Abstract

In this report, a methodology is described which will allow the actual human exposure due to soil contamination to be assessed. Furthermore, the procedure for testing this indicative actual exposure against human toxicological limit values is given. In this way, the soil quality can be assessed in relation to the resulting human risks. The methodology will be included in a more general decision support system, on which the assessment of soil quality in granting a building permit will be based. Besides location-specific circumstances, the soil use on a location is an important factor in assessing actual human exposure. For this reason, eight different types of soil use have been defined. For each soil use, a scenario has been defined using standardized exposure parameters. With the help of these scenarios the human exposure specific to soil use on a contaminated site can be calculated. In the last part of this report a user's guide is given which can be used to perform the risk assessment through a step-by step procedure. Besides the sound scientific base, practical application, user-friendliness and unambiguity of the methodology has been given attention. The methodology described reflects a first, provisional approach. Testing will take place in practice, and if necessary the methodology will be adjusted in the future.