Newsletter - May
2009
Website:
www.sednet.org
Compiled by: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@tno.nl)
Subscription Service: SedNet Secretariat (marjan.euser@tno.nl)
Disclaimer: SedNet is not responsible for faults due to
incorrectness of info in this newsletter
Previous issues:
www.sednet.org
CONTENTS
SedNet conference on
7-9 October 2009, Hamburg, Germany
The Role of Sediments in Coastal Management
The issue of Sediment Management is
rising on the European agenda. Sediment topics will be
an element of River Basin Management Plans to be
published in 2009 under the Water Framework Directive.
Sediment Management is one element of a European Working
Group on Estuarie Management, organised by DG
Environment of the EU Commission. Sediments are
explicitly mentioned in new EU legislation, like the
Directive on Environmental Quality Standards in the
field of water policy, the Marine Strategy Directive,
and the Waste Directive.
In Europe the largest amounts of sediments have to be
dredged in the North Sea region, where the natural
sediment regime in the sea leads to high sedimentation
in ports, harbours and waterways. Additionally,
sediments gain in importance due to sea level rise and
loss of fine grained sediments in the Wadden Sea.
On this background SedNet organises its 6th
International 2-day Conference on Sediment Management in
Hamburg. Here still ongoing river restoration challenges
coincide with dredging needs and sediments play a
central role. The region is a good example to discuss
cross-cutting science-policy issues.
At the beginning of the conference a report will be
given from the SedNet Round Table Discussion on
“Implementation of sediment management issues into the
first RBM Plans”.
On day 3, after the conference, a Special Session under
the title “Managing the Elbe Estuary” will cover local
challenges and solutions.
Special Session on 9 October 2009:
Managing the Elbe Estuary
In the Port of Hamburg regular dredging is necessary to
maintain safe water depths for navigation. In the 1980’s
when contamination of Elbe sediments was on a high level
a comprehensive dredged material management concept was
developed. Central element is land treatment and
disposal of dredged contaminated Elbe sediments.
Nowadays challenges have changed. The port is situated
at the upper end of the Elbe estuary, about 100 km away
from the North Sea. Nature conservation objectives to
preserve and enhance the precious estuary ecology are
sought to be combined with needs of navigation and water
depth maintenance. Today the larger part of dredged
sediments is relocated in the aquatic system. Special
nature conservation measures can also lead to reduction
of sedimentation and thus of dredging needs.
In a Special Session “Managing the Elbe Estuary” this
concept will be explained in 4 plenary presentations.
After that a site visit will show the land treatment and
disposal facilities. Participants will see the world’s
largest operating dredged material treatment facility
METHA. Here 1 million cubic meters of sediments are
separated into sand and silt, the silt is dewatered.
After this it is safely stored in a special confined
disposal site or is beneficially used. Also the Francop
disposal site will be part of the visit.
The detailed conference program is available from
www.sednet.org.
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Environmental Quality Standards for
Sediments
Early this year SedNet gave an official
response to the Draft Technical Guidance for Deriving
Environmental Quality Standards under the Water
Framework Directive, published in December 2008. In an
earlier phase, the SedNet Steering Group sent
recommendations to EU working groups giving advice to
the European Commission on how to derive sediment-EQS
for organic pollutants. These recommendations are also
based on the discussion in the session on sediment
quality standards in the SedNet Conference held in Oslo,
May 27th-29th 2008.
| The response by SedNet sent to the European Commission (January
26th, 2009) contained the following main points: |
| 1.
|
SedNet acknowledges the tremendous work put into the
Draft Technical Guidance for Deriving EQS under the
Water Framework Directive and basically supports the
recommendations given therein. |
| 2.
|
In the international community of ‘sediment’
scientists, users, and managers an intensive discussion
about the possible role of Sediment Quality Standards (SQS)
took place during the last ten years. The results from
this discussion were, inter alia, published in
literature of SETAC (2005)1 and SedNet (Barcelo et al.
20062; Heise et al. 20063). A special session of the 5th
International SedNet Conference (Oslo, Norway, 27th-29th
May 2008) was devoted to the issue of SQS. SedNet
recognises that most of the conclusions drawn from this
fruitful scientific process are considered in the
existing draft. |
| 3.
|
SedNet would particularly like to affirm that:
● With the recent state of knowledge SQS cannot simply
be used for any compliance checking. However, when
discussing management goals it is of the same importance
to state that river basin managers should thoroughly
take into account requirements towards sediment quality.
