W.J. van den Brink - Böcker

A. Rorsch TNO Board of Management In 1985 the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, in cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry for Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment, took the initiative for a conference on an important environmental problem: contaminated soil and groundwater. We named it, somewhat self-assured, the First International TNO Conference on Contaminated Soil. And indeed the contamination of soils and groundwater proved to be an environmental issue of such an extent that soon after the successful first conference, TNO started preparations for a second one, this time in cooperation with the State Ministry for the Environment (Umweltbehorde) of Hamburg. And now we are on the brink of the third conference, organized together with the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe). We feel honoured that the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) is again generously supporting this conference, and has anew declared it a BMFT Status Seminar. The conference (generally referred to as Contaminated Soil '85, Contaminated Soil '88 and Contaminated Soil '90, respectively) has successively gained in importance and prestige, which is reflected by the increasing number of participants and contributions to the scientific programme.

A. Rorsch Member of the TNO Board of Management Like all living creatures man has from the very outset influenced the environment. Initially, the traces of human activity were hardly noticeable and so were their effects on the equilibrium of the ecosystem as such. However, as soon as man learned how to use tools, he was able to influence his surroundings more drastically, and to proliferate more rapidly. As a matter of fact that is the time when things went wrong, because a process was started off which was to continue with ever-increasing speed and on an ever­ increasing scale. The present condition of nature as a result of the activities of mankind is generally known. Whether it is an accident with a nuclear plant or the vanishing of tropical rain forests, acid deposition or the pollution of soil, water and air, environmental disasters almost seem to be the order of the day. It is striking that with all these - more or less arbitrary - examples the provision of energy plays a role. In this respect one can add an even more important energy carrier to the list, namely: crude oil.

W.A. de Jong President of TNO Until some decades ago man supposed that the resilience of the environment was unlimited. He thought he could draw heavily on nature with impunity and that he could infinitely dump his waste into the environment. We have come to know better now: virtually everyone is well aware that one cannot just go on burdening the environment of man, animal and plant to such an extent. TNO, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, is among those research institutions that are working on economically feasible solutions for pollution problems resulting from human activities. Soil contamination and remediation feature as important topics in TNO's environmental research programme. In view of the international scope of the problem, TNO organized an international conference on this subject in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in November 1985, which met with a worldwide response from the scientific community as well as from governments and industry. The international interest taken in soil contamination is underlined by the fact that the Second International Conference on Contaminated Soil takes place in a country where remedial action is being given high political priority.

Towards sustainable land use Dr. P. Folstar, Member of the TNO Board of Management Dr. M. Popp, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Research Centre Karlsruhe (FZK) Ten years ago, in 1985, TNO initiated the First Conference on Contaminated Soil in Utrecht. At that time, a rather complete inventory of suspected contaminated sites existed in The Netherlands. Time had come to consider further actions for investigations, evaluation and remediation. This concern has been spreading ever since to other European countries and throughout the world. In particular, German scientists and authorities soon recognized the significance of this problem, and consequently joined TNO in organizing and funding a forum for discussions in a series of conferences. Following three venues in German cities, the 5th conference in Maastricht, a Dutch as well as a European city, marks the increasing interest in the international scientific and political community. Application of the concept of sustainable development to soil as an essential element of human existence requires an answer to the question how to meet the needs of today's generation without impairing the possibilities of mankind in the future. As we do not know the needs of the future, especially regarding the functional requirements of soil use, we can hardly do better than starting from the present priorities. This can not mean to guarantee the quality of soil functions everywhere at any time.

These volumes contain the proceedings of the Fifth FZK/TNO Conference on Contaminated Soil. The themes discussed are as follows: 1. National and International Programmes. 2. Site Investigation. 3. Emission and Fate of Contaminants. 4. Characterization of Contaminated Soil. 5. Effects and Risks. 6. Standards and Protocols: Legal, Economic and Social Aspects. 7. Remediation of Contaminated Soil. 8. Sustainable Land Use. 9. Setting Priorities for Remediation Options. 10. Contributions from Workshops and Technical Sessions.

