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Improving decision quality: Making the case for adopting next‐generation site characterization practices
Author(s) -
Crumbling Deana M.,
Griffith Jennifer,
Powell Dan M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.10066
Subject(s) - reuse , quality (philosophy) , risk analysis (engineering) , redevelopment , agency (philosophy) , computer science , environmental quality , mainstream , remedial education , management science , environmental planning , engineering , business , environmental science , civil engineering , political science , law , waste management , philosophy , epistemology
Better site characterization is critical for cheaper, faster, and more effective cleanup. This fact is especiallytrue as cleanup decisions increasingly include site redevelopment and reuse considerations. However, establishedattitudes about what constitutes “data quality” create many barriers to exciting new tools capable ofachieving better characterization, slowing their dissemination into the mainstream. Traditional approaches toenvironmental “data quality” rest on simplifying assumptions that are rarely acknowledged by theenvironmental community. Data quality assessments focus on the quality of the analysis, while seldom asking whatimpact matrix heterogeneity has had on analytical results. Assessments of data quality typically assume thatchemical contaminants are distributed nearly homogeneously throughout environmental matrices and thatcontaminant‐matrix interactions are well behaved during analysis. Yet, these assumptions seldom hold true forreal‐world matrices and contaminants at scales relevant to accurate risk assessment and efficient remedialdesign. For the site cleanup industry to continue technical advancement, over‐simplified paradigms must giveway to next‐generation models that are built on current scientific understanding. If reuse programs such asBrownfields are to thrive, the scientific defensibility of individual projects must be maintained at the same timeas characterization and cleanup costs are lowered. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offersthe Triad Approach as an alternative paradigm to foster highly defensible, yet extremely cost‐effective reusedecisions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.