SQS should be set adequately to these management goals
and should be used to trigger risk assessment studies
when exceeded. In that respect, for example, the
secondary poisoning through the food chain caused by
contaminated sediments should be given attention.
● Tiered approaches are the best way to deal with the
intrinsic uncertainties of setting and applying SQS.
Thus, SedNet welcomes the tiered assessment framework
for sediments suggested in the guideline. At the same
time SedNet would like to emphasize the need for a
flexible implementation of the framework, for example,
using multiple lines of evidence which are related to
the central management objectives in a certain river
basin and to further develop it according to improved
knowledge.
● Monitoring designs in the river basins should be
adequate to the objectives of the tiered approach and
the selected lines of evidence. |
| 4.
|
SedNet would like to have more emphasize in the
following areas:
● So far, in the Technical Guidance the need for
sediment and/or biota quality standards is mainly
motivated by the undetectable low concentrations of
lipophilic pollutants in the water phase and analytical
complications (e.g. section 1.2, line 242 ff). However,
the reasons linked to the role of sediments in aquatic
systems should be weighted adequately. So, the relevance
of the exposure of chemicals through the food chain is
not only important for secondary poisoning in
terrestrial organisms, but also for aquatic
invertebrates and fish. EQS based on waterborne
exposures are not protective in all cases because their
exclusive use could neglect other exposure pathways,
e.g. the ingestion of contaminated sediments.
● Management at river basin scale is one of the main
ideas of the WFD which should be followed also with
regard to SQS. They should be linked to the functions
and the functioning of a river basin and to the
management objectives followed therein. Most probably,
differences between river basins will result in
basin-specific use of SQS. Furthermore, the objectives
in a river basin will be much more complex than just to
protect the benthic community. The proper use of SQS
should account for this. |
| 5.
|
The general statements in the SedNet reponse to the
Draft Technical Guidance for Deriving EQS under the
Water Framework Directive is listed above. In addition,
a number of detailed remarks and recommendations have
been submitted directly from members of the SedNet
community. |
1 SETAC (2005):
Use of Sediment Quality Guidelines and Related
Tools for the Assessment of Contaminated
Sediments: Proceedings from the Pellston
Workshop on Use of Sediment Quality Guidelines
and Related Tools for the Assessment of
Contaminated Sediments, 18-22 August 2002,
Fairmont, Montana, USA. Editor Richard J.
Wenning (ISBN 1880611716, 9781880611715).
2
Barceló (2006): Sustainable management of
sediment resources. Vol. 1. Sediment quality and
impact assessment of pollutants. Ed.s: D.
Barceló and M Petrovic. Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam
and Oxford, 2007. (ISBN-13: 978-0-444-51962-7)
3
Heise (2006): Sustainable management of sediment
resources. Vol. 3. Sediment risk management and
communication. Ed.: S. Heise. Elsevier B.V.,
Amsterdam and Oxford, 2007. (ISBN-13:
978-0-444-51965-8) |
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SedNet eNews special on RBMP
If you missed the eNews special on SedNet’s observations
on sediment management in River Basin Management Plans,
you can find a copy
here.
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SedNet event 2010
Prof. Alexandra Katsiri of the National Technical
University of Athens volunteered to be the nucleus for a
local organising team for a SedNet conference in 2010 in
Greece.
This will cover again all sediment related issues, from
science over management to policy. Its special focus
should be on the Mediterranean region. A subject like
the management of tailing dam sediments and spills from
mining activities can be dealt with, which is of special
importance for Greece. There management of dredged
material is another “hot issue”.
With the SedNet link to UNESCO-ISI also world-wide
issues may be addressed.
More information will become available in October 2009.
For the time being the SedNet Steering Group is seeking
for more interested individuals and institutions in the
Mediterranean countries who would like to support this
event.
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SEDAG – Sediment Advisory Group
| The SETAC Sediment Advisory Group (SEDAG) met on
November 18, 2008 at the Tampa Convention Center in
Tampa, FL during the North America SETAC meeting. Chris
Ingersoll (U.S. Geological Survey) led the meeting on
behalf of Susanne Heise (Hamburg University of Applied
Sciences). Brief descriptions of the eight new SEDAG
work groups were presented to participants. The work
groups and their corresponding work group chairs include:
|
| •
|
Behaviour, Fate and Bioavailability of Particle Bound
Contaminants in Changing Aquatic Environments, chaired
by Susanne Heise,
Susanne.heise@haw-hamburg.de
|
| •
|
Ecosystem-Based Sustainable Sediment Management,
chaired by Sabine E. Apitz,
drsea@mudineye.plus.com
|
| •
|
Guidance on PAHs in Aquatic Environments, chaired by
Judy L. Crane, judy.crane@state.mn.us
|
| •
|
Harmonization of Methods for Assessing Contaminated
Sediments, chaired by Chris Ingersoll,
cingersoll@usgs.gov
|
| •
|
Response of Sediment-Contaminant Systems to
Disturbances and Climate Change, chaired by Philip N.
