COMPARATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT FOR POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED SITES (SOIL AND GROUNDWATER): AN ITALIAN REGIONAL METHODOLOGY

Within an integrated plan at a given territorial scale for identification, characterisation of potentially contaminated sites, and ultimate remediation of actually contaminated sites, a necessary phase deals with the application of reliable and scientifically based soil and groundwater quality criteria, including the comparative risk assessment approach. In particular, the usefulness of comparative risk assessment in the management of potentially and/or actually contaminated sites is to provide, through an appropriate scoring of data collected during site inspections and all available documentation on the entire set of suspected and/or registered sites, an indication of the degree of risk associated with each site compared to others under evaluation. Therefore, this approach allows the establishment of a priority list of sites requiring further actions: detailed site inspections, absolute, site-specific risk assessments, remediation measures. Originating from but not limited to Italian interest in implementing the comparative risk assessment at a decentralised (regional) level, an original methodology called CORIANREG-M (“Comparative Risk Analysis on Marche Regional” basis) has been created with initial attention to the context of potentially contaminated sites in the Marche Region (Central Italy, Adriatic Seaside).