In 1994, a new Soil Protection Act was implemented in The Netherlands. It states that risk assessments are to be performed if the intervention value is exceeded. The intervention values reflect potential risks of contaminated soil or groundwater for humans or the ecosystem. The Act also describes in detail the methodology to be used. In the case that an intervention value is exceeded by a certain substance, the urgency of remediation has to be defined. This is to be done by a site-specific risk assessment, determining the current risks posed to humans and the ecosystem. In this article, the Dutch system is critically reviewed and compared to a German technique (in development). It is concluded that international harmonization is needed in the field of parameters and toxicological data that are used in the different models.
