Gerenciamento de áreas contaminadas: uma análise sobre as práticas e procedimentos utilizados no estado de São Paulo para alicação em regiões do país cm recursos financeiros e humanos limitados

Abstract

The issue of contaminated sites has advanced significantly in developed countries, with effective public policies and techniques, however, in most developing countries the topic management of contaminated sites(MCS) has not advanced so much. In Brazil, it can be seen that the evolution of policies focused on the issue happens in a heterogeneous way. While the State of São Paulo, through CETESB (SP environmetal agency), emerges as an example of good practices and has been presenting significant results, most of the other states still do not present a simple register of their contaminated sites. Among the main causes of this discrepancy is the limited financial scenario of the states and the lack of skilled labor in identifying and recovering degraded sites. In this context, the main objective of the present study was to analyze the procedures and methods of CETESB in order to verify the feasibility of applying them or not to the conditions of each region, especially where financial and human resources are limited.In order to carry out the study, a first analysis of the technical procedures in use, from the investigative processes (preliminary, confirmatory, and detailed) to recovery processes (preparation of the intervention plan, implementation of the intervention plan, and monitoring). Then, based on this secondary documentary analysis, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced professionals in contaminated sites, in order to obtain the view of these experts on the current situation of the management of contaminated sites in São Paulo and Brazil.The result of this research showed that most experts believe that the technical part of the methodology has important aspects that should not be modified at the risk of compromising the quality of the work, but different bureaucratic and administrative aspects can make it more efficient and reduce costs of the processes. One-off methods can bring excellent benefits to states with few resources, such as communicating contamination linked to the property registry, or legislation that requires environmental reports forclosure companies. Among the most cited problems are lack of awareness of risks, public policies that defend individual interests, and great concern for economic development at any price. Thus, following the technical procedures, but adapting to the reality of each state mainly in the application of administrative and bureaucratic methods can allow the management of contaminated sites can be established effectively (and gradually) throughout the country, minimizing the disparities. Therefore, the solution is a change in the culture of these regions, so that they are understood by the population, private initiative and authorities.