CONTAMINATED SOIL MANAGEMENT IN GREECE: EU AND INTERNATIONAL BEST AVAILABLE PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Contaminated soil management is one of the most rapidly developing environmental protection subjects. Unlike most EU countries, Greece does not have a robust Soil Strategy and as a result a Contaminated Soil Management Framework. Currently in Greece, contaminated soil management is part of the hazardous waste management framework, which is a problematic practice for consultants, industries, and pertinent authorities. The purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations based on the available EU and international best practices and a realistic roadmap, including both technical and non-technical subjects, for a Contaminated Soil Management Framework in Greece. To achieve this purpose a thorough literature review and a questionnaire study carried out where a group of competent contaminated soil international and national experts from private and public sector participated. The questionnaire covered the entire field of contaminated soil management from soil legislation and derivation of soil and groundwater screening values to sampling methods and stakeholder engagement.