European Soil Strategy Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals an overview Jan Japenga

European Soil Strategy Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals

an overview

Jan Japenga

Communication on Soils, April 2002

European Soil Strategy – Communication on Soils, 2002

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/soil/

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THEEUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection

April 2002

Main threats to soils were defined in a Communication on Soils by the EC, launching the European Soil Strategy:


Background of the 2002 Communication on Soils

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (1998) Prevent /reduce land degradation Rehabilitate/reclaim (partly) degraded land

6th Environmental Action Programme of the European Commission (2001) Protection of soils against erosion and pollution

EU Sustainable Development Strategy (2001) Soil loss and declining fertility erode the viability of

agricultural land


Purpose of the 2002 Communication on Soils

To build political commitment to soil protection

To turn soil protection in Europe more systematic

To describe the actual state of the soil in Europe in terms of eight defined threats to soil quality

To develop a legislative basis for soil monitoring to create a knowledge-based approach for soil protection

To initiate actions to create a comprehensive European Soil Strategy


Positioning of the 2002 Communication on Soils

Relation with existing/developing EU-policies & regulations:

Environmental policy Nitrates Directive Water Framework Directive

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html

Waste Framework Directive etc.

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) European Commission: Communication on Sustainable Development

(http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/eussd/)

Regional Policy and Structural Funds

Transport Policy











http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/eussd/







Website link for European policy paper overviews:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs_en.htm




Main threats cf. the 2002 Communication on Soils

Erosion

Contamination (local & diffuse)

Loss of soil organic matter

Decline of biodiversity

Compaction and other physical soil deterioration

Salinisation

Floods & landslides

Sealing


Threats are interrelated

Salinisation Compaction

Contamination Erosion Floods and Landslides

SealingBiodiversity

SOM losses

European Soil Strategy – Main threats to European Soils

Erosion





Salinisation

Floods & landslides

Sealing


Soil Contamination


Contamination

Introduction of (naturally occurring or man-made) chemicals in/onto the soil by point sources or by diffuse input sources.

Presence of contaminants in soils may cause risks of: food chain effects & adverse effects on human health

breakdown of soil buffering capacity

deteriorated ecosystem health and biodiversity losses

cross contamination to water bodies (groundwater & surface waters)

Risks may enforce or inhibit land use changes as risks vary with land use options


Contamination

Local (point) sources (past & present) mining activities (mine tailings, acid mine drainage)

(past & present) industrial facilities and military sites, mainly in Eastern Europe

waste landfills

Diffuse input sources atmospheric deposition (from industry, traffic, agriculture)

soil acidification, most important in Eastern Europe

heavy metals from fertilisers & manure

pesticides (mainly historic)

waste material applications (sewage sludge, sediments)


Contamination

Extent of the problem in Europe (local soil contamination)

300.000 to 1.500.000 polluted sites in Europe

3000 former military sites in Eastern Europe

high soil clean-up and polluted land management costs in some EU-countries

Netherlands: 550 MEuro and Spain 14 MEuro in 2000, which reflects a different perception of contamination severity

total expected clean-up costs in the European Union: 59.000 – 119.000 MEuro

Extent of the problem in Europe (diffuse soil contamination)

acidification causes release of heavy metals and aluminum in certain areas

radionuclides are persistent in forest areas

wide-spread soil-related water pollution (nitrogen, pesticides)


Technical Working Groups

European Soil Strategy – Technical Working Groups

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Multi-stakeholder Working Group Reports

Soil Thematic Strategy

After the 2002 Communication on Soils DG Environment decided to formulate a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection.

Five “Technical Working Groups” (TWG’s) were installed:

Monitoring Erosion Organic Matter Contamination Research


In 2004 all TWG’s delivered their final reports:

http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/soil/

library?l=/reports_working&vm=detailed&sb=Title


http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/soil/library?l=/reports_working&vm=detailed&sb=Title













Common approach for all TWG’s:

The eight threats to soils defined by the 2002 Communication on Soils

The DPSIR approach to structure problems and their solution






Main threats cf. the 2002 Communication on Soils

Erosion





Salinisation

Floods & landslides

Sealing










The DPSIR approach

Driver Pressure

State Impact

Response

European Soil Strategy – Technical Working Groups - DPSIR

Response

Driver

Impact

Pressure

State


Response

Driver

Impact

Pressure

State

RESPONSES:

Responses can address D, P, S & I, e.g dependent on soil type /soil use and threat.