F. Arendt, XxX (Conference chairman) w. Harder, TNO (Conference co-chairman) The 1993 Berlin conference on contaminated sites is the fourth in a series of meetings initiated by the Netherlands Organization of Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in 1985 and later continued with the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research center (KfK) of Germany. The present economic stagnation or recession in many countries is leading to various proposals to reduce the level of costly environmental activities: restricted funds are used for really urgent cases rather than precautionary measures. The level of soil contamination caused by the former centrally planned economies adds to this tendency. The Conference tries to broach this controversy by discussing once more the targets and strategies of soil remediation with follow-up use of the site as an important parameter. Both new regulations and modifications of existing lists for a tolerable level of contamination are reviewed alike. Immobilization and enclosure of pollutants are often less expensive than complete remediat­ ion and, consequently, may grow in significance. We consider the conference of great significance for demonstrating the experiences gained with management and remediation of contaminated sites internationally, among others to avoid mistakes and excessive costs. Two new types of soil contamination became apparent after the end of the cold war. Many military sites, airfields and train­ ing grorinds are being abandoned. After decades of use, large sections and hot spots of these sites are polluted to a high average level.

A. Rorsch TNO Board of Management In 1985 the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, in cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry for Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment, took the initiative for a conference on an important environmental problem: contaminated soil and groundwater. We named it, somewhat self-assured, the First International TNO Conference on Contaminated Soil. And indeed the contamination of soils and groundwater proved to be an environmental issue of such an extent that soon after the successful first conference, TNO started preparations for a second one, this time in cooperation with the State Ministry for the Environment (Umweltbehorde) of Hamburg. And now we are on the brink of the third conference, organized together with the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe). We feel honoured that the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) is again generously supporting this conference, and has anew declared it a BMFT Status Seminar. The conference (generally referred to as Contaminated Soil '85, Contaminated Soil '88 and Contaminated Soil '90, respectively) has successively gained in importance and prestige, which is reflected by the increasing number of participants and contributions to the scientific programme.

W.A. de Jong President of TNO Until some decades ago man supposed that the resilience of the environment was unlimited. He thought he could draw heavily on nature with impunity and that he could infinitely dump his waste into the environment. We have come to know better now: virtually everyone is well aware that one cannot just go on burdening the environment of man, animal and plant to such an extent. TNO, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, is among those research institutions that are working on economically feasible solutions for pollution problems resulting from human activities. Soil contamination and remediation feature as important topics in TNO's environmental research programme. In view of the international scope of the problem, TNO organized an international conference on this subject in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in November 1985, which met with a worldwide response from the scientific community as well as from governments and industry. The international interest taken in soil contamination is underlined by the fact that the Second International Conference on Contaminated Soil takes place in a country where remedial action is being given high political priority.

A. Rorsch Member of the TNO Board of Management Like all living creatures man has from the very outset influenced the environment. Initially, the traces of human activity were hardly noticeable and so were their effects on the equilibrium of the ecosystem as such. However, as soon as man learned how to use tools, he was able to influence his surroundings more drastically, and to proliferate more rapidly. As a matter of fact that is the time when things went wrong, because a process was started off which was to continue with ever-increasing speed and on an ever­ increasing scale. The present condition of nature as a result of the activities of mankind is generally known. Whether it is an accident with a nuclear plant or the vanishing of tropical rain forests, acid deposition or the pollution of soil, water and air, environmental disasters almost seem to be the order of the day. It is striking that with all these - more or less arbitrary - examples the provision of energy plays a role. In this respect one can add an even more important energy carrier to the list, namely: crude oil.

Five billion people, at present the world population, inevitably affect the quality of the environment. The general public in an increasing number of countries is getting more and more concerned about this deterioration in quality. As a result many people cast doubts upon the desirability of the increase in energy consumption, the production of superfluous goods, ever-growing waste flows, harmful emissions of industrial processes, and so on. Actually, no one can simply ignore these issues. For instance, the authorities could introduce more environmental legislation aiming at a healthy environment; industries could change to cleaner production processes; the public at large should assume an even more conservation-minded attitude rather than confine themselves to shaking a finger at 'the industry'. In short, in all sectors of society there are often numerous ways and means of curbing environmental pollution. Clearly, environmental technology - the development and application of techniques to identify, quantify and reduce environmental problems - can make a substantial contribution here in many situations. Until now a large number of such new techniques have been developed. Many of these techniques not only appear to add greatly to reducing the burden on the environment, they sometimes also offer interesting economic advantages (savings in raw material and energy, etc.).