Staying Safe in a Toxic World
blame. More testing can delay the clean-up. At talks about clean-up, the cost may seem like the biggest issue. Everyone seems to agree: “We would like to clean up.” But then the owner complains: “The cost is too high.” Jim Luker, an environmental consultant, noted, “Many times owners select the cheapest clean-up option. Years later tests show that the clean-up failed. Then the owner has to go back to square one and use a more expensive option. original estimated cost.” Picking the best plan should take into account:
the cost for clean-up the site history—knowing where to test and what contaminants to look for
plans for the property’s use risks to anyone using the property length of time for clean-up
Will all the contamination be gone?
In some cases, communities have asked property owners to make the site as clean as other land in the area. This is called cleaning up to back- ground levels.
The state can enforce a clean-up only to the standards it has set to protect people’s health. These may be higher or lower than background levels, so it’s worth looking into.
Martha Merson is the project director for Statistics for Action. For more on sampling, see SfA Soil Guide: Digging into the Dirt <
http://sfa.terc.edu>.
Tips for Soil Testing
On land where you know or suspect a problem, like an oil tank leak or dry collected: - tamination travels.
a school, playground, or wetland borders the property
with discolored soil or water with a sheen
with soil that has a chemical smell
where hazardous chemicals were stored or used
near the surface where people come into contact with the soil such as a playground
with trees that are sick or dying for no natural reason
These tips for sampling soil or water come from an environ- Protection.
I don’t Great, so
we all agree it’s time to
move ahead with cleaning up the property.
know. My land isn’t even worth a million dollars and the clean up will cost $5,000,000. This doesn’t make sense.
The Change Agent — March 2011
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