ILLEGAL LANDFILL OF

MICOROSA - BRINDISI

50 hectares of staggering pollution. Along

with the Bussi- Valpescara site in the

region of Abruzzi, Montedison's legacy

continues to contaminate the country.

Brindisi, 23/06/2014

BRINDISI: NATIONAL SITE OF INTEREST FOR RECLAMATION ACTIVITIES The area of Brindisi and surroundings has been declared as a high environmental-crisis-risk one since

1990, in accordance with law 349/1986. This statement was then reconfirmed in 1997 and enlarged to the

municipalities of Carovigno, San Pietro Vernotico and Torchiarolo, with the town of Cellino San Marco

being added to the list in 2002.

The Presidential Decree issued on April 23, 1998 approved a plan for the environmental clean-up aimed at

the reclamation of the area.

Brindisi was identified as a Site of national interest (Italian acronym, "SIN") for environmental reclamation

activities, and the area was delimited on January, 10th, 2000, with a decree of the Ministry of Environment in

agreement with the Municipality of Brindisi, with the aim of carrying out characterisation, safety measures

implementation, reclamation, environmental remediation and monitoring activities.

The SIN of Brindisi covers an area of approximately 5,700 hectares over land and 5,600 hectares over the

sea, and a coastline of around 18 miles.

The latter includes the industrial area and the port in its entirety, as well as the coast between trunk road n.

613 on the west side, and the municipality border, over the Enel thermoelectric power plant of Cerano, on the

south side, and is composed of three different production areas:

Al suo interno si possono individuare tre distinte aree produttive:

- The industrial and manufacturing area, which includes several sites of different nature, managed by

the A.S.I. consortium and located in the north-west of the SIN, adjacent to the city;

- -The petrochemical complex, extending towards east, across the Fiume Grande river, comprising of

several companies, including Versalis s.p.a. (formerly Polimeri Europa) and Syndial s.p.a.;

- Enel's Cerano power plant, located at the far south of the site

Within the centre of the SIN are a large agricultural area, which is crossed by the coal-transport line over a

length of approximately 7 miles, and the regional natural park “Saline di Punta della Contessa” (Regional

law 28/2002).

MICOROSA INDUSTRIAL DUMPING SITE

The area is named after Micorosa s.r.l., the company which bought it over from the Montedison group in

1992, with the aim of using it for the recovery of previously dumped sludges and for the production of

hydrated lime. These operations were carried out between 1994 and 1995, before the company went bankrupt

and closed down in 2000.

The Micorosa area covers approximately 50 hectares of land. It is located within the industrial area, south

of the petrochemical site, and within the natural regional park “Saline di Punta della Contessa”.

The area was used for the disposal of slash from the petrochemical site, with a layer of material of between 2

and 7 metres and a volume of approximately 1.5 million cubic metres.

It was only upon request of the municipality of Brindisi, in 2010, that the area underwent an environmental

characterisation process, in view of the upcoming projects for its safety implementation plan and reclaiming

(SOGESID project), presented in mid-2013.

Investigations brought up the presence of waste, mostly comprising of calcium hydroxide, and a widespread,

high-level pollution of both the soil and the underlying aquifer, denoting the presence of hydrocarbons,

chlorobenzenes, heavy metals, and an extremely high concentration of cancerogenic elements. Some of

these, such as the chlorinated aliphatic compounds, were million-times higher than the legal limit.

As such, the Micorosa area can be considered an enormous illegal dumping site for special and

hazardous industrial waste, largely uncontrolled, that has been painfully neglected over the course of the

last 30 years.

In 2013, Province authorities issued an injunction towards several companies for the implementation of

safety procedures in the area. However, these companies successfully appealed the injunction to the Regional

Administrative Court (TAR) - division of Lecce (http://www.giustizia-

amministrativa.it/DocumentiGA/Lecce/Sezione%201/2013/201300989/Provvedimenti/201400339_01.XML The appeal was

granted in three similar judgements, based exclusively on the fact that the letter had been sent by the

Province as opposed to the Ministry of Environment, which is the competent authority for national

reclamations. However, at the same time, the court confirmed the content of the note and collected the

transfers of ownerships and responsibilities of those involved.

The Court also stated that (TN, the following is a translation of the original Court statements, recorded in

Italian): “As per the challenged deed, it is safe to state that there is a liabilities of the companies that

comprise, due to merging and/or acquisition, the different Companies that held ownership over the area" and

that should be considered "joint responsible for the area's pollution" (see operative section of the Province

order). It is not possible to relieve of responsibility the party that has caused such contamination, in the case

where it is an industrial company that made use of the property, and sold the company itself (becoming

insolvent), as well as the assignee, claiming not to have any responsibility nor to be subject to any obligation

to carry out reclamation in quality of owner.”

