Soil Contamination and Remediation in Italy A specific legislation on soil contamination and remediation was originally developed in the years 1997-1999. The regulatory framework now

Soil Contamination and Remediation in Italy

Luca Bonomo, Sabrina Saponaro, Alessandro Careghini, Elena Sezenna

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

DICA

Environmental Section

2

Italian Regulatory Framework

A specific legislation on soil contamination and remediation was originally developed in the years 1997-1999. The regulatory framework now in force has been issued in 2006.

Limits for the soil quality are included in the law. Values are given for 94 parameters, distinguishing two different land uses:

Residential and green areas;

Industrial and commercial areas.

Compared with the regulatory limits of other European countries (and of USA), the Italian values are in some cases more precautionary (e.g. Be, Cr(VI), Sn, Sb, DDT, PCBs, Heavy hydrocarbons).

DICA


3

Site contamination - Definitions

Contamination Threshold Concentrations (CSCs): regulatory limits included in the law.

Potentially Contaminated Site: a site where one or more CSC values are exceeded in soil or groundwater. A Risk Assessment can be required.

Risk Threshold Concentrations (CSRs): site specific maximum concentrations calculated through a Risk Assessment procedure. The CSRs are the acceptability level for the site.

Contaminated Site: a site where one or more CSR values are exceeded in soil or groundwater. A remediation action must be applied.

DICA


4

Regulatory framework for groundwater

Site features • geology and hydrogeology • meteorology

Pollutants • measured concentrations • chemical–physical properties

Pollutant Fate & Transport

Comparison to regulatory limits

at the downstram legal boundary of

the site

Hybrid approach

Legislative Decree 152/2006 and modifications

TABLE VALUES outside the area

SITE-SPECIFIC VALUES

within the area by Risk Assessment

DICA


5

Criticalities of the Risk Assessment procedure

The models used for the Risk Assessment may lead to the definition of too conservative CSRs, sometimes lower than CSCs. In particular:

in case of exposure and inhalation of vapours due to equations used for the evaluation of the factors of transport. The use of direct measurement (soil gas, monitoring of indoor and outdoor air) may be useful to verify results of the models;

for dermal contact and for accidental ingestion of soil of some compounds (e.g.: As, benzo-PAHs etc.) due to their conservative toxicological parameters.

When the calculated CSRs are lower than the CSCs, the use of the CSCs is frequently accepted.

DICA


6

Agriculture areas

There are no criteria for the definition of limits in agriculture areas.

The effective legislative framework does not take into account CSC for agriculture areas. The CSCs for residential and green areas are usually used in this case.

The Risk Assessment procedure should take into account the consumption of local foodstuffs as the main exposure pathway and the properties related to the bioaccumulation of the pollutants of interest.

The targets of the Risk Assessment should be the soil, the produced foodstuffs, the people who eat the foodstuffs and the productions for the nutrition of animals.

DICA


7

National Priority Sites (SIN)

Still SIN

No more SIN after

DM 11/01/2013

After the Italian Ministerial Decree

11/01/2013: 39 SINs (previously 57 SINs)

Sea (ha) Land (ha)

143 793 453 759

About 1.5 % of national area

Areas of Italian territory considered heavily polluted based on the site characteristics, on the quantity and

dangerous of the contained contaminants, on the impacts on the surrounding environments (based on an human health and ecological risk assessment) and on

the potential danger for national cultural and environmental assets (ISPRA, 2009).

DICA


8

Main classes of pollutants detected in SINs

ISPRA, 2012

Cianuri e Fenoli: 1%

Diossine, furani, PCB, Pesticidi: 4%

Idrocarburi clorurati e aromatici: 20%

Cyanides and Phenols:

1%

Dioxines, Furanes,

PCBs, Pesticides:

4%

Chlorinated and aromatic

hydrocarbons: 20%

PAHs: 15%

Mineral oils: 20%

Heavy metals: 40%

DICA


9

Sites at Local Interest included in Regional Registers

ISPRA, 2013

Potentially contaminated sites 15131

Sites with ongoing remediation 4097

Sites waiting for remediation 4837

Remediated sites 3088

DICA


31%

15%

12%

11%

9%

9%

5%

3% 3%2% Fuel station

Energy production anddistribution

Other

Landfill

Waste treatment plant

Illegal landfill

Asbestos

Accidental event

Chemical plant

Mining activities

10

Source of pollution (Regional Sites)

Federambiente, 2010

DICA


11

Criteria for selection of remedial actions

Select techniques that:

achieve a permanent and significant reduction of the

concentrations, the toxic effects and the mobility of

pollutants;

use in situ processes and on site processes with a direct

recovery of the treated soil; for off site processes, they

should also achieve the recovery of treated soil;

fix pollutants within stable compounds without possible

transfer toward other environmental compartments in the

long period;

reduce risks or possible inconveniences for inhabitants

during the remediation (diffusion of pollutants, dust, odors,

rumors, traffic etc.)

