Many harmful chemicals find their way into the environment, and end up in soils, groundwater and sediments. They are considered as contaminants of emerging concern because they are a threat to human health and ecosystems.
Dealing with the legacy of soil contamination with emerging contaminants poses major challenges for policy makers, scientists, consultancies and problem owners. Adequate governance and management strategies are needed to prevent risks and further spreading of these contaminants and to preserve healthy soils for the future.
It is clear that the problem cannot be solved by the regulatory authorities alone. Concerted actions and initiatives are urgently needed. Therefore, OVAM wants to initiate an international multi-stakeholder network: EmConSoil, ‘Challenges for emerging soil contaminant governance & policy’.
This initiative is a follow-up to our first international workshop on ‘Emerging policy challenges on New SOil contaminants’ – ENSOr, Brussels, November 2018.