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Climate and Pollution Agency

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Cleaning up polluted soil in day-care centers and playgrounds

09.10.09 There are approximately 40 000 playgrounds including more than 6000 day-care centres in Norway. Some of these may be polluted by industrial activities, traffic or the use of contaminated soil in landscaping. Norwegian Pollution Control Authority has published guides on how to perform environmental soil studies and report soil pollution in existing and future day-care centres and playgrounds.

We know that children are more vulnerable to pollution than adults as they are not full developed. Small children will also eat soil and will therefore have a higher intake of environmental toxins compared to their body weight than adults

Action plan for reducing environmental toxins

Cleaning up children’s environment

  • The Environmental authorities proposed in 2006 an ”Action Plan” to clean up environmental toxins in children’s outdoor environment. The plan includes soil pollution assessments in day-care centers in the ten largest cities of Norway and in five major industrial areas
  • The assessments and remediation is thought to cost approximately 200 million kroner. The Environmental authorities finance up to 20 per cent of the costs for soil pollution assessments and up to 30 per cent of the costs for remediation projects where this is needed.
  • The project, including soil assessments and remediation will be finished in September 2010.

The government of Norway wishes to reduce the amount of environmental toxins a child is exposed to and passed the "Action plan for the remediation of polluted soil in day-care centres and playgrounds" in 2006.

The first step of the "Action plan" involved the initiation of soil pollution assessments in all day-care centres in the 10 largest cities and 5 major industrial areas in Norway. This involves approximately 2000 day-care centres and 50 playgrounds. In day-care centres where unacceptable pollution is discovered, soil remediation is to be completed within the summer of 2010.

Guides on soil studies

Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) engaged Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) to prepare guides on how to perform environmental soil studies and report soil pollution in existing and future day-care centres and playgrounds. SFT requests that the methodology described in these guides is used in each of the day-care centers and playgrounds involved in the project.

One of these guides, “Guide for Soil Pollution Assessments in Existing Day-care Centers and Playgrounds” is now available in English.

10 largest cities

  

5 major industrial areas

Oslo

Fredrikstad

Mo i Rana

Bergen

Drammen

Årdal

Trondheim

Tromsø

Odda

Stavanger

Sandnes

Porsgrunn

Kristiansand

Sarpsborg

Kirkenes

Questions can be addressed to SFT:

  • Advisor Kine Martinsen, Section for Waste Treatment and Contaminated Ground
    telephone: + 47 22 57 36 91, e-mail: kine.martinsen@klif.no
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