An ethical dimension to sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated areas

Lessons From the International Comparison of Contaminated Land Policies With Risk Governance in Japan, the Netherlands, and the Uk

“…Furthermore, it has been reported that 'more open and proactive style of risk communication and consultation' had led to less dissatisfaction in the community on brownfield land with contamination [16]. For radioactive contaminated land, 'a systematic consideration of ethical and social issues' is going to make a selection of countermeasures 'more transparent and less controversial for society' and assist in sustainable restoration and long-term management [17]. Therefore, social and economic factors need to be discussed not only to examine the decontamination approaches from the aspects of its technological effectiveness [1].…”

The STRATEGY project: decision tools to aid sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated agricultural ecosystems

“…Overarching considerations reflect the degree to which (i) the distribution of cost and benefits is equitable; (ii) the risks are imposed or voluntary; (iii) stakeholders 1 have been involved in the decision-making process; and (iv) the action carries a risk of serious environmental damage (Oughton, 1996;Oughton et al, 2004). Specific examples related to countermeasures are listed below.…”

“…Specific examples related to countermeasures are listed below. More information, including specific examples and the links to ethical values can be found in the 'second layer' information to datasheets in the STRATEGY compendium (see Section 2) and in Oughton et al (2003Oughton et al ( , 2004.…”

“…If such a selection is going to be ethically defendable, decision-makers require advice on what criteria are important to consider and why, and also a methodology to ensure a transparent and publicly justifiable procedure for balancing these criteria. As a procedure for ensuring a systematic consideration of ethical issues, and as guidance for stakeholder participation processes, the project has focused on the development and application of a value or ethical matrix (Forsberg and Kaiser, 2002;Oughton et al, 2003Oughton et al, , 2004.…”

Social and economic effects

“…This is supported by multidisciplinary research on the long-term management of radioactive contamination Oughton et al, 2004) which also stressed the importance of including the aected population with regard to self-help measures and consensus-driven, decision-making processes. In addition to respecting people's fundamental right to shape their own future and thereby increasing trust and compliance, such an approach may lead to proactive eorts made by people themselves, which also improve factors like costeectiveness.…”