Biological methods for assessment and remediation of contaminated land: case studies

Biological processes to treat contaminated land (bioremediation) have had widespread use in North America, several countries in mainland Europe, and in the UK. The general technical consensus is that remediation (biological or otherwise) should usually take place in a risk management context to break pollutant linkages. Risk assessment is the defining discipline for this management approach; conventional approaches are based on evaluations of contaminant toxicity and exposure to organisms (a function of bioavailability). The evaluations are informed by conceptual site models developed using site investigation data. This guide includes a series of case studies showing that bioremediation can cost-effectively treat a range of contaminants under redevelopment, transaction or proactive risk management scenario.