Owens, owensp@unbc.ca
|
| •
|
Reviewing Sediment Targets Used for Water Policy,
chaired by Adrian Collins,
adrian.collins@adas.co.uk
|
| •
|
Sediment Quality in Tropical Countries, chaired by
Gerardo Gold-Bouchot,
ggold@mda.cinvestav.mx
|
| •
|
Watershed Level Assessment of Contaminant Fate and
Transport in Sediments to Build Conceptual Site Models,
chaired by AmyMarie Accardi-Dey,
aaccardi-dey@PIRNIE.COM
|
The work groups are not limited to SETAC members. Every
person interested in sediments and in the specific
topics can join. The work groups are just starting to
initiate activities and post information on the SETAC
Communities web page at communities.setac.net (from here,
log in to reach the SEDAG Communities web page). For
example, the work group on Guidance on PAHs in Aquatic
Environments held its first meeting on November 19, 2008
at the Tampa Convention Center, and the minutes of this
meeting are available on the SEDAG Communities web page.
Information on how to access and use the SETAC
Communities Portal is available at:
http://www.setac.org/node/156.
Please contact the work group chairs directly to join a
work group. For general information about SEDAG, contact
Susanne Heise at
Susanne.heise@haw-hamburg.de.
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Lessons learned in RiskBridge on sediment risk
governance
The final conference of the EC FP6 Coordination Action
(CA) project RiskBridge (www.riskbridge.eu) was held in
Brussels on 26-27 March 2009. The objective of
RiskBridge is to build robust, integrative
inter-disciplinary governance models for emerging and
existing risks. This is done by comparing and exchanging
of experiences in six different ‘risk fields’:
biotechnology/stem cell research, radioactive waste,
nanotechnology, climate change, electromagnetic fields
and sediments.
The members of the ‘sediment risk field’ (Ramon Batalla,
Jos Brils, Matjaz Mikos, Henk Senhorst, Adriaan Slob,
Jaap van der Vlies and Rick Wenning) characterized
sediment risk governance as "the culmination of
consideration of the many options that stakeholders and
institutions, both public and private, together apply to
the management of sediment".
| Based on 5 sediment management case studies prepared by
the ‘sediment risk field members’, the following
conclusions regarding the lessons learned in risk
governance from sediment management were identified: |
| •
|
Sediment is an important environmental requirement, as
well as a critical requirement of society; |
| •
|
Perceptions of risk associated with sediment are
difficult to merge and resolve among stakeholders,
suggesting that raising awareness through education is
needed; |
| •
|
Pure
“technocratic” risk governance approaches do not
work in sediment management, and hence, there is
considerable room for improvement of sediment risk
governance approaches; |
| •
|
Improvements in risk governance may be achieved by
improving the understanding of the role of sediment in
river systems and the human built environment, as well
as the means by which society interferes with these
functions. |
It is evident that a certain level of uncertainty will
always remain in the context of sediment management.
Society may accept this uncertainty with the
understanding that a flexible, adaptive approach to
management actions will be adopted as new information
becomes known. This may be one of the most important
policy changes to consider for managing sediments in
Europe.
Based on the exchange of experiences reported by other
participants in RiskBridge working in the 5 risk fields
in addition to sediments, it is evident that a thorough
analysis and shared perception by stakeholders of what
constitutes a “problem” is necessary for addressing
actual or perceived risks associated with technologies
and events. Further, stakeholders need to have a common
understanding of the “sense of urgency” when they
develop and implement responses to risk. These two
conditions (problem definition and problem response) are
absolute prerequisites for any process of change in
response to risk governance by whatever methodology
available in science and policy. To frame this
conclusion differently: it is evident from the
RiskBridge program — and particularly the sediment risk
field — that the quality of the answer or response to
risk depends on the quality of the question or reaction
to the condition of risk. Thus, society, policy makers,
and decision makers need to take the time for thorough
problem framing and for gradual building of risk
governance models that are inclusive. “Inclusive” means
competent, knowledge based, cost effective, fair, and
consultative by involving all stakeholders and by
integrating their concerns and perceptions.
