Risk assessment for occupational safety and health protection in the remediation of contaminated sites

The paper proposes a method of Risk assessment, consisting of two steps: danger analysis and exposition assessment. Danger analysis means the investigation of the hazardous substances and microorganisms, of their hazardous, physical and chemical properties and the states of matter, being responsible for their mobility and emission behaviour. Exposition assessment begins with an analysis about the jobs, which have to be carried out during the remediation, and verifies the chance of exposition. In combination with the data of the danger analysis and the possible absorption routes, a possible health risk can be assessed, taking into account the limiting values used in occupational safety and health protection. Risk assessment saves money: the less you know about the hazardous properties of a contaminated site, the higher has to be the level of safety measures, the higher are the costs of safety and health protection.