Dutch Intervention Values

The Dutch values differ from those developed in the UK in that the intention is to allow the return of contaminated land to any potential use, rather than tailoring the level of remediation to the intended use of the land. The most recent values include general targets and intervention values (Table 1) as well as indicators of severe contamination (Table 2).

The interpretation of the values is similar to that of the UK ICRCL values.

1. The TARGET VALUE is the baseline concentration value below which compounds and/or elements are known or assumed not to affect the natural properties of the soil.

2. The INTERVENTION VALUE is the maximum tolerable concentration above which remediation is required. This occurs if one or more compounds in concentrations equal to or higher than the intervention value is found in more than 25 m³ of soil or 1000 m³ of ground water.

3. The MIDDLE VALUE = (target value + intervention value) * 0.5. This is regarded as a threshold value for further investigation.

ADJUSTMENTS TO VALUES FOR DIFFERENT SOIL TYPES

Values for soil/sediment are expressed as the concentration in a standard soil (10% organic matter and 25% clay). Target and intervention values vary according to the clay and organic matter content of the soil. The formulas for these have been included with the notes on the tables.

It is strongly recommended that you obtain a copy of the source document as it is a long and complex document. This is only a summary of Annex A of the original circular.

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Source: Circular on target values and intervention values for soil remediation: DBO/1999226863, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment Directorate-General For Environmental Protection, Department of Soil Protection (IPC 625), PO Box 30945, 2500 GX The Hague. 9 February 2000. Published in the Netherlands Government Gazette No. 39 on 4 February 2000 and available (PDF files of the Circular and Annex A) from The Dutch Environment Ministry.

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Table 1

	Earth/sediment (mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
I Metals (* note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value (shallow/deep)	Intervention Value
antimony arsenic barium cadmium chromium cobalt copper mercury lead molybdenum nickel zinc	3 29 160 0.8 100 9 36 0.3 85 3 35 140	15 55 625 12 380 240 190 10 530 200 210 720	-/0.15 10/7.2 50/200 0.4/0.06 1/2.5 20/0.7 15/1.3 0.05/0.01 15/1.7 5/3.6 15/2.1 65/24	0.09 60 625 6 30 100 75 0.3 75 300 75 800
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
II Inorganic Compounds	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
cyanides - free cyanides - complex (pH<5) (1) cyanides - complex (pH>=5) thiocyanates (sum) bromide (mg Br/l) chloride (mg Cl/l) fluoride (mg F/l)	1 5 5 1 20 - 500 (3)	20 650 50 20 - - -	5 10 10 - 0.3 mg/l (2) 100 mg/l (2) 0.5 mg/l (2)	1500 1500 1500 1500 - - -
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
III Aromatic Compounds (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
benzene catechol (o-dihydroxybenzene) cresols (sum) ethylbenzene hydroquinone (p-dihydroxybenzene) phenol resorcinol (m-dihydroxybenzene) toluene xylenes styrene (vinyl benzene)	0.01 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.1 0.3	1 20 5 50 10 40 10 130 25 100	0.2 0.2 0.2 4 0.2 0.2 0.2 7 0.2 6	30 1250 200 150 800 2000 600 1000 70 300
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (µg/l in solution)
IV Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (*** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
PAH (sum of 10) (4, 14) anthracene benzo(a)anthracene benzo(a)pyrene benzo(ghi)perylene benzo(k)fluoranthene chrysene fluoranthene indeno(1,2,3 -cd)pyrene naphthalene phenanthrene	1	40	- 0.0007 0.0001 0.0005 0.0003 0.0004 0.003 0.003 0.0004 0.01 0.003	- 5 0.5 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.2 1 0.05 70 5
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
V Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
chlorobenzenes (sum) (5, 14) monochlorobenzene dichlorobenzene trichlorobenzene tetrachlorobenzene pentachlorobenzene hexachlorobenzene chloronapthalene monochloroaniline EOX chlorophenols (sum) (6, 14) monochlorophenols (sum) dichlorophenols (sum) trichlorophenols (sum tetrachlorophenols (sum) pentachlorophenols (sum) 1,1-dichloroethane 1,2-dichloroethane 1,1-dichloroethene 1,2-dichloroethene (cis and trans)?? dichloropropane dichloromethane trichloromethane (chloroform) 1,1,1-trichloroethane 1,1,2-trichloroethane trichloroethene (Tri) tetrachloromethane (Tetra) tetrachloroethene (Per) polychlorinated biphenyls (sum) (7) tetrachloroethene tetrachloromethane trichloroethene trichloromethane vinyl chloride	0.03 - 0.005 0.3 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.1 0.2 0.002 0.4 0.02 0.07 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.002 0.02 0.01 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.01	30 10 50 10 15 4 0.3 1 2 10 10 15 10 60 1 4 1 4 1 60 10 0.1	- 7 3 0.01 0.01 0.003 0.00009 - - - - 0.3 0.2 0.03 0.01 0.04 7 7 0.01 0.01 0.8 0.01 6 0.01 0.01 24 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01	- 180 50 10 2.5 1 0.5 6 30 - 100 30 10 10 3 900 400 10 20 80 1000 400 300 130 500 10 40 0.01 40 10 500 400 5
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
VI Pesticides (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
DDT/DDE/DDD (8) drins (9) aldrin dieldrin endrin HCH-compounds (10) - alpha - beta - gamma (lindane) atrazine carbaryl carbofuran chlorodane endosulfan heptachloro heptachloro-epoxide maneb MCPA organotin compounds (11)	0.01 0.005 0.00006 0.0005 0.00004 0.01 0.003 0.009 0.00005 0.0002 0.00003 0.00003 0.00002 0.00001 0.0007 0.0000002 0.002 0.00005 0.001	4 4 2 6 5 2 4 4 4 4 35 4 2.5	0.004 ng/l - 0.009 ng/l 0.1 ng/l 0.04 ng/l 0.05 33 ng/l 8 ng/l 9 ng/l 29 ng/l 2 ng/l 9 ng/l 0.02 ng/l 0.2 ng/l 0.005 ng/l 0.005 ng/l 0.05 ng/l 0.02 0.05-16 ng/l	0.01 0.1 1 150 50 100 0.2 5 0.3 3 0.1 50 0.7
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
VII Other contaminants (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Intervention Value	Target Value	Intervention Value
cyclohexanone phthalates (sum) (12) mineral oil (13) pyridine tetrahydrofuran tetrahydrothiophene tribromomethane	0.1 0.1 50 0.1 0.1 0.1 -	45 60 5000 0.5 2 90 75	0.5 0.5 50 0.5 0.5 0.5 -	15000 5 600 30 300 5000 630

