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COMMISSION NOTICE Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term ‘environmental damage’ as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage · European Union

| 219. | Annex II.2 refers to the use of risk-assessment procedures, and refers to a number of matters to be taken into account with regard to the presence of the risk: — The characteristics and function of the soil. Soil characteristics may have an influence on risk. For example, porous soils may be more likely to transfer pathogens present in waste-water to groundwater or surface water. The soil may serve or be intended to serve relevant functions. In the case of an individual appropriate system for treating waste-water, for instance, the soil may be intended to purify waste-water discharges – i.e. render the contaminants they contain harmless – before they reach a water body. In the case of a landfill or other waste disposal site, surface soil may serve to seal in waste materials underneath and reduce the risk of their dispersion; — The type and concentration of the harmful substances, preparations, organisms or micro-organisms. This reference relates to the specific contaminants present in the contaminated land. It is necessary not only to know what these are, but also to know their specific risks. A toxicity risk associated with heavy metals will be quite distinct from an infectious disease risk associated with a pathogen. Furthermore, risk must be considered in terms of the possible different exposure routes – for example, dermal contact, ingestion via hand-to-mouth contact, and consumption of contaminated food or water. For food and water, there may be applicable standards that can be used to assess the risks – for example, the mandatory drinking water standards found in the Drinking Water Directive. (192) In addition, there are no excluded categories of persons: the exposure of workers on the contaminated land, neighbours and members of the public at large must all be considered; — The risk and the possibility of their dispersion. Dispersion may occur through the soil itself, as where contaminants enter the food-chain through cultivation of plants or raising of livestock on the contaminated land. Dispersion may also involve another environmental medium, i.e. air or water. This will be the case, for example, where toxic dust blows from contaminated land, passes through the air, and is deposited on neighbouring human habitations, or on agricultural land (once again creating a possibility of human exposure through the food-chain). It will also be the case, for example, when pathogens present in a waste-water treatment system pass through the soil into groundwater to reach a well that is used to abstract water for human consumption.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.