Inspired by the projehtp and its outcome, the ‘sediment
risk field members’ prepared a series of papers that
will be submitted shortly (as one series) to the peer
reviewed SETAC journal "Integrated Environmental
Assessment and Management" (IEAM, see:
www.setac.org).
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German Working group on "Sediments and Water Quality"
The Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) is the
largest chemical society in continental Europe with
members from academe, industry and other areas. The
society was founded in 1949 but builds on a long
tradition that began in 1867 when its first predecessor
organization, the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft was
founded in Berlin. The work of the society is structured
by divisions and working groups, among them the
Waterchemical Society. Under the umbrella of the
Waterchemical Society in 2002 a working group on "Sediments
and Water quality" was established. The recent meeting
of this group was held in February 2009 in Berlin. There
the group continued to discuss processes affecting the
sediment quality in rivers.
Sediment dynamics within a typical groyne field of the
River Elbe
River sediments store large quantities of hazardous
contaminants, because in the past, large quantities of
pollutants were discharged by e.g. sewage and mining
waters into the rivers. Many contaminants, such as heavy
metals and organic micropollutants, are adsorbed to
fine-grained sediments. Particle bound contaminants were
deposited and accumulated over years in regions of low
flow velocities – such as groyne fields. In recent years,
the immission of pollutants has been reduced drastically.
As a consequence, the older contaminated sediments are
covered by less polluted younger deposits.
Investigations on sediments in groyne fields of the
River Elbe showed a significant increase of pollutant
concentration with depth.
The amount of deposited sediments within groyne fields
is subject to a large variability, depending on
discharge conditions and suspended matter concentrations
in the past. In periods with normal discharge, mainly
deposition of suspended matter occurs, whereas extreme
flood events may remobilize the sediments and transport
them downstream to the Estuary/Sea. The Middle Elbe has
around 3000 groyne fields constructed particular to the
river banks to maintain a desired navigation channel. It
is expected, that each groyne field store a large amount
of highly polluted sediments. Therefore, the groyne
fields in the River Elbe can be regarded as temporal
sinks and sources of pollutants. The floods in 2002 and
2006 have illustrated this drastically.
In order to quantify the sedimentation/erosion dynamics
within a typical groyne field of the River Elbe, the
University of Stuttgart monitored in cooperation with
the ELANA Company the sediment volume within a groyne
field near Magdeburg over the last 4 years. The first
measurement in December 2005 delivered a sediment volume
of 650 m³. After the big flood event in spring 2006, the
bed morphology was surveyed again with a volume of 590
m³. The decrease of 60 m³ maybe attributed to the
erosive discharge conditions during the flood event. In
April 2007 and July 2008 an increase of the sediment
volume was observed (total volume: 598 m³ resp. 610 m³),
which indicates that deposition processes dominated
after the flood in spring 2006. An analysis of the
gauged discharge data supports this assumption, because
after April 2006 no erosive flood was recorded.
The investigation illustrates the importance of groyne
fields for the sediment transport in rivers. Therefore
the quantification of polluted groyne field sediments
potentially available for erosion is essential for
assessing the environmental impact on the water body and
the soil of the floodplains.
Contact:
Dipl.-Geoecol. Th. Jancke, University of Stuttgart,
Institute for Hydraulic Engineering;
jancke@iws.uni-stuttgart.de
Biogeochemistry of a minerotrophic fen during a water
table fluctuation
Peatlands cover only a small surface area, yet they
store about 24 % of the world’s soil carbon stocks and
have thus acted as a significant carbon sink since the
last deglaciation. As mineralization in peatlands
depends to a large extend on hydrological conditions and
temperature, climate change scenarios of increasing
temperatures and altered precipitation patterns in
temperate regions can be expected to affect this carbon
sink function. On the other hand, peatlands contribute
also to the natural global methane emissions, with
methane being produced in the permanently waterlogged
soil. Therefore, the consequences of climate change for
biogeochemistry of peatlands is of great interest.
