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EU policies require either impact assessment or evaluation, depending on the character of the policy elements. A relatively new requirement is the need to assess the territorial impacts of a policy as proposed in the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) and promoted by the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) 2006 programme. Territorial impact assessment (TIA) is defined as “a tool for assessing the impact of spatial development against spatial policy objectives or prospects for an area” (European Communities 2000). This paper summarises and further develops basic work on TIA and presents a methodological concept and the first results of such a TIA approach, applying it to EU environmental policy (civil protection, water, biodiversity).

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In Finland, a new Government Decree on the Assessment of Soil Contamination and Remediation Needs (214/2007) came into force on 1 June 2007. According to the Decree, natural baseline concentration levels should be taken into account when assessing potential soil contamination and the need for remediation. This applies particularly in the case of toxic metallic elements, since baseline concentrations may naturally be rather high. The new decree prescribes soil screening values for 52 substances or groups of substances. The natural baseline concentrations have been taken into account in the definition of the screening values for inorganic pollutants. The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) carried out a nation-wide geochemical mapping of till on a reconnaissance scale in 1983 and on a regional scale during 1984-1992. These surveys have provided information on natural elemental distribution in subsoils of the glacial till. However, some important trace elements in regional mapping such as arsenic are missing from the analysis, and subsoil samples do not reflect the diffuse anthropogenic input. Thus, GTK has continued the survey work by determining geochemical baselines around suburban areas. Samples have been taken from humus, topsoil and subsoil layers, and the soil parent material has covered sandy soils, glacial tills and fine-grained sediments. According to the studies, a regional difference in the levels of arsenic and some other trace elements can be clearly seen, especially in minerogenic soils. The results illustrate the importance of information on regional baseline concentrations while assessing potential soil contamination.