POLLUTED SITES AND SOILS

The "Polluted sites and soils" unit is active in:

• environmental management and rehabilitation of contaminated industrial and mine sites,
• the management of water and land pollution.

In France, its activities are characterized by:

• public service activities: aid in drawing up French and European regulations, methodologies and standards, training in technical tools, third-party expertise of dossiers, design, management and valorization of environmental databases (former and active industrial sites, groundwater monitoring),
• research projects with French, European and industrial-partnership funding for contaminated land management. 

Internationally , the work mainly concerns institutional support and technical assistance, studies and training in the environmental domain of industrial sites and contaminated land, and reasoned management of resources relative to industrial processes.

• Management tools for (potentially) contaminated land. Support for the Ministry for sustainable development in compiling tools and national guides available on the Ministry's thematic "Sites-Pollués" portal".

• Environmental impacts assessment (eg.: mining industry waste)

• Mining Risks Prevention Plans Guide (MRPP) - Water and land contamination

• Assistance to regional and local authorities in implementing decision-aid tools for the management of regional- and local-scale environmental risks

• Monitoring groundwater quality in the vicinity of authorized installations and contaminated sites: inventory and data banking methodology.
  BRGM Report RP-53784-FR - June 2005
  

• Preserving the memory of industrial sites - Regional Historical Inventories (RHI)
  Drawing up an inventory of former industrial and service-activity sites.
  The Geoscience issues - BRGM Scientific summary sheet no. 12 - July 2005
  

• BASIAS: national database providing access to the regional historical inventories (RHI) of industrial and service-activity sites
  

• Diagnostic of soils in school:
  The second National Environmental Health Plan 2009-2013 provides in action 19 the identification of schools built on sites potentially contaminated due to former industrial activities...
  

• "Sites et Sol Pollués" web pages: Maintenance of the thematic pages on the website of the ministry for sustainable development. Dissemination of the nationa methodological guidelines and tools for contaminated land management.
  
  

• AQUATERRA - Global Change and Ecosystem Integrated Project.
  This programm aims to provide the scientific basis for an improved river basin management through a better understanding of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system as a whole, by integrating both natural and socio-ecnomics aspects at diferent temporal and spatial scales.
  Research Project of the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme
  

• AREDIE - Regional approach to the issues of mining industry closure
  Study of the Isle watershed ( Limousin ). BRGM project carried out in collaboration with the "Mineral Resources" Division
  Reference sheet
  
  Extract from the BRGM Research Division Annual Report 2004
  

• Acid mine drainage (2000-2004) - Studies of the resurgence of acid and neutral water at mine sites. Assessment of prevention and treatment methods. The Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) pages. BRGM project carried out in collaboration with the "Mineral Resources" Division
  

• CAPHEINE - Characterizing the transfer of potentially toxic trace elements in the unsaturated zone.
  The main objective of the program is to elaborate a methodology dedicated to decision-makers to clarify contexts (typology of sites, pollutants, geology and hydrology) in which it is useful to take into account the vadose zone in the evaluation of the risks. The parameters to acquire from the hydrological and chemical point of view, the available methods to acquire these parameters and the way of using them into the models to obtain a realistic modelling of sites will be clarified.
  Journée de restitution et d'échanges - 29 mars 2012 - EDF - Ile de Chatou - Chatou (78) France

• Compiling codes of good practice concerning the management of contaminated land for the internal needs of companies

• EUGRIS - European Groundwater and Contaminated Land Information System
  Research Project of the European Commission Fifth Framework Programme
  

• EURODEMO - European Platform for Demonstration of Efficient Soil and Groundwater Remediation 
  Research Project of the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme
  

• IMaHg - Enhanced knowledge in mercury fate and transport for improved management of Hg soil contamination

Brgm is involved in the “IMaHg” research project funded by the third call of the European SNOWMAN Network. The overall aim of the IMaHg project is to provide recommendations and to highlight needs to improve management of sites contaminated by mercury. Recommendations and needs will be established based on i) enhanced understanding of mercury forms fate, transport and modelling in the vadose zone and on ii) comparison of available and currently used practices in characterisation, assessment and remediation of mercury contamination. Partnership:

• Lead organisation: Bureau de Recherche Géologique et Minière, France
• Research partner organisation: Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN), Belgium
• Research partner organisation: Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Sweden
• Research partner organisation: Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments, United Kingdom

The SNOWMAN Network is a transnational group of research funding organizations and administrations in the field of Soil and Groundwater in Europe.

More information about the SNOWMAN Network can be found on its website

For more information please contact: Dr. Valérie Guerin, v.guerin@brgm.fr

• Integrated Risk-Based Assessment and Management for Contaminated Land and Watershed. BRGM project carried out in collaboration with the "Development Planning and Natural Risks" Division
  Reference sheet
  

• METRENV - Monitoring and surveillance of contaminated land. Development of new sensors for analysing pollutants in situ. Definition of methodologies for sampling pollutants in groundwater.
  BRGM project carried out in collaboration with the "Metrology, Monitoring and Analysis" Division
  Reference sheet
  

• PICOREF - Trapping CO2 in geological reservoirs in France Project details on the CO2 Capture and Storage site. IFP project
  

• RESCUE - Regeneration of European Sites in Cities and Urban Environements
  Research Project of the European Commission Fifth Framework Programme
  

• Watmetapol - Dynamics, evolution and limitation of heavy metal water pollution in the Plovdiv region (Bulgaria)
  NATO scientific programme
  
  Heavy metal water pollution related to smelting industries (Bulgaria)
  
  

• Ministry for Sustainable Development, Ministry for Health, Ministry for Industry,

• Institut National de Veille Sanitaire (InVS; National Health Watch Institute ), 

• Regional and Département Administrations (DRIRE, DRASS, DRAF, DIREN, etc.), 

• Agencies (Water Agencies, ADEME, AFSSET, etc.), 

• Regional and local authorities (Regional and General Councils, EPCI, Urban councils, etc.).
  

• Mining and the environment: BRGM Group services (sheets: in French - in English )

• Assistance to new member countries of the European Union. Transfer of know-how and regulations concerning polluted site management

• Institutional reinforcement in the environmental domain PHARE 2006-2007
  Former industrial sites at the end of their activity and industrial wasteland: third-party expertise (theme: Detailed assessment of the risks for water resources) and assistance as contracting authority for remediation work

• Operating permit requests: third-party expertise as regards "geology, hydrogeology and hydrology" aspects (groundwater-river relationships, site vulnerability, impacts on surface- and groundwater)

• Support for implementing mine Final Closure files

• Pueblo Viejo gold mine Environmental issues (Dominican Republic)
  

• Impact assessment of mining activities and monitoring programme in the Subarnarekha river basin (India)
  

• Mining-related chromate water pollution in the Sukinda watershed (Orissa, India)
  
  

• List of participations at events
  
  

More information may be found on the following events web site:

• 5th international SedNet conference
  

• ConSoil 2008
  

• ConSoil 2005
  
  

The BRGM publications list is available from the BRGM web site.

Most of the publications of the Environment & Processes Division can be found by entering Sols contaminés - Déchets et procédés in the formular.