Notes for Table 1:

1. Acidity: pH (0.01 M CaCl2). In order to determine whether pH is greater than or equal to 5, or less than 5, the 90 percentile of the measured values is taken.

2. In areas subject to marine influence higher values occur naturally (salt and brackish water).

3. Differentiation by clay content: (F) = 175 = 13L (L = % clay).

4. PAH (sum of 10) here means the total of anthracene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(k)fluoroanthene, benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, phenantrene, fluoroanthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, naphthalene and benzo(ghi)perylene.

5. 'Chlorobenzenes (sum)' here means the total of all chlorobenzenes (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and exachlorobenzene).

6. 'Chlorophenols (sum)' here means the total of all chlorophenols (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra- and pentachlorophenol).

7. In the case of the intervention value, 'polychlorobiphenyls (sum)' means the total of PCB 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. For the target value it refers to the total excluding PCB 118.

8. ‘DDT/DDD/DDE' above means the sum of DDT, DDD and DDE.

9. 'Drins' above means the sum of aldrin, dieldrin and endrin.

10. 'HCH compounds' above means the sum of alpha-HCH, beta-HCH, gamma-HCH and delta-HCH.

11. The intervention value applies to the sum of the concentrations of organotin compounds encountered.

12. 'Phthalates (sum)' above means the total of all phthalates.

13. 'Mineral oil' is defined in the analysis standard. Where the contamination is due to mixtures (e.g. gasoline or domestic heating oil), then not only the alkane content but also the content of aromatic and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons must be determined. This aggregate parameter has been adopted for practical reasons. Further toxicological and chemical disaggregation is under study.

14. The values for the sum of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the sum of chlorophenols and the sum of chlorobenzenes in earth/sediment apply to the total concentration of the compounds belonging to the relevant category. If the contamination is due to only one compound of a category, the value used is the value for that compound. Where there are two or more compounds the value for the total of these compounds applies, etc. For earth/sediment, effects are directly additive (i.e. 1 mg of substance A has the same effect as 1 mg of substance B) and can be tested against an aggregate standard by summing the concentrations of the substances involved. In the case of groundwater, effects are indirectly additive and are expressed as a fraction of the individual intervention values (i.e. 0.5 of the intervention value of substance A has the same effect as 0.5 of the intervention value of substance B). This means that an addition formula must be used to determine whether an intervention value is exceeded. The intervention value for the sum of a group of substances is exceeded if:

Where:
conc = measured concentration of compound from the relevant group
I_i = intervention value of the compound concerned

Table 2. Target values and indicative levels for serious contamination for soil/sediment and groundwater for metals, inorganic compounds, aromatic compounds, PAH, chlorinated hydrocarbons, pesticides and other contaminants.

