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Title: Resilient remediation: Addressing extreme weather and climate change, creating community value

Journal Article · · Remediation
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/rem.21585· OSTI ID:1567146
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11]
  1. U.S. Sustainable Remediation Forum, Piedmont, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Reading, Reading, (United Kingdom)
  3. Cranfield Univ., Cranfield Cranfieldd (United Kingdom)
  4. Farallon Consulting, L.L.C., Issaquah, WA (United States)
  5. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA (United States)
  6. CDM Smith, Edison NJ (United States)
  7. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). School of Environment
  8. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island Washington
  9. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  10. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)
  11. Wactor & Wick LLP, Oakland California
+ Show Author Affiliations

Devastating hurricanes experienced in recent years demonstrated that extreme weather and climate change can jeopardize contaminated land remediation and harm public health and the environment. Since early 2016, the Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF) has led research and organized knowledge exchanges to examine (1) the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on hazardous waste sites, and (2) how we can mitigate these impacts and create value for communities. The SURF team found that climate change and extreme weather events can undermine the effectiveness of the approved site remediation, and can also affect contaminant toxicity, exposure, organism sensitivity, fate and transport, long-term operations, management, and stewardship of remediation sites. Further, failure to consider social vulnerability to climate change could compromise remediation and adaptation strategies. SURF's recommendations for resilient remediation build on resources and drivers from state, national, and international sources, and marry the practices of sustainable remediation and climate change adaptation. They outline both general principles and site-specific protocols and provide global examples of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Opportunities for synergy include vulnerability assessments that benefit and build on established hazardous waste management law, policy, and practices. SURF's recommendations can guide owners and project managers in developing a site resiliency strategy. Resilient remediation can help expedite cleanup and redevelopment, decrease public health risks, and create jobs, parks, wetlands, and resilient energy sources. Resilient remediation and redevelopment can also positively contribute to achieving international goals for sustainable land management, climate action, clean energy, and sustainable cities.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1567146
Journal Information:
Remediation, Vol. 29, Issue 1; ISSN 1051-5658
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (16)

Effect of Ocean Acidification on the Speciation of Metals in Seawater journal December 2009
Complexities Surrounding China's Soil Action Plan journal May 2017
The global groundwater crisis journal October 2014
Challenges and strategies for urban green-space planning in cities undergoing densification: A review journal January 2015
Integrating the Social Dimension in Remediation Decision-Making: State of the Practice and Way Forward: Integrating the Social Dimension in Remediation Decision-Making journal December 2015
An emerging market for groundwater remediation in China: Policies, statistics, and future outlook journal January 2018
Resilience: A New Consideration for Environmental Remediation in an Era of Climate Change: Resilience: A New Consideration for Environmental Remediation in an Era of Climate Change journal December 2015
The toxicology of climate change: Environmental contaminants in a warming world journal August 2009
Nature-based Solutions: New Influence for Environmental Management and Research in Europe journal January 2015
Climate change mitigation potential of contaminated land redevelopment: A city-level assessment method journal January 2018
Optimising value from the soft re-use of brownfield sites journal September 2016
Climate change and environmental concentrations of POPs: A review journal November 2015
Sustainability: A new imperative in contaminated land remediation journal May 2014
The Development and Use of Sustainability Criteria in SuRF-UK’s Sustainable Remediation Framework journal May 2018
Framework for integrating sustainability into remediation projects journal June 2011
Sustainable remediation white paper-Integrating sustainable principles, practices, and metrics into remediation projects journal March 2009

Cited By (1)

Toxic trajectories under future climate conditions journal December 2019

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