Status of contaminated marine sediments in four Nordic countries: assessments, regulations, and remediation approaches
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SEDIMENTS AS A DYNAMIC NATURAL RESOURCE – FROM CATCHMENT TO OPEN SEA
Status of contaminated marine sediments in four Nordic countries: assessments, regulations, and remediation approaches Alizée P. Lehoux 1 & Karina Petersen 2 & Matti T. Leppänen 3 & Ian Snowball 1 & Marianne Olsen 2 Received: 3 June 2019 / Accepted: 26 February 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Since the 1960s, pollution of the marine environment has been observed around the world, and a general awareness of the potential environmental hazards from contaminants arose. This general awareness was followed by implementation of environmental regulations at the national and international levels regarding industrial discharges, and forcing the development of management programs to improve the environmental quality. This overview focuses on the status of assessments, regulations, and remediation actions of contaminated marine sediments in four North European countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. Results and discussion We found that the extent of assessment surveys and the implementation of sediment remediation actions vary between the countries, with Norway the most advanced. Norway has initiated national pilot remediation tests, followed by full-scale site remediation by dredging and in situ capping in several projects along the coast. Sweden is following Norway’s example, although with fewer completed projects. In Finland, the tradition of maintenance dredging is still very strong although the main purpose has not been cleanup actions. Accordingly, in Denmark, dredging is primarily used to maintain sailing depths. All four countries have implemented the Water Framework Directive in addition to national regulations that provide the authority for imposing and implementing sediment remediation measures. However, only Norway has implemented a national strategy on remediation of contaminated sediments. Conclusions This overview highlights the need for enhanced communication and exchange of experiences between the four Nordic countries of concern with regard to sediment remediation strategy and management. Keywords Contaminated sediment . Capping . Dredging . Nordic countries . Regulations . Remediation
1 Introduction This paper gives an overview of the present status within four Nordic countries with regard to marine sediment assessments, regulations, and remediation approaches implemented, as well as a summary of recent developments related to decision tools
Responsible editor: Elena Romano * Alizée P. Lehoux [email protected] 1
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
2
Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalléen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
3
Finnish Environment Institute, Survontie 9 A, FI-40500 Jyväskylä, Finland
and remediation techniques. Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark have relatively long coastlines that have been negatively influenced by industrial activities such as pulp and paper industry, metal refineries, mines, agriculture, shipyards, harbors, and
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