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A proactive approach can make site remediation less expensive
Gontran F Bage1, Réjean Samson, Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, P.O. Box 6079, Station Centre-Ville Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Environmental Management
|January 6, 2005
Summary
Regulatory delays often lead to costly, ineffective site cleanups. This study shows that considering time and economic benefits encourages proactive remediation strategies for contaminated sites.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Engineering
- Risk Management
Background:
- Site remediation is often delayed due to lack of incentives, leading to regulatory-driven, rapid, and expensive technology choices.
- This approach can result in high remediation costs and negative net benefits, even for contaminated sites.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how time constraints and benefit values influence optimal remediation strategies for diesel-contaminated sites.
- To evaluate the impact of uncertainty in contamination levels on remediation decisions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the technico-economic model METEORS to simulate remediation strategies.
- Incorporated factors such as technology effectiveness, contamination uncertainty, pre-remediation characterization, and in-use monitoring.
Main Results:
- Simulations under economic and temporal constraints indicate that a proactive remediation approach is optimal.
- The study highlights the trade-offs between speed, cost, and effectiveness in site cleanup.
Conclusions:
- A proactive strategy, informed by technico-economic analysis, can lead to more beneficial site remediation outcomes.
- Considering both economic and temporal factors is crucial for effective environmental cleanup decisions.