Since 1994 a new Soil Protection Act has become effective in the Netherlands. It uses Intervention values, based on the potential risk of contaminated soil or ground water for humans or ecosystems. The methodology is described in detail; it is based on a scientific approach using risk analysis, including exposure assessment as well as human and eco-toxicological data. If an Intervention value is exceeded, the urgency of a remediation must be defined. That must be done by means of a risk assessment that defines actual risk for humans and the ecosystem, by taking site specific information into consideration. A global critical review of the Dutch system is given. Finally, the Dutch method is compared with a German technique (in development). From this it is concluded that international harmonization is needed on the parameters and toxicological data being used in the different models