Three Doors to Revive the Memory of Soil: The Era when the True Face of Contaminated Land was Revealed Early to Late 2000s

Three Doors to Revive the Memory of Soil: The Era when the True Face of Contaminated Land was Revealed Early to Late 2000s

The 2000s marked a turning point in Japan, when soil contamination became visible as a social problem. Chemical substances accumulated during Japan's period of rapid economic growth came to the fore as urban redevelopment progressed, and the fear of environmental hormone problems combined to lead to the enactment of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Law in 2002. This law systematized land investigation and remediation management, and the EPA method of proceeding from Phase I to III took root in Japan.

Phase I is the process of deciphering the land's past and determining the risk of contamination based on the history of factories and other facilities. Environmental due diligence became the standard at a time when real estate transactions were becoming more active. In Phase II, the actual state of contamination is ascertained through borehole investigations and chemical analysis, and the accuracy of investigations has increased due to the social focus on groundwater contamination such as trichloroethylene.

In Phase III, a variety of remediation methods were selected, including soil removal by excavation and bioremediation, and by the late 2000s, risk-based management was widely adopted in accordance with land use objectives. A post-remediation monitoring system was also established, and sustainable environmental management was formed through collaboration between companies and local communities. These three phases represent the process by which Japanese society faced up to its pollution debt and rebuilt its urban future.