In spite of such judging, that made clearer the responsibilities of privates and the legal provisions imposing

(or rather, that should impose) the "polluters pay" principle, in March 2014 the Ministry of Environment

signed a program agreement with Syndial, also involving the city of Brindisi as well as regional authorities

of Puglia, for the emergency safety operations in the area, worth EUR 68M. Only EUR 20M of these come

from private companies.. The agreement caters for a 50-hectare capping and a hydraulic barrier, as well as

soil aquifer treatment across the area.

The history of the landfill (Description adapted from the safety procedure project report)

4.1 Classification of the area

The Micorosa area is located within the industrial area of the municipality of Brindisi, as part of the

Petrochemical site, and is included in the delimited region that was recognised as a site of national interest

for reclaiming operations. It is adjacent to the Petrochemical complex of the city of Brindisi, that was

launched in 1961 by the Montecatini company for the “treatment of 1mn tonnes of raw oil. This was used

mainly to obtain distillates for the production of olefine and chemical derivatives", as per the inter-Ministry

decree 2.9.1961 n. 5188, which issued the concession. Apolymerisation line (CVM-PVC) was also located in

the adjacent area. This was owned by the Polymer firm, also part of the Montecatini group. In 1966,

following the merging of Montecatini and Edison, the ownership of the industrial site was transferred to the

newly-formed Montedison. At this time, new lines were added for the manufacturing of additional polymer

plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polyurethane. The Micorosa area was used for the disposal

of slash from the petrochemical site's industrial process. This was followed by three different phases, linked

to the dumping of different types of industrial waste:

1962-1969: calcium hydroxide sludge, residues of the acetylene production line, vinyl chloride synthetic

intermediate for the production of PVC

1969-75: chloride lines (comprising of: low boiling point organochlorine compounds such as vinyl

chloride, metyl chloride, 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,2-dichloroethene cis and trans; 1,2 dichloroethane; high

boiling point organochlorine compounds such as trichloroethylene, trichloroethane, tetrachloroethane ,

pentachloroethane, hexachloroethane, bromodichloromethane; mixtures of polycyclic aromatic solvents

having a boiling point of between 180°-190°C and up to 240°-250°C), residues from the production line of

dichloroethane, a synthetic intermediate of Vinyl chloride for the production of PVC;

1972-80: residues of the phthalic anhydride production facility, comprising of maleic and pthalic acid.

It is assumed that dumping operations terminated at the time the industrial production site closed down (the

acethylen facility closed down in 1969, the dichlorethan one closed down in 1975, and the phtalic acid one

stopped working in 1980). In terms of chlorinated production, dumping operations were discontinued with

the installation of storage tanks in 1973. In 1987, the Montedison group sold the area to Società Micorosa

S.r.l., which starts recovering the previously-dumped sludge for the production of hydrated lime. Such

operations were carried out between 1994 and 1995, and it appears that no further activities were performed

within the area."

Areas' plan (from the project report)

POLLUTION STATUS

The image below was copied from the safety procedure implementation project, and highlights the location

of the surveys carried out in the area as part of the characterisation plan.

Ground water The aquifer reported pollution level above legal standards based on one or more parameters in all the

sampling points.

Overall, 42 toxic and/or carcinogenic substances were reported to be above the legal threshold, and many

cases hundreds or thousands-times higher than the latter.

Below are the substances that reported the most striking overage compared to the legal thresholds

(Contamination Threshold Concentrations - C.S.C. in Italian)

Parameter Hazardousness Value of the non-compliance

with legal standards Entità del

superamento dei limiti di legge

(C.S.C.= Concentrazione Soglia

di Contaminazione -

Contamination Threshold

Concentrations)

1,1-Dichloroethene Has been classified as a toxic and

carcinogenic agent by the EU

(category 2, H351:

suspected of causing cancer)

198,016,620 times above threshold

Benzene Definitely carcinogenic (IARC),

toxic, mutagen

49,653 times above threshold

Vinyl chloride Definitely carcinogenic (IARC) 7,716,250 times above threshold

1,2 Dichloroethane Has been classified as a possible

carcinogen by the EU

(category 1B, H350: may cause

cancer) and toxic

494,664 times above threshold

The table below is based on the safety procedure implementation project and includes a full list of all

toxic/carcinogenic substances found.

Land Plenty of samples were classifiable as special hazardous waste and not as land, with a decreasing percentage

at higher depths. Those samples that were classified as "waste" were then classified in the largest majority of

cases as "special hazardous waste" following the transfer tests.

Many of the analysis carried out on samples of "land" also reported contamination from several toxic and/or

carcinogenic substances at the same time. The table below provides a summary of the situation, collecting

the most striking data alone.

In terms of dioxin findