Soil pollution and ground water pollution
Soil contamination requiring clean up is present at approximately 250000 sites in the EEA
member countries, according to recent estimates. And this number is expected to grow.
Potentially polluting activities are estimated to have occurred at nearly 3 million sites
(including the 250000 sites already mentioned) and investigation is needed to establish. If
current investigation trends continue, the number of sites needing remediation will
increase by 50% by 2025.
By contrast, more than 80000 sites have been cleaned up in the last 30 years in the
countries where data on remediation is available. Although the range of polluting activities
(and their relative importance as localised sources of soil contamination) may vary
considerably across Europe, industrial and commercial activities as well as the treatment
and disposal of waste are reported to be the most important sources. National reports
indicate that heavy metals and mineral oil are the most frequent soil contaminants at
investigated sites, while mineral oil and chlorinated hydrocarbons are the most frequent
contaminants found in groundwater. A considerable share of remediation
expenditure, about 35% on average, comes from public budgets. Although considerable
efforts have been made already, it will take decades to clean up a legacy of contamination.
Fig. 1: Overview of progress in the management of contaminated sites in Europe (Ver. 1.00)
Note: The graph shows the status in investigation and clean-up of
contaminated sites in Europe.
Fig. 2: Overview of activities causing soil contamination in Europe (Ver. 1.00)
Note: The graph shows a breakdown of the main sources causing
soil contamination in Europe as the % of the number of sites where
preliminary investigations have been completed. European shares
have been calculated as a weighted average over 22 EEA countries,
using the total number of investigated sites as weights.
Data
source:
EIONET
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data
flows
on
contaminated
sites
Fig. 3: Overview of contaminants affecting soil and groundwater in Europe (Ver. 2.00)
Note: The graph shows an overview of main contaminants
affecting soil.
Time coverage: 2006
Data
source:
Downloads and more info
EIONET
priority
data
flow
(Soil
contamination).
Fig. 4: Estimated allocation of public and private expenditures for management of
contaminated sites by country (Ver. 3.00)
Note: The graph shows the estimated allocation of public and
private expenditure for site remediation. Values on top indicate
total annual management expenditure in Million euro.
Data for Belgium refer to Flanders region only
Data for Italy refer to the Piemonte region only
Data
source:
EIONET
Downloads and more info
priority
data
flows
on
contaminated
sites
(Soil
contamination)
In EEA member countries, it is estimated that potentially polluting activities have occurred
at about three million sites[1]. National estimates show that more than 8% (or nearly
250000 sites) are contaminated and need to be remediated (Fig. 1 Overview of progress in
the management of contaminated sites in Europe).
These estimates have increased considerably over the past years, due to progress in
investigation, monitoring and data collection, and this trend is expected to continue in the
future. Remediation is progressing relatively slowly: in the last thirty years, over 80000
sites have been cleaned-up in the countries where data on are available (This covers about
70% of the area of the EEA and collaborating countries).
Losses of contaminants during industrial and commercial operations, municipal and
industrial waste treatment, oil extraction and production; and inadequate storage are the
main sources of soil contamination in Europe.
The range of contaminants found in the investigated sites varies from country to country.
However, overall estimates identify heavy metals and mineral oil as the main soil
contaminants in Europe. These estimates are based on the frequency with which a specific
contaminant is reported to be the most important in the investigated sites.
Mineral oil and heavy metals are reported as the most relevant contaminants for
groundwater.
A considerable amount of private and public money has already been spent on remediation
activities
The polluter-pays principle
This is a common trend across Europe.
Although most of the countries in Europe have legislative instruments which apply the
"polluter-pays" principle to the management of contaminated sites, large sums of public
money
are
provided
to
fund
remediation
activities.
Which
sectors
contamination ?
contribute
most
to
soil
Fig. 5: Breakdown of activities causing local soil contamination. (Ver. 3.00)
Note: The graph shows a breakdown of the main sources causing
soil contamination by country as % of the number of sites where
preliminary investigations have been completed.
Data for Belgium refer only to Flanders and the Brussels region
Data
source:
EIONET
Downloads and more info
priority
data
flows
on
contaminated
sites
(Soil
contamination)
Fig. 6: Detailed analysis of industrial and commercial activities causing soil contamination by
country (Ver. 2.00)
Note: The graph shows a breakdown of the industrial and
commercial activities causing soil contamination as % of the
number of sites for each branch of activity.
Time coverage: 2006
Data
source:
Downloads and more info
EIONET
priority
data
flows
(Soil
contamination)
The distribution of the sources of soil pollution across economic sectors differs from
country to country, reflecting their industrial structure, the level of implementation of
pollution prevention measures, the various risk assessment and management approaches
and the different classifications of economic activities adopted. Nevertheless, industrial
and commercial activities as well as the treatment and disposal of waste remain the most
important sources in Europe.
Contamination from oil storage is relatively important in some countries, such as Latvia,
Estonia and Croatia, where it respectively covers 46%, 42% and 36% of all contaminating
activities identified. In Bulgaria, the storage of obsolete chemicals covers more than 30% of
all activities.
At industrial and commercial sites, handling losses, leakages from tanks and pipelines, and
accidents are the most frequent sources of soil and groundwater contamination. Industrial
sources come mainly from the chemical and metal working industries, energy production
and the oil industry. Although most European countries probably have relatively
comparable numbers of gasoline stations and dry cleaners, their perceived importance in
posing significant risks to human health and the environment varies considerably across
Europe.
How much is being spent on cleaning-up soil
contamination? How much of the public budget is
being used?
Fig. 7: Annual national expenditures for management of contaminated sites per unit of GDP
(Ver. 2.00)
Note: The graph shows annual expenditure for the management of
contaminated sites as o/oo of GDP.
Time coverage: 2005-2006;
Netherlands, Romania, Spain: 2004.
Data
source:
Downloads and more info
EIONET
priority
data
flows
(Soil
contamination)
Annual national expenditure for the management of contaminated sites are on average
about 12 EUR per capita, with a range of approximately 0.2 to more than 20 EUR per
capita in the reporting countries. This corresponds to an average of 0.7 per mille of the
national Gross Domestic Product. The largest portion of expenditure is employed for
remediation measures (nearly 60% of the total expenditures) and site investigations (about
40% of total expenditures). It should be noted that, the number of sites to be investigated
is much higher than the number of remediated sites.
At the EU level, the rehabilitation of industrial sites has been funded through
the framework of the Structural Funds using a total budget of 2.250 billion
EUR for the EU25 in the period 2005-2013.
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the average unitary costs for the investigation of a (potentially) contaminated site
range between 500 and 50000 EUR, with the exception of Austria, where the
average costs are in the range of 50000 - 500000 EUR in approximately 90% of the
sites. Investigation costs lower than 500 EUR per site as well as costs beyond
500000 EUR are not commonly reported;
the costs for the application of risk-reduction measures range from 500 - 50000
EUR per site. However, in Austria and the FYR of Macedonia, remediation expenses
range between 50000 and 500000 EUR in 55% and 44% of the sites respectively. In
Slovakia and the Czech Republic the costs of remediation vary between 500000 and
5 million EUR in 17% and 19% of the sites respectively. With the exception of
Austria, remediation costs exceeding 5 million EUR per site are rarely reported. By
contrast, only the Czech Republic and the FYR of Macedonia reported costs are less
than 500 EUR in a significant number of sites (respectively 17% and 13% of all
remediations).
Which are the main contaminants affecting soil and
groundwater in and around contaminated sites?
National reports indicate that heavy metals and mineral oil are the most frequent soil
contaminants at investigated sites, while mineral oil and chlorinated hydrocarbons are the
most frequent contaminants found in groundwater.
The risks to human health and the environment vary considerably with the specific
contaminant. It is determined by the physical-chemical properties of the contaminants
such as: solubility, mobility, volatility, sorption capacity, persistence etc.
An assessment of the impacts of the above mentioned contaminants in soil and
groundwater would require a detailed knowledge of the local situation in each site (e.g.
type and amount of contaminants, hydro-geological conditions, land use, receptors, etc.)
and therefore cannot be carried out at European level. An assessment focussing on
problem areas of soil contamination in Europe, based on national data and a common
methodology, would be a feasible alternative. The limited response is mainly motivated by
the lack of resources and by restrictions in reporting site-specific information which is seen
as politically-sensitive in the absence of legally-binding obligations.
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nature and complexity of the activities which have been identified as sources of soil
contamination. Industrial and commercial activities are the sources most
frequently reported;
nature and complexity of contamination: the main contaminants identified include
heavy metals, the BTEX group (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes),
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons and other inorganic
compounds, as well as asbestos and mineral oil. The presence of these contaminants
makes the remediation particularly difficult and costly;
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nature and complexity of the impacts: the presence of several impacted or
threatened receptors, including land uses, has been reported in most of the problem
areas. This is seen as a major factor in determining the problem. The main receptors
include groundwater (seen mainly as a drinking water source), and urban and
industrial land uses. The impacts of contamination on surface waters, coastal areas
and food safety are also seen as relevant. By contrast, the impacts on ecosystems
seem not to be considered to be of high priority for remediation;
complexity of management and liability issues: the presence in the area of many site
owners is frequently reported;
limited progress achieved in remediation: in general the investigation and
implementation of remedial activities proceed at a fast pace in all the areas
analysed, while the rate of completion of remedial actions is still low.