Green Remediation: Incorporating Sustainable Environmental Practices into Remediation of Contaminated Sites

摘要

As part of its mission to protect human health and the environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is dedicated to developing and promoting innovative cleanup strategies that restore contaminated sites to productive use, reduce associated costs, and promote environmental stewardship. EPA strives for cleanup programs that use natural resources and energy efficiently, reduce negative impacts on the environment, minimize or eliminate pollution at its source, and reduce waste to the greatest extent possible in accordance with the Agency's strategic plan for compliance and environmental stewardship (U.S. EPA Office of the Chief Financial Officer, 2006). The practice of green remediation uses these strategies to consider all environmental effects of remedy implementation for contaminated sites and incorporates options to maximize the net environmental benefit of cleanup actions.