Within the framework of the DFG Research Group FOR 562,
a minerotrophic fen located in North-Eastern Bavaria (elevation
approx. 750 m, mean annual precip. 1020 mm) was
subjected to an intensified drought and rewetting cycle
to simulate a dry summer with a heavy precipitation
event. To understand the impact of such events on
peatlands, we traced below ground redox sensitive
species, CO2 and CH4 concentrations. We hypothesized
that a drying and rewetting cycle would renew
alternative electron acceptors for anaerobic respiration
in the soil after being rewetted. Furthermore,
methanogenesis would be temporarily suppressed due to
preferential reduction of alternative electron acceptors,
such as nitrate, ferric iron and sulfate. Additionally,
aerobic mineralization during drought could enhance peat
decomposition.
Inducing a drought phase by means of lowering the water
table via drainage and using a temporary roof
construction successfully aerated the peat soil and
alternative electron acceptors for anaerobic respiration
were provided through re-oxidation of ferrous iron and
sulfides. Due to the dense nature of the fen peat,
lowering the water table had, however, hardly any effect
on total soil respiration. Nevertheless, a water table
fluctuation of about 50 cm sufficed to provide electron
accepting capacity to support anaerobic respiration for
about 100 days. One may thus derive from this study that
more pronounced water table fluctuations due to climate
change may effectively fuel anaerobic respiratory
activity in peat through provision of alternative
electron acceptors. Methanogenesis was also temporarily
suppressed during drought, an effect that lingered on
for a time scale of 1-3 months after rewetting of the
peat and thus re-onset of anaerobic conditions. Locally,
however, methanogenesis became a viable process in
distinct micro-niches before complete reduction of
alternative electron acceptors on the soil horizon scale.
The observation of fastest recovery of methane
production in the uppermost soil underlines the
importance of labile carbon compounds provided by the
vegetation. In this uppermost part of the profile –
probably also relevant for emission – the microbial
community was apparently well adapted to redox
fluctuations.
Using analysis of hydrogen concentrations, mass
balancing on the horizon scale and isotope analysis of
CO2 and CH4 we concluded that distinct redox processes
under these fluctuating conditions proceeded in distinct
micro-niches. Fluctuating redox conditions thus created
and renewed redox boundaries fuelling anaerobic
respiration by provision redox gradients to be exploited
by microbial metabolism. It may be concluded that
systems affected by redox fluctuations, i.e. through
aeration or provision of oxygen rich waters, can support
a wide range of microbial respiratory pathways
apparently proceeding in parallel, but separated on a
very small aggregate scale. This may be expected to
cause a high efficiency of decomposition processes,
causing probably further degradation of fens. On the
other hand, in river sediments characterized by distinct
redox micro-habitats, such a zonation may be favorable
for effective removal of contaminants.
Contact:
Dr. Klaus-Holger Knorr; Dept. of Hydrology, University
of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
(kh.knorr@uni-bayreuth.de,
http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/fg_bp/)
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Venice Platform Initiative
SedNet is one of the signatories of the Venice Platform
Declaration. The subscribing parties, representatives of
maritime, marine and coastal networks, respond to the
invitation of the European Commission to engage in a
cooperation process, which will support European
Maritime Policies in several ways: by assisting in the
definition of policy priorities related to coastal and
maritime matters; by cooperating on issues of common
concern; by taking greater benefit of the widespread
available knowledge and experience in Europe; by making
a more efficient use of mutual resources and investments.
In particular, the Platform intends to organize a
Stakeholder Forum to voice at the European level the
shared objectives and concerns of the network
organizations and seeks to achieve a permanent and
constructive dialogue with the different authorities and
more specifically the European institutions.
The next steps of the initiative will be explored and
discussed at the workshop “An all embracing stakeholder
platform for a holistic maritime policy”, that will be
held at the Maritime Day on 19 May in Rome (http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/maritimeday/index_en.html).
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News from PIANC, the World Association for Waterborne
Transport Infrastructure
Water Framework Directive
PIANC has set up a web page about the Water Framework
Directive with plenty of useful information:
http://www.pianc.org/euwfd.asp
Launch of PIANC’s ‘Working with Nature’ position paper
Since their October 2007 meeting in Japan, PIANC’s
EnviCom has been working to prepare a new PIANC position
paper entitled Working with Nature. The paper has
evolved through an iterative process involving not only
EnviCom members but also PIANC’s partner associations on
EnviCom, particularly CEDA and IADC.
Working with Nature calls for an important shift in
thinking in our approach to navigation development
projects to help deliver mutually beneficial, ‘win-win’
solutions. It promotes a proactive, integrated approach
which:
● focuses on achieving the project objectives in an
ecosystem context rather than assessing the consequences
of a predefined project design;
● focuses on identifying win-win solutions rather than
simply minimising ecological harm.
