Abstract
The aims of this research are to summarise the current understanding and utilisation of different contaminated land remediation techniques, to identify current and likely future factors influencing their selection and to set out the relative economic, environmental and social costs and benefits (i.e. the sustainability) of each technique. A desk-based study will be carried out to compile information on remediation techniques from a number of sources. Brief descriptions of each technique will be given in addition to describing the effectiveness of each of these methods in addressing different contaminants and when circumstances (e.g. geology, hydrogeology, contaminant form etc) may or may not be suitable to their use. The study will include describing the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and the barriers to their use. The research will assess the use of less impactful, passive ways of dealing with risks on contaminated land, rather than using heavy engineering solutions. For example, land use restrictions might be applied to ensure a site is not used for a sensitive activity. This will benefit Defra which is looking to encourage “smarter” remediation solutions to be used in practice and will help industry to identify all the options rather than resorting to a default remediation solution which may be very expensive and have high environmental and social impacts. A number of different methods will be used to collect data on the current and historic usage of each remedial technique available in England and Wales. It is expected that this information will enable the identification and evaluation of the drivers for technology selection and whether these have changed over the last decade, and also suggest likely future technology trends. The research will investigate remediation techniques that may still be in the pipeline including what further work needs to be done to bring them into use and any added benefits in terms of costs or wider environmental impacts they could bring. This will be useful for identifying areas for potential further research and development, which may also attract investment, both of which will be of benefit to UK plc. An assessment of the environmental and social impacts and benefits of each remediation technique will be carried out and presented in the form of a simple matrix. A similar assessment of the typical costs of remediation techniques will be conducted. This will include direct costs and wider economic impacts and benefits. Understanding these aspects will benefit Defra, which is keen to promote the use of sustainable remediation wherever possible, and will provide industry with important knowledge at a time when sustainability issues are high on every agenda. Two industry questionnaires will be prepared, one for remediation technology providers and one for environmental consultants, using an online web based surveying tool. Questions will be included in the questionnaires in order to elicit stakeholder opinion on all the aspects mentioned above. By engaging with the contaminated land contractor and consultant community through the planned questionnaires, it will be possible to ascertain what currently drives technique selection, the barriers to their uptake and likely future trends. This information will be of benefit to both Defra and industry as a whole as it will give an indication of the state of the industry as it recovers from the recent downturn. A summary report will be produced on the findings of the work and disseminated to the whole contaminated land stakeholder community.
United Kingdom