonly used → negative impact onthe soil ecosystem
Move towards in-situ remediation, environmentallyfriendly and economically-feasible techniques.
How much is being spent on cleaning-up soil
contamination? How much of the public budget is
being used?
Ratio between private and public investment account for 50-50
50% 32%
REFERENCES
20182017
2014
EC report on the implementation of the
Soil Thematic Strategy and ongoing activities
COM(2012) 46, 13.2.2012 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/three_en.htm
JRC report on 'The state of soils in Europe' EUR 25186 EN, February 2012
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_reference_report_2012_02_soil.pdf
Evaluation of expenditures and jobs for addressing soil contamination in Member States, Ernst & Young report to the European Commission, February 2013
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/pdf/Soil_contamination_expenditure_jobs.pdf
EUROPEAN SOIL PORTAL
http://ESDAC.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
2016
What next?
Invitation to Open Call
Two Working Groups
1. Working Group “for developing feasible and regionally contextualized guidelines for
measuring, mapping, monitoring and reporting on soil pollution” (WG 1);
2. Working Group “to create a database on the best available techniques for themanagement and remediation of polluted soils according to land use and edapho-climatic conditions, that can be adapted locally to assess and monitor soil pollution and
to support management decisions” (WG 2).
Before 1st October 2018 Email: [email protected]@fao.org
Thanks to the commitment of the EIONET NRC Soil Ad-hoc Working Group
on Contaminated Sites and Brownfields
Representatives Ad-Hoc WG on Contaminated Sites
and BrownfieldsCountry
Dietmar Mueller-Grabher Austria
Johan Ceenaeme Belgium/Flanders
Esther Goidts Belgium/Wallonia
Christoph Reusser Switzerland
Antonio Callaba de Roa Spain
Milan Sanka Czech Republic
Veronique Antoni France
Antonella Vecchio
Marco FalconiItaly
Andreja Steinberger Croatia
Sophie Capus Luxembourg
Frank Swartjes Netherlands
Kine Martinsen Norway
Jorge Santos Garcia Portugal
Dragana Vidojevic Serbia
Bernarda Podlipnik Slovenia
Katarina Paluchova Slovakia
Christian Andersen Denmark
David Middleton United Kingdom
Borisslava Borissova Bulgaria
Outi Pyy Finland
Mina Patsalidou Cyprus
Olav Ojala Estonia
EC-Joint Research Centre / European Soil Data Centre
http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu
e-mail : [email protected]
Thanks for your attention