DICA


12

29%

23%14%

7%

7%

5%

4%

4%4%

3%

Source removal

Pump & Treat

Excavtion and landfilldisposal

Soil Vapour extraction

Other

Air Sparging

Capping

Hydraulic barrier

Bioventing

Bioremediation

Remediation techniques (Regional Sites)

Federambiente, 2010

DICA


13

Remediation cost

The definition of parametrical data is difficult and poorly reliable because:

data from abroad experience must be used with particular care due to the different economic scenarios compared to the Italian one;

high incidence of the site specific conditions and of the scale effects;

reluctance of the involved private subjects and poor availability to publicize economical elements;

uncertainty on the inclusion of some complementary cost elements or not strictly referred to the used technology.

DICA


14

Complementary elements not always included in cost evaluations

Transport of polluted soil (for ex-situ treatments);

Landfill disposal for not-reusable materials;

Treatment of liquid and gaseous streams produced during remediation activities and disposal of the produced wastes;

Technical costs for the design, the work supervision and final trial;

Actions for the restoration of the remediated area.

DICA


15

Unitary costs of the remediation technologies in Italy

On/off-site thermal incineration treatments 120-350 €/m3

On/off-site thermal desorption treatments 50-280 €/m3

On/off-site advanced biological treatments 25-150 €/m3

Biopiles/composting on-site 30-125 €/m3

On/off-site soil washing 30-250 €/m3

On-site phytoremediation 25-125 €/m3

In-situ ventilation/bioventilation 30-75 €/m3

In-situ extraction/injection of vapors 25-120 €/m3

In-situ thermal desorption 60-240 €/m3

In-situ enhanced bioremediation 25-120 €/m3

Mariotti, SI Sviluppo Italia Aree Produttive, 2009

Values form literature or extracted from real cases

DICA


16

Overall areal costs in Italy (€/ha)

“Simple” industrial areas 12 000 - 18 000

“Complex” industrial areas or mixed areas 15 000 - 30 000

Adjacent not industrial areas (extended areas) 500 - 1 250

Sea areas 800 - 2 500

Characterization

Mariotti, SI Sviluppo Italia Aree Produttive, 2009

Remediation

“Simple” industrial areas 250 000 - 500 000

“Complex” industrial areas or mixed areas 400 000 - 750 000

DICA


17

Public financing of site remediation

The costs of the site remediation should be in charge to the polluter.

Despite the legislative framework, the public financing on sites remediation is still intensive, above all (but not only) for old contaminations in:

Orphan sites where the polluter can not be identified;

Cases of insolvency of the polluter.

In the last decade, public financing has covered about the 52% of the overall costs for sites remediation, with an investment of 2 billions of Euros.

The Italian position on public financing is intermediate compared with other European countries.

DICA


18

Amount of public financing in Europe

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Czec

h Re

p.

Spain

Esto

nia

Hunga

ry

Austria

Italy

Denmar

k

Slov

akia

Swed

en

Nethe

rland

s

Switz

erland

Finlan

d

Belgium

Norway

Fran

ce

Euro

pe

Public Private

DICA


19

Sites surveyed within the

Regional Registry

Total 4292 sites - Remediated 1235

- Contaminated 786

- Not contaminated 398

- Potentially Contaminated 1873

December 2011

AMBIENTE ENERGIA E RETI

Lombardy region

Regione Lombardia, 2012

Potentially Contaminated

Remediated Contaminated Not Contaminated

DICA


20

Sites in the municipality of Milan

Remediated Contaminated Not Contaminated Potentially Contaminated

Classification no. sites

Remediated 231

Contaminated 147

Potentially contaminated

344

Not contaminated

32

Total 754

Regione Lombardia,

2012

Last update: 2011

DICA


21

Plumes in groundwater of Milan area

2-methyl-5-methylthiol 1,3,4 thiadiazole

Pentetrazol

Hydrocarbons

Pesticides

Chromium (VI)

Aromatics

Dichloropropane

Perchloroethylene

Trichloroethylene

Freon 113

Freon 11

Methyl chloroform

3 6-dichloropyridazine

Pollutants:

DICA


22

Example: Rho refinery in the past

DICA


23

Rho Refinery : Dismantling of structures and soil reclamation (1999-2005)

Applied technologies:

mainly biological, due to the biodegradability of hydrocarbons (4,5 million m3)

Soil vapour extraction (SVE)

29 extraction wells + methane burner

Bioventing + air sparging

Forced air introduction in the unsaturated and saturated soil (groundwater)

Also applied Thermal Desorption (600°C) for 245.000 Ton

DICA


24

Milan fair in the site of old refinery

DICA


25

… after remediation

DICA


26

The “Bovisa” area (1/3)

1882: first important chemical plants;

1905 - 1967: production of gas for the city through distillation of coal;

