Unveiling health risks from contaminated land and its implications for policy, research, and practice

Victor Kabay from the University of Melbourne spoke to us about the health risks from contaminated land and their implications for policy, research, and practice.

Contaminated land is usually addressed on a site-by-site basis, but this work sought to take a few steps back and look at the risks and issues posed by contaminated land in a broader, more holistic manner. To do this, historical data from almost 400 contaminated land health risk assessment reports was extracted and analysed. This study is the first one to carry out a meta-analysis of data from this type of report to derive holistic insights across hundreds of sites. The risks associated with various site histories were evaluated to identify those that pose the greatest risk to human health, and the type of contaminants addressed in the assessments was also analysed to identify research and policy gaps. This work also raises questions around the way in which contaminated land is regulated and managed and whether our current frameworks always achieve the stated goals of protecting human health and the environment.