Land recovery and man-made risks: a perspective from the EU accession countries

Contaminated Urban Soils

“…In Poland it is estimated that 70,000 ha occupied by the Army are contaminated with petroleun hydrocarbons due to oil spillages and with hazardous toxic substances due to illegal waste dumping and storage of toxic materials (Duffield et al 2000). In the Czech Republic about 50 seriously contaminated sites were identified, indicating high levels of toxic substances such as petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated hydrocarbons.…”

Land contamination risk management in Cameroon: A critical review of the existing policy framework

“…This could affect human health and environmental receptors including groundwater, surface waters (streams, lakes, rivers seas and oceans) and the mangroves. Uncertainties about the nature and significance of chemical contamination can be a major stumbling block hindering sustainable development, and increasing pressures on greenfield sites (Duffield et al, 2000). In a developing country such as Cameroon, this would translate to increased deforestation to create land for development, reduction in natural carbon sinks and contribution to local and global climate change.…”

“…Contaminated land which is typically a legacy of past, bad industrial and waste management practices (Gay and Korre, 2006) has been identified as one of the major threats of the soil resource in Europe (Duffield et al, 2000;Rodrigues et al, 2009b;Swartjesa et al, 2008). Land affected by contamination may present a risk to humans and ecological receptors such as flora and fauna, as well as water quality and property (Bone et al, 2010;DEFRA and EA, 2004;Fonge et al, 2011).…”