Envir onmentally acceptable cleanup endpoints for hydrocarbon contaminated soils. How clean is clean?

摘要

There is no debate about the need to improve the environment; however, a major portion of the costs for doing so is related to the requirement that contaminated sites be remediated to a condition such that any future use is not precluded. Within many federal and state regulatory programs this is frequently taken to be "background" or "pristine" conditions. In the United States, we are currently spending buillions of dollars on environmental management of contaminated industrial properties and waste disposal sites. These costs are paid by industry and, ultimately, by the American public. All parties concerned with the debate on "how clean is clean?" are interested in seeing that sites which pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment are addressed first with efficient use of the limited financial resources.