Working with Nature thus considers the project
objectives firstly from the perspective of the natural
system rather than from the perspective of technical
design. However, Working with Nature does not mean that
we no longer achieve our development objectives: rather
it ensures that these objectives are satisfied in a way
which maximises opportunities and - importantly -
reduces frustrations, delays and associated extra costs.
The paper discusses the extent to which the Working with
Nature concept can already be put into practice, as well
as some of the outstanding challenges. It also
recognises that developing and delivering such win-win
initiatives will take more innovation and imagination in
some cases than in others. Notwithstanding such
challenges, PIANC is convinced that the rewards of
Working with Nature will extend far beyond the natural
environment into social and economic aspects.
The full text of the Working with Nature paper can be
read at
http://www.pianc.org/downloads/envicom/Working with
Nature final position paper-e.pdf
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EuroGeoSurveys
EuroGeoSurveys is the Association of the Geological
Surveys of Europe.
Objectives of EGS are, amongst others, to jointly
address issues of common interest and to provide
technical information to the EU and to national decision
makers.
Recently a Geochemial Atlas of Europe has become
available on
www.gtk.fi/publ/foregsatlas; it is also
available on CD.
Other interesting activities: working Group Geochemistry,
EU-SEASED database about marine sediments, detailed maps
of hotspots (useful for those who are working on
ecological quality standards).
More info at
www.eurogeosurveys.org or download a
presentation about EGS via
www.sednet.org
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Evaluating risks from contaminated soil: a standardised
approach
(From DG Environment’s News Alert Service)
In 2005, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC)
initiated a long-term research network to promote the
development of common risk assessment tools for
contaminated land in Europe. Under HERACLES (Human and
Ecological Risk Assessment for Contaminated Land in
European Member States) researchers investigated the
methods, used by Member States, to determine possible
dangers from contaminated soils, to human health and the
environment.
Research focused on three areas, or pillars, of risk
assessment:
• Relative Risk Assessment – methods used to identify
contaminated sites at a regional level
• Screening Risk Assessment – methods for setting
screening or threshold values of contaminants in soil
• Site-specific Risk Assessment –site level assessment
of contamination risks to human health and the
environment
The study found that only three countries, Germany,
Finland and The Netherlands, had approved guidelines on
assessing ecological risks of contaminated land. However,
many Member States have or are developing ecologically
based threshold soil concentrations, although these have
yet to be fully integrated into soil quality standards.
Wide variations in the procedures for ecological risk
assessments were found across European countries. The
researchers attributed these differences primarily to
political and scientific factors, with regulatory,
social, cultural and geographical influences also
contributing to non-standardised approaches. Political
decisions influence the importance given to assessing
ecological risks: for example, which species are
considered to be at risk from contaminated soils in a
particular area.
However, possibilities exist for harmonising the
scientific and technical elements of risk assessments,
creating standard tools for soil risk assessment across
the EU.
One major difficulty is determining ecological damage at
individual sites. Other studies have shown that a TRIAD
concept, based on combining evidence from risk
assessments of soil contamination in three areas:
chemical, toxicological and ecological, could be
implemented as part of the harmonisation process. The
researchers suggest development of the TRIAD approach
could play an important role in standardising
site-specific risk assessment tools.
See also:
http://eusoils.jrc.it/ESDB_Archive/eusoils_docs/other/EUR22805.pdf
(A JRC Scientific and Technical Report)
Source: Swartjes, F.A., Carlon, C., de Wit, N.H.S.M.
(2008). The possibilities for the EU-wide use of similar
ecological risk-based soil contamination assessment
tools. Science of the Total Environment. 406: 523-529.
Contact: FA.Swartjes@rivm.nl
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Recently published
“Contaminated Sediments” in the series “The Handbook of
Environmental Chemistry”, Vol. 5 : Water Pollution,
Part 5T.
Kassim, Tarek A.; Barceló, Damia (Eds.) - ISBN:
978-3-540-88013-4
When discussing the issue of contamination of the
aquatic environment, water pollution is still the major
aspect that has been regulated and extensively studied,
but poor attention has been devoted to sediments.
Sediments have been described as the sink or storage
place and a source for contaminants entering river
systems through various pathways. But bottom sediments
have various functions in the environment, such as
providing habitat for many aquatic organisms, and are an
important component of aquatic ecosystems.
