Dutch standards

Dutch Standards are environmental pollutant reference values used in environmental remediation, investigation and cleanup.

The reference values for soil are adjusted for the organic matter (humus) content and soil fraction < 0.2 µm (lutum - Latin, meaning "mud" or "clay"). The values below are calculated for a 'Standard Soil' with 10% organic matter and 25% lutum.

The reference values for groundwater depend on the depth of the sample, the values below are for 'shallow' groundwater, 0 - 10 m depth.

A case of environmental contamination is defined as 'serious' if >25 m³ soil or >100 m³ groundwater is contaminated above the intervention value.