Comparative risk analysis for contaminated sites: Italian regional criteria in comparison with international standards

According to the Italian regulation on remediation activities (D.M. 471/99), comparative risk analysis plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of the priorities for clean-up actions on contaminated sites and gives important indications on the initial investigation strategy. Based on the US.EPA model "Hazardous Ranking System (MRS)" first developed in 1982 and successively modified, some regional comparative risk analysis criteria have been developed in Italy. A crucial point for the application of comparative risk analysis on a national scale is the development of a unique standard procedure that should include all the regional experiences, giving them a large-scale validity with the introduction of scores tested on site-specific characteristics. In this perspective, the paper presents a critical overview of the most relevant and recent Italian experiences on comparative risk analysis.