Examples for contamination:

Industrial/mining soil Agricultural soil Contaminated soil


Response

Driver

Impact

Pressure

State

RESPONSES – industrial/mining soil ---- contamination threat

Response to impacts is extremelyexpensive

Response to drivers to avoid pressures is most adequate (input control, choice of soils, protective measures regarding pollutant accumulation)


Response

Driver

Impact

Pressure

State

RESPONSES – agricultural soil ---- contamination threat

Response to impacts is extremelyexpensive

Response to drivers to avoid pressures is inadequate. Agiculture unavoidably puts pressures on a soil.

Response to soil state is most convenient (input = output, avoiding accumulation)


Response

Driver

Impact

Pressure

State

RESPONSES – contaminated soil ---- contamination threat

Response to impacts (remediation, polluted land management) is expensive, but anavoidable as the soil state is already changed and already leads to impacts.

Impacts include decreased soil fertility, declining biodiversity, health risks.


Technical Working Groups (TWG’s):






Some conclusions and policy recommendations on soil contamination

Local sources: “point source safety”, environmental liability

Diffuse inputs: need for better regulations on the use of agricultural additives

Contaminated land management: adopt the RBLM approach (“Risk Based Land Management”)





The European Soil Research Agenda

European Soil Strategy – The European Soil Research Agenda

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Multi-stakeholder Working Group Reports

Soil Thematic Strategy

Research clusters as proposed by the TWG Research

1. Processes underlying soil functions and soil quality

2. Spatial and temporal changes of soil processes and parameters

3. Ecological, economic and social drivers of soil threats

4. Factors (“threats”) influencing soil eco-services

5. Strategies and operational procedures for soil protection

Cross-cutting and over-arching issues


RESEARCH

HUMAN

AIR HEALTH

BIOMASS

PRODUCTION

CULTURE

SURFACE

WATER

SOILBIODIVERSITY

GROUND

WATER

Soil eco-services


Research clusters as proposed by the TWG Research

1. Processes underlying soil functions and soil quality

2. Spatial and temporal changes of soil processes and parameters

3. Ecological, economic and social drivers of soil threats

4. Factors (“threats”) influencing soil eco-services

5. Strategies and operational procedures for soil protection

Phytoremediation


Phytoremediation of heavy metals

The use of plants in soil remediation and polluted land management



Phytoextraction

Plants extract heavy metals from the (moderately polluted) soil and the contaminated plant material is further treated

Phytostabilisation/revegetation/ecological restoration

Plants, in combination with soil treatment, are used to physically and chemically stabilise (heavily polluted soil) thus reducing the risks for humans and ecosystems


Phytoextraction of heavy metals

Critical Success Factors

High heavy metal uptake rates & high biomass production

Low leaching rates to avoid groundwater pollution



Approaches

Use of hyperaccumulators

Use of biodegradable soil additives to temporarily increase heavy metal uptake rates



Examples

Use of Miscanthus var. for the transformation of agricultural soil into forest soil (cadmium and phosphate removal)

Use of Berkheya coddii (hyperaccumulator) to remove nickel from soils around a smelter in South Africa. Nickel returned to the smelter


Phytostabilisation of heavy metals

Critical Success Factors

Low heavy metal uptake rates to avoid food-chain contamination

Low leaching rates to avoid groundwater pollution



Approaches

Use of a combination of vegetation and soil treatment (immobilisation of heavy metals, agonomic measures)

Perennial vegetation with good root system and low heavy metal uptake rate

Preference for local plant species (ecological restoration) or cash crops (e.g. energy crops)



Examples

Use of Miscanthus and Vetiver for the stabilisation of copper polluted soil in Tongling, China

Use of local species (Arabidopsis halleri) to stabilise heavy metal polluted dredged sediment in NW France



Phytostabilisation fits into the European Soil Strategy as it is a tool which can be used in “Risk Based Land Management” in combination with socio-economic measures.


CONCLUSION

Phytoremediation fits very well into the European Soil Strategy and in the European Soil Research Agenda.


Documents

European Soil Strategy Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals an overview Jan Japenga