CONTAMINATED LAND

MANAGEMENT
AGS (HK) - June 2013
Paul Kau

Objectives

Defining contamination
Brief introduction and understanding of
the HKSAR risk-based remediation
goals (RBRGs)
Pitfalls in using these goals

What is Contaminated Land?

Definition

Land is considered contaminated when

it contains hazardous substances in
concentrations that are above
background or naturally occurring
levels.
Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines, World Bank, April 2007.

Land which has been polluted by

hazardous substances as a result of
industrial operations .. pose
hazardous risks or cause detrimental
effects to the land users, the nearby
environment or even building materials.
HKSAR EPD ProPECC PN 3/94.

What is the Concern?

Contaminated land is a concern because:

Potential risk to human health (eg., risk of cancer)

Potential risk to ecology

loss of ecology
reduced crop yields
impact to food chain

Liability that it may pose to the polluter / business

owners and other affected parties
Asset Valuation
Perception and stigma

Where do the Contaminants come from?

- Underground storage tanks
- Pesticide use
- Percolation of contaminated surface
water to subsurface strata
- Oil and fuel dumping
- Leaching of wastes from landfills
- Direct discharge / spillage of industrial
wastes to the soil
- Mine tailings

and lots more !

So where do we start with managing

contamination?

HKSAR Regulations and Risk Concepts

Land Contamination Assessment and Preparation of CAP,

CAR and RAP
I. Contamination
Assessment Plan
(CAP)

III. Contamination
Assessment
Report (CAR)

Conduct Initial Site

Appraisal

IV. Remedial Action

Plan (RAP)
Prepare RAP and submit
both CAR and RAP to EPD
for approval
YES

II. Site
Investigation (SI)
Plan and
Design Site
Investigation

Obtain
endorsement of
CAP from EPD

June 21, 2013

Implement RAP
Site Concentrations
above RBRGs/
solubility/ Csat?

Assessment
Process
and CAR
preparation

10

Submit CAR to
EPD for approval

NO

After remediation,
submit a
Remediation Report
to EPD for record

Previous
System
Old
Clean-up
Criteria

ProPECC PN3/94

HK has no locally-derived standards for land

contamination assessment and has adopted the
Dutch Soil and Groundwater Protection Act since
1994.
Dutch levels were considered comprehensive in
terms of coverage of parameters and were the most
commonly used reference at the time
Dutch B was based on Netherland conditions for
protecting humans, local plants / animals under any
land-use type (ie., good for all).

New Clean-up CriteriaNew

Guidance Note

Guidance Note for Contaminated Land Assessment

and Remediation
Good practices for contamination assessment
study
Soil and groundwater sampling
Relevant land remediation measures
Risk-based remediation goals (RBRG)
promulgated on 15 August 2007, with 3 months
transition between Dutch B and RBRGs

Superceded the ProPECC PN 3/94 (Contaminated

Land Assessment and Remediation)

Concepts of Risk

Risk - probability of undesirable event

Risk of losing money
Risk to corporate reputation/public opinion - business
devalues
Risk to health and safety of people
Risk to health from COCs
Risk Management identification and actions to
avoid/reduce risk to an acceptable level

Health Risk Components

(e.g., COCs)

Health Risk Components

(e.g., COCs)

(e.g., fish/humans)

Health Risk Components

(e.g., COCs)

(e.g., fish/humans)

(e.g., ingestion / injection)

Health Risk Components

(e.g., COCs)

(e.g., fish/humans)

(e.g., ingestion / injection)

Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines, World Bank, April 2007.

Tier I / II Risk Assessment

A Tier 1 risk-based assessment involves generic

screening levels for on-site exposure, assuming default
exposure factors and site properties.

A Tier 2 risk-based assessment involves evaluating

baseline risks and/or site-specific target levels for both
on- and off-site receptors based on site-specific soil
and groundwater parameters (including the of transport
models in calculating risks and cleanup standards).

To replace the Dutch B, locally derived contaminated land

standards with Tier I risk-based remediation goals (RBRGs) has
been developed.

Guidance Manual for Use of RBRGs

Guidance Manual for Use of RBRGs for Contaminated Land
Management contains:

Uses source-pathway-receptor upset to develop

conceptual site model

Chemicals of concern (COC)

Define different types of landuse

Identify possible exposure pathways

RBRGs and Limitations

RBRGs and Limitations

In general, if RBRG limits are exceeded, remediation

will be required.

Limitations in the HK RBRGs, however, are present

due to assumptions:

Exposure pathways

Geophysical conditions

Precision and accuracy

Solubility of Metals

LNAPL
Light Non-Aqueous Phase
Liquids
Lighter than
water
If enough
accumulates, it floats on
water table
E.g. gasoline

Typical Sampling Depths

US Geological Survey Homepage

DNAPL
Dense Non-Aqueous
Phase Liquid
More dense
than water
Sink to low
permeability
layers
Move along
slope
e.g., TCE,
coal tar
components
of crude oil

After

Toxicity (LD50)
Monosodiumglutamate(MSG)

rat,oral

16,600 mg/kg

Melamine

rat,oral

6,000 mg/kg

TableSalt

rat,oral

3,000 mg/kg

Paracetamol (acetaminophen)

rat,oral

1,944 mg/kg

Aspirin(acetylsalicylicacid)

rat,oral

200 mg/kg

Caffeine

rat,oral

192 mg/kg

Nicotine

rat,oral

50 mg/kg

Sodiumcyanide

rat,oral

6.4 mg/kg

Dioxin(TCDD)

rat,oral

20 g/kg

Concentration - Part per million (ppm)

WATER:

SOIL:

Milligram per liter (mg/L)

Milligram per kilogram (mg/kg)
Microgram per gram (g/g)

Example: 4 drops (0.2 mL)

in a 200 Litre (45 gallon) drum

Concentration - Part per billion (ppb)

WATER: microgram per liter (g/L)

SOIL: microgram per kilogram (g/kg)
2.5 mL ( teaspoon) in an
Olympic sized Swimming Pool
(2,500,000 Litres)

25 m
2m
50 m

Precise Data, Limited Extent

Less Precise Data, Greater Extent

Thank you & Questions

Conceptual Site Model