	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
I Metals (* note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination	Target Value (shallow/deep)	Indicative level - serious contamination
beryllium selenium tellurium thallium tin vanadium silver	1.1 0.7 - 1 19 42 -	30 100 600 15 900 250 15	-/0.05 -/0.07 -/- -/2 -/2.2 -/1.2 -/-	15 160 70 7 50 70 40
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
III Aromatic Compounds (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination
dodecylbenzene aromatic solvents (1)	- -	1000 200	- -	0.02 150
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
V Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination
dichloroaniline trichloroaniline tetrachloroanaline pentachloroanaline 4-chloromethylphenols dioxin (2)	0.005 - - - - -	50 10 30 10 15 0.001	- - - - - -	100 10 10 1 350 0.001 ng/l
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
VI Pesticides (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination
azinphos-methyl	0.000005	2	0.1 ng/l	2
	Earth/sediment ( mg/kg dry matter)		Groundwater (μg/l in solution)
VII Other contaminants (** note soil type correction formula)	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination	Target Value	Indicative level - serious contamination
acrylonitrile butanol 1,2-butylacetate ethylacetate diethylene glycol ethylene glycol formaldehyde isopropanol methanol methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) methylethylketone	0.000007 - - - - - - - - - -	0.1 30 200 75 270 100 0.1 220 30 100 35	0.08 - - - - - - - - - -	5 5600 6300 15000 13000 5500 50 31000 24000 9200 6000

Notes for Table 2.

1. Aromatic solvents are defined as a standard mixture of substances referred to as "C9-aromatic naphtha" as defined by the International Research and Development Corporation: o-xylene 3.2%, i-isopropylbenzene 2,74%, n-propulbenzene 3.97%, 1-methyl-4 ethyl benzene 7,05%, 1-methyl-3-ethyl benzene 15.1%, 1-methyl-2-ethylbenzene 5,44%, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene 8,37%, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene 40,5%, 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene 6,18% and > ?? alkylbenzenes 6,19%.

2. The indicative level is expressed on the basis of toxicity equivalents based on the most toxic compound.

Supplementary remarks on tables 1 and 2

* Metals:

The target values, intervention values and indicative levels for metals and arsenic, with the exception of antimony, molybdenum, selenium, tellurium, thallium and silver depend on the clay content and/or the organic matter content. In assessing the quality of the soil the values for a standard soil are converted to values applying to the actual soil concerned on the basis of the measured organic material (measured by percentage weight lost by volatilization, on the total dry weight of the soil) and clay content (the percentage by weight of the total dry material comprising mineral particle matter with a diameter of less than 2 um). The converted values can then be compared with the measured concentrations in the soil.

The following soil type correction formula can be used for the conversion for metals:

(SW,IW)b = (SW,IW)sb x [{ A+(B x % clay) + (C x % organic matter)}/ {(A+(Bx25) +(CX10)}]

in which:

(SW,IW)b = target value or intervention value for the soil to be assessed

(SW,IW)sb = target value or intervention value for standard soil

% clay = measured percentage clay (grain size<2 um ) in the soil to be assessed

% organic matter = measured percentage organic matter in the soil to be assessed.

A, B, C = substance dependent constants for metals (see table):

Table of compound dependent constants

 

** Organic compounds:

 The target values, intervention values and indicative levels for serious contamination for organic compounds, depend on the organic matter content.

For the conversion for organic compounds, with the exception of PAH, the following soil type correction formula can be used:

(SW,IW)b = (SW,IW)sb x (% organic matter/10)

in which:

(SW,IW)b = target value or intervention value for the soil to be assessed

(SW,IW)sb = target value or intervention value for standard soil

% organic matter = measured percentage organic matter in the soil to be assessed. For soils with measured organic matter content of more than 30% or less than 2% contents of 30% and 2% are adhered to respectively.

*** PAHs:

For the target value and intervention value PAH no soil type correction is used for soils with an organic matter content up to 10% and soils with an organic matter content above 30%. For soils with an organic matter content up to 10% a value is used of 1 respectively 40 mg/kg and for soils with an organic matter content from 30% upwards a value is used of 3 respectively 120 mg/kg. For an organic matter content between 10% and 30% the following soil type correction formula can be used:

(SW)b = 1 x (% organic matter/10) (IW)b = 40 x (% organic matter/10)

in which:

(SW,IW)b = target value,intervention value for the soil to be assessed

% organic matter = measured percentage organic matter in the soil to be assessed.

Note from Webmaster: The above is taken directly from the English translation of the circular and does not appear to make much sense. I will amend it if someone can supply me with a more meaningful translation.