This volume of the Handbook deals with various aspects
of sediment contamination such as the fate and behaviour
of persistent organic pollutants, the application of
sediment toxicity identification evaluation (TIE)
protocols, and the various ways to degrade toxic
pollutants from sediments. Overall the book provides
readers the fundamental knowledge needed to better
understand the complex issue of contaminated sediments.
http://www.springer.com/environment/air/book/978-3-540-88013-4
Handbook on Integrated Water Resources Management in
Basins
The handbook, the first of this kind on this topic, is
addressing, as a priority, basin managers, water
professionals and representatives of public authorities
– governments and local authorities - who have to make
decisions related to water management and who must
protect aquatic ecosystems, while trying to limit
conflicts between the various users. The handbook also
concerns non-governmental stakeholders (NGOs,
professional organizations, users’ associations, etc.)
concerned by water uses or environmental protection and
which are involved in activities in basins.
The advices provided in this document can be applied in
basins, whatever the situation (developed or developing
countries, wet or arid climate, national or
transboundary river basins) or the method used for water
governance.
The English and French electronic versions of the
Handbook can be downloaded free of charge from the INBO
and GWP websites:
http://www.riob.org/gwp/handbook/GWP-INBOHandbookForIWRMinBasins.pdf
- (1,290 MB).
The printed version or CD-ROM can be requested free of
charge, within the limit of the available stock, by
E-mails to gwp@gwpforum.org or
riob@riob.org
Published by:
• the Global Water Partnership (GWP), an international
network which aims at water safety in the world.
www.gwpforum.org and
• the International Network of Basin Organizations,
www.inbo-news.org.
PIANC has recently published 2 new reports:
PIANC publication “Dredging management practices for the
environment - A structured selection approach”, EnviCom
report of WG 100 – 2009
The Working Group Envicom was set up as a forum for
development of prudent guidance for selection of
management practices designed to provide environmental
protection in dredging projects. The report provides
guidance for consideration and selection of management
practices for environmental protection based on
objective science and engineering-based factors and
specifications. It describes in brief the full process
of a dredging project from conception to the operational
phase and indicates where and how in this process the
essential decisions on the implementation of management
practices should be taken. An additonal CD-ROM provides
detailed descriptions of potential management practices
and comprehensive information.
An article about the report can be found at
http://www.terra-et-aqua.com/dmdocuments/terra114_1.pdf
PIANC publication “Dredged material as resource”
EnviCom report of WG 104 – 2009
Contrary to conventional wisdom, most dredged material
is clean, natural product and, far from being a waste,
can be an important environmental and economic resource,
as shown in two case studies: the rehabilitation of a
brownfield at Fasiver, Belgium and the creation of a
wetland in Wallasea, UK.
An article about the report can be found at
http://www.terra-et-aqua.com/dmdocuments/TA112_1.pdf
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Calls for Abstracts
Multiple Stressors – Novel methods for integrated risk
assessment, Aarhus, Denmark, 28-30 September 2009
Papers in the following areas are welcomed:
• integration of environmental and human risk assessment
• assessment of chemical mixtures and combinations of
chemicals and natural stressors
• understanding complex exposure scenarios, and
• understanding the cognitive and knowledge-related,
social and contextual aspects of integrated risk
assessment.
Papers that focus on the development of advanced methods
in areas such as tracking the fate of chemicals, the
effects of chemical mixtures and combinations of natural
stressors and chemicals, toxicokinetics, toxicogenomics,
modelling, social science and data handling will be
particularly welcome. This applies especially where such
methods have potential for improving environment and
human health by reducing the risk from chemical exposure.
Deadline for submitting abstracts: 1 June 2009.
More info at
http://nomiracle.jrc.ec.europa.au
GreenRemediation
Incorporating Sustainable Approaches in Site Remediation
International Conference on 9-10 November 2009 in
Copenhagen, Denmark
The objective of the GreenRemediation Conference is to
improve the awareness of green remediation solutions
among environmentalists and decision makers. Main topics
are:
• Policy Drivers
• Decision Support Tools
• Sustainable Remediation Technologies
The conference is organized by Danish EPA, Information
Centre on Contaminated Sites - DANISH REGIONS and The
Capital Region of Denmark in collaboration with the
consultancy companies NIRAS, GEO, COWI, Rambøll and DMR.
The Scientific Committee is formed by representatives
from US EPA, Austrian EPA and scientific capacities from
the Nordic countries, Austria, France the UK and the US.
Deadline for abstracts is 8 June 2009. Conference
programme will be available from June 30, 2009.
