A review of the approach used by environmental remediation researchers to evaluate the reactivity of Fe-0-based alloys reveals the lack of consideration of the results available from other branches of science. This paper discusses the limitations of the current approach. The discussion provided here suggests that the current assumption that redox-sensitive species serve as corrosive agents for Fen maybe incorrect because water as the solvent is also corrosive. A new approach is proposed in which water is considered as the primary Fe-0 oxidizing agent and the impact of individual relevant solutes (including contaminants) should be assessed in long-term laboratory experiments. It is expected that the application of the proposed approach will help to reliably characterize the reactivity of Fe-0 materials within a few years. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.