1967-1994: production of gas from petroleum derived compounds

second half of 1900: decommissioning of the industrial activities;

since 1995: settlement of Politecnico

1965

2012

DICA


27


DICA


28


DICA


29

The “Pirelli - Bicocca” area (1/2)

DICA


30

The “Pirelli - Bicocca” area (2/2)

DICA


31

Italian regulatory framework for sediments

Leg.Decr.152/06

No specific legislation and no specific limit values

Dredged materials are mostly perceived as wastes (EWC codes for dredged materials: 17 05 05* and 17 05 06)

Only for SIN sites:

DICA


32

Contaminated marine areas

Site Sea area (km2)

Sulcis 891

Priolo 101

Taranto 70

Grado e Marano 68

Brindisi 56

Gela 46

Porto Torres 28

Porto Marghera 26

Milazzo 22

Piombino 20

Massa 19

Bagnoli 15

Livorno 14

6 Mm3 / year

Material dredged for maintenance purpose:

Federambiente, 2013

ISPRA, 1997

DICA


33

Example: the Augusta bay (SIN of Priolo) (1/2)

Main pollutants in sediments:

Hg (up to 300 mg/kg d.w.);

Heavy petroleum hydrocarbons (up to 25.000 mg/kg d.w.);

HCB (up to 5 mg/kg d.w.).

DICA


34

Example: the Augusta bay (SIN of Priolo) (2/2)

Overall evaluation:

175-200 cm 150-175 cm

125-150 cm 100-125 cm

75-100 cm 50-75 cm

25-50 cm 0-25 cm

DICA


35

Contamination of sediment in freshwater bodies

Examples of contamination of sediments in rivers and lakes within SINs:

Lago Maggiore: pollution by DDT and Hg due to a chemical plant (chlor-alkali);

Bormida: contamination by PAHs due to a chemical plant for the production of pigments and explosives;

Trento canals: contamination by tetraethyl-Pb and PAHs due to disused chemical plants;

Mantova: lakes and rivers areas contaminated by heavy metals (especially Hg) and organic compounds sprung by the chemical manufacturing areas;

Brescia-Caffaro: contamination due to PCBs;

Serravalle Scrivia: pollution due to a disused plant for regeneration of lubrificating oils.

DICA


36

Example: the Maggiore Lake (SIN of Pieve Vergonte)

Fishing activities in the Maggiore Lake were heavily limited for more than ten years due to the detection of DDT in the fat tissues of the local fishes. The source of pollution is now eliminated and the criticality in the lake is going to be depleted by natural attenuation.

Pieve Vergonte site

DICA


37

I2SM 2014 Ferrara

4th International Symposium on Sediment Management (I2SM) on September 17-18-19, 2014, during the REMTECH Expo.

Organized by:

Ferrara Fiere Congressi

With the scientific support of:

Politecnico di Milano – Dept. of Civil and Environ. Engineering

Ecole des Mines de Douai.

DICA


38

Previous I2SM conferences

1st International Symposium on Sediment Management.

July 9-11, 2008. Lille (France).

2nd International Symposium on Sediment Management.

May 11-13, 2010. Casablanca (Morocco).

3rd International Conference on Sediment Management: Focus on Analytical Methodologies and its Implication in Environment.

March 20-22, 2012. Alibaug, Maharashtra (India).

DICA


39

Topics of the I2SM 2014

Characterization and monitoring;

Sediment management and decision-analysis tools;

Dredging operation;

Mechanical treatments, dehydration, etc.;

Sediment and contaminant fate and transport;

Ecological impact assessment and risk;

Natural attenuation, capping and storage of sediments;

Emerging pollutants in sediments;

Remediation of contaminated sediments;

Beneficial reuse of sediments (civil engineering, environmental restoration, products manufacturing, etc.);

Policy and sediment quality guidelines.

DICA


40

Conference website

http://i2sm.remtechexpo.com/

DICA


41

Submission of abstracts

Submission of abstract (max 500 words) closed at the end of January. Selection for oral and poster presentation is now going on.

It is still possible to submit a proposal before the March 23rd

Online procedure for submission is no longer available on the website. Submission can be done sending the abstract (word version) to:

[email protected]

For further details contact the scientific secretary at the same mail address.

DICA


42

Research activities of the Soil Remediation Group - Politecnico

Remediation of groundwater polluted by petroleum

compounds by Biobarrier

Environmental behavior of selected Contaminants of

Emerging Concern

Treatments for contaminated groundwater by

Chromium (VI)

Development and evaluation of Flux Chambers for the

monitoring of vapor emissions from soil

Treatments for contaminated sediments: stabilization/

solidification plus thermal desorption, chemical

treatments

DICA


43

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR ATTENTION

Documents

Soil Contamination and Remediation in Italy A specific legislation on soil contamination and remediation was originally developed in the years 1997-1999. The regulatory framework now