Multisite conceptual model as a strategic tool for brownfields management: the case of Arco Jurubatuba (Brazil)

Abstract

Contaminated areas present distinct challenges for society, both in the scope of their management and in the assignment of legal and financial responsibilities for their mitigation, a scenario aggravated when dealing with degraded urban zones by multiple sites (multi-sites) with environmental liabilities (brownfields). Many problems are attributed to the management of these areas, highlighting the difficulty of dialogue among legally responsible parties, possible existence of orphan contaminated areas, and conflicts between public authorities, hindering proper environmental control of the existing toxicological risk. Numerous cases arise where judicialization, as a management tool, becomes a preferred strategy, allowing polluting agents to delay investments, regrettably relegating the solution of environmental liabilities to a secondary status. Consequently, various social and environmental impacts derive from the delay in remedial action in the areas in question, with the aggravation caused by externalities in public areas existing in these scenarios addressed in this study. This study presents a case of multi-site environmental liability in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil, called Arco Jurubatuba. The approach aims to recommend a regional management conceptual model that considers vapor intrusion studies (VI) originating from the local aquifer, a possible source of toxicological risks to the affected population. This region has a history of hundreds of industries from various sectors, indicating multiple contaminated areas with constant aggravation of environmental risk due to local population densification arising from the land use change from industrial to residential zones. In this context, the indicated environmental situation calls for the development of a new regionalized conceptual management model for contaminated areas, in which the solution among polluting agents, overseen by the State, can be seen as an effective alternative for managing existing risks. In this conceptual model of environmental control, public preferences regarding the best form of environmental management and mitigation of environmental liabilities should be considered, allowing the qualification of the most relevant criteria in a sustainable remediation project, analyzing and discussing the scope of externalities and the financial impact of the solution. The development of a specific Conceptual Model for investigating environmental liabilities in multi-site areas allows greater sensitivity in risk assessment and highlights the need for changes in State environmental impact control paradigms, providing greater safety to the local population.