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21 October 2008
Environment and planning regulators in the Asia Pacific need to
act urgently to make the sustainable remediation of contaminated
land mandatory or risk leaving a legacy of problems for future
generations, an environmental auditor has warned.
Dr Fouad Abo, Global Leader for Contamination Assessment and
Remediation for international professional services company GHD,
said strict regulatory requirements were already in place to
protect human health when it came to cleaning up contaminated
sites.
But Dr Abo told the Brownfield Asia conference in Malaysia that
regulation supporting broader sustainability goals, such as the
reduction of resource consumption, efficient waste management, and
conservation and preservation of natural resources, was lacking and
needed to be addressed.
Rapid development in Asia over the past two decades has been
achieved at considerable expense to the environment, with little
attention paid to pollution of soil and groundwater.
As land availability in Asia becomes an issue, authorities are
being forced to consider policies and strategies to deal with the
redevelopment of brownfield sites.
Dr Abo told the conference that there were a number of important
aspects to remediation that were not well defined by law.
Requirements for energy and resource minimisation, which have
the potential to make a significant contribution to climate change
goals, were lacking, Dr Abo said, as were guidelines for
containment as an alternative to treatment where applicable.
Dr Abo said regulation demanding or even encouraging better
waste management in site remediation was also deficient, despite
well-defined policies in that area.
“There is also very little by way of regulation to guide the
conservation and preservation of natural resources, such as soil,
groundwater and surface water, despite the potential for a higher
standard of remediation if these resources are protected,” he
said.
“The current balance of evidence on sustainability and climate
change requires urgent action by regulators around the world to
deal with these issues. A narrow approach in the long term will
leave a continued legacy of problems for future generations.”
GHD has assisted clients across industries including chemical
manufacturing, mining and energy and heavy engineering, to manage
some of the most difficult contaminants in soil and
groundwater.
GHD is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development and is committed to managing the social, economic and
environmental impact of its operations and to helping its clients
manage theirs.
For further information, contact:
Sonia Adams