More information and abstract guidelines are available
at
http://www.polytec.dk/GreenRemediation
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Upcoming events
2009:
27-30 May 2009: Global Change – Challenges for Soil
Management. Venue: Tara Mountain, Serbia.
Organized by the World Association of Soil and Water
Conservation, Belgrade University, World Association for
Sedimentation and Erosion Research, European Society of
Soil Conservation.
For more info please contact
miodrag.zla@sbb.rs or
mizlatic@yahoo.com
28-29 May 2009: Seminar on Synergies between River
Restoration and River Management – Natura2000 and Ramsar
sites, Lelystad, the Netherlands. Organised by the
European Centre for River Restoration (ECRR).
www.ecrr.org
24-25 June 2009: Final conference of SOCOPSE – Source
Control of Priority Substances in Europe, Maastricht,
the Netherlands. SOCOPSE aims at supporting the
implementation process for the Water Framework Directive,
by providing guidelines and decision support tools for
the management of priority substances.
www.socopse.eu
22-23 June 2009: A Short Course in Catchment Management;
organised by the University of Sheffield, UK. More info
at
www.sheffield.ac.uk/csc/news
30 June – 3 July 2009: Fourth International Symposium on
Contaminated Sediments: Sustainable Management and
Remediation. Ireland.
http://www.irtces.org/isi/
30 July – 3 August 2009: International Advanced Training
Workshop on Integrated River Basin Management, Beijing,
China. Organised by IRTCES.
http://www.irtces.org/
19-21 August 2009: The Water Framework Directive –
Sharing experiences and meeting future challenges,
Stockholm, Sweden. (In the framework of the World Water
Week.)
19 August: Open seminar. 20-21 August: Meeting of River
Basin District Authorities.
http://www.worldwaterweek.org and
www.vattenmyndigheterna.se/vattenmyndigheten/wfd_conf/index
6-12 September 2009: Workshop on “Sediment problems and
sediment management in Asian river basins”, Hyderabad,
India.
www.appliedhydrology.org/iahs/
14-16 September 2009: 3rd International Conference on
Estuaries and Coasts, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
http://donko.civil.tohoku.ac.jp/icec2009/index.html
20-23 September 2009: 27th meeting of the International Association of Sedimentologists, Alghero, Sardinia,
Italy with a session on Marine Applied Geology and
Sedimentology – The Factors Influencing Sedimentary
Deposits in the Coastal Zone.
For more info you can contact the organizers: Sergio
Cappucci (sergio.cappucci@enea.it) and
Carl L. Amos (cla8@noc.soton.uk) or visit
www.ias2009.com
21-24 September 2009: 2nd REP-LECOTOX workshop “Trends
in Ecological Risk Assessment”, Novi Sad, Serbia.
23-25 September 2009: REMTECH; 3rd edition of the
Remediation Technologies Exhibition in Ferrara, Italy. www.remtechexpo.com
28-30 September 2009: Multiple Stressors – Novel methods
for integrated risk assessment, Aarhus, Denmark.Deadline
for submitting abstracts: 1 June 2009.
http://nomiracle.jrc.ec.europa.au
7-9 October 2009: 6th International SedNet Conference
“The Role of Sediments in Coastal Management”,
co-organised by Hamburg Port Authority. Hamburg, Germany.
Program at
www.sednet.org.
5-6 November 2009: Dredging tools for the future. CEDA
Dredging Days 2009, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
http://www.cedaconferences.org/dredgingdays2009
9-10 November 2009: Green Remediation Conference in
Copenhagen, Denmark. The call for abstracts is open
until 8 June 2009.
http://www.polytec.dk/GreenRemediation
2010:
26-28 April 2010: Integrated River Basin Management
Conference; action programs and monitoring under the
Water Framework Directive. Lille, France.
http://www.WFDLille2010.org
9–14 September 2010: A conference of the World
Organisation of Dredging Associations,
WODCON XIX, Beijing, China. Organised by EADA in
association of its Chinese Chapter, CHIDA.
A Call for Papers will be issued early 2009. See further
http://www.woda.org/
2011:
19-23 June 2011: 12th International Symposium on the
Interactions between Sediments and Water, Dartington,
Devon, England. Organised by the International
Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS)
http://www.IASWS.org and
www.geog.plymouth.ac.uk/IASWS2011
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SedNet secretariat:
Mrs. Marjan Euser
Deltares / TNO
P.O. Box 342
NL-7300 AH Apeldoorn
The Netherlands
E-mail
marjan.euser@tno.nl
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