ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the general nature and types of contaminated site problems, and focuses on the general implications of such types of environmental contamination problems. Site contamination by a variety of toxic chemicals has indeed become a major environmental issue in several locations around the world—with such contamination scenarios generally arising from the presence or release of hazardous materials or wastes at any given locale, site, or treatment, storage and disposal facilities. A number of chemicals encountered at contaminated sites are known or suspected to cause cancer; several others may not have carcinogenic properties but are nonetheless of significant concern due to their systemic toxicity effects. A typical site risk categorization scheme for contaminated site problems may involve a grouping or clustering of the “candidate” sites on the basis of the potential risks attributable to various plausible conditions—such as high- versus intermediate/medium- versus low-risk problems.
