Environmental Technology Verification (ETV): Challenges to Verifying the Performance of Bioremediation Technologies

• Published in: Russian journal of ecology Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 500 - 506
• Main Authors: Cunningham, C. J., Peshkur, T. A., Kuyukina, M. S., Ivshina, I. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bioremediation; Canada; Contamination; Ecology; energy; Environment; environmental technology; European Union; human health; Japan; Life Sciences; markets; New technology; petroleum; Philippines; Risk assessment; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil remediation; South Korea; Verification; Water treatment; Canada; South Korea; innovation; bioremediation; sustainability; environmental technology verification
• ISSN: 1067-4136; 1608-3334
• DOI: 10.1134/S1067413622060030

The verification of innovative environmental technologies is of growing interest as a tool to assist new technologies to reach the market. Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) programmes have been developing since the 1990s with the first starting in the United States and extending to Canada, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and the European Union. These ETV programmes aim to provide independent verification of a range of environmental technologies in areas such as water treatment, energy and recycling. Soil remediation, and bioremediation in particular are challenging to assess under ETV processes due not least to the site-specific nature of the remediation process. Remediation activities are commonly subject to what is termed verification as part of managing the projects. However, this type of verification is different from ETV and serves to provide confidence that remediation has reached a particular goal such as reducing the level of contamination identified as the target by the process of risk assessment in terms of human health and the environment. This short communication considers some of the challenges in applying the ETV process to remediation using the example of ex-situ bioremediation of petroleum contaminated soils.