Environmental Risk Assessment of the Soil Contamination

Abstract
The Soil Pollution Remediation Law, which was put into effect in February 2003, obliges landowners to conduct investigations to check for soil contamination in their land, and to appropriately clean up any contamination which is discovered on the land. Cost-effective remediation designs and technologies must be established to effectively promote remedial action. The environmental risk assessment in this remediation program of soil contamination has been developed to determine remediation goals, and to assist in choosing the most cost-effective remedial options in terms of ecological and/or human health risks.
This report introduces recent developments in management and remediation of soil contamination. The concept of environmental risk assessment for soil contamination is summarized, mainly from the viewpoint of estimating exposure concentrations of the contaminant in each concerned media. Furthermore, a case study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the containment disposal facility in a contaminated site with regard to reduction of human health risks.

Key words: Soil Pollution Remediation Law, environmental risk assessment, contaminant, exposure assessment