Derelict Lands and Brownfields

Derelict lands, commonly called brownfields, consist of properties that have been damaged by anthrospheric activities and are generally unsuitable for further use without restoration. Often, such lands are contaminated with potentially hazardous substances and require cleanup and decontamination. Generally, brownfields are the result of abandoned industrial enterprises and mining. In the latter case, subsidence into voids excavated underground can be a major problem. Chemical contamination can result from industrial activity and mining. 

Restoration of brownfields may entail physical remediation as well as treatment or removal of chemical contamination. Often, particularly where they are located at abandoned mine sites, brownfields are afflicted by subsidence. In some cases, concrete and stone salvaged from old structures and their foundations can be used as fill to treat subsidence. Some kinds of chemical contamination can be treated in place. If excavation and disposal of contaminated soil is required, the costs of brownfield restoration may increase dramatically. 

1 Land Restoration from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuceear Accident 

As of 2012, one of the greater land cleanups ever undertaken was that associated with the release of radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which was the consequence of the March 11,2011, earthquake off the coast of Honshu, Japan, and the resulting tsunami that destroyed 

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