Sustainable System for Residual Hazards Management Page: 3 of 8
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intrusion of the biosphere into the contaminated material because of the loss of
institutional control.
An ongoing analysis of contemporary and historic sites suggests that the
significance of the loss of institutional controls is a critical pathway because
decisions made during the operations/remedial action phase, as well as decisions
made throughout the residual hazards management period, are key to the long-
term success of the prescribed system. In fact, given that society has become
more reliant on and confident of engineered controls, there may be a growing
tendency to be even less concerned with institutional controls.
Keywords: institutional controls, residual hazards, waste management,
stew ardship, engineered barriers.
1 Introduction
A negative result of energy production, mineral extraction, national defence, and
industrial operations is environmental degradation associated with the
management and disposal of waste and chemical by-products. These
environmental problems are enormous and affect international, national, state,
and local entities Butterworth [1], USDOE [2], USDOE [3]. The United States is
addressing these problems by enforcing a variety of environmental regulations.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA) [4], GI [5] establishes the framework for the federal response to the
release of hazardous substances that endanger public health or the environment.
The Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) GI [5], [6] minimizes
future pollution that may result from solid waste landfills. And, the Small
Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Brownfield)
USEPA [7] focuses on redevelopment of abandoned, idle, or under-utilized
environmentally-contaminated industrial and commercial facilities.
In many situations contaminants will remain at these sites after environmental
remediation is completed. These contaminants include waste or contaminated
materials left in place or disposed of on-site as well as residual contamination of
soils, facilities, surface water and groundwater. Residual hazards are associated
with the presence of hazardous and/or contaminated material that remains on-site
following active operations or the completion of remedial actions. These
contaminants and the associated residual hazards pose continued risk to humans
and the environment and represent long-term liabilities (i.e. 100's-1000's of
years) that require continuous management.
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Kostelnik, Kevin M.; Clarke, James H. & Harbour, Jerry L. Sustainable System for Residual Hazards Management, article, June 1, 2004; [Idaho Falls, Idaho]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc888710/m1/3/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.