Resolving Hazardous Materials Impacts on both the Built & Natural Environments

The world around us has two major components: the “Built” Environment and the “Natural” Environment. The built environment refers to the man-made surroundings that provide the setting for our daily human activity. The natural environment includes all living and non-living things that are found naturally on Earth. It is an environment that is not directly influenced by people. Given that hazardous materials are found everywhere, they not only exist but also can have major impacts on both the built and natural environments.

History has taught us that hazardous materials released in the built environment have impacted the natural environment and vice versa hazardous materials released in the natural environment have impacted the built environment.  Examples of these interactive impacts will be presented during the presentation. The benefits of incorporating natural treatment system designs and ecological restoration to reduce these hazardous impacts will also be presented.

Too often our “planes, trains & automobiles” transportation and engineered infrastructure requirements needed to support our “perceived most desired” human life-style is overwhelmingly focused on just the built environment. The value of incorporating the natural environment into our built environment strategic development plans can lead to better long-term sustainable and greener environmental solutions. A Brownfields to Greenfields environmental remediation and ecological restoration construction case history will be presented as an example of how the integration of “greener” natural environment infrastructure into the built environment infrastructure has resulted in an improved value-added “sustainable” solution for the world that we live in.