Considerations in investigations of military installation decommissioning: determining how clean is clean

摘要

Demilitarization requires cleaning or remediating a former military facility or site so that any remaining chemicals do not produce adverse health effects in the population living or working near the site. For many very toxic chemicals, especially chemical warfare agents and some of their degradation products, the concentrations that result in adverse public health risks can be very small, in fact so small that these concentrations may be difficult or impossible to detect and measure. Selecting and negotiating the assumptions inherent in any risk assessment can be tailored to local communities, cultures and conditions to get the maximum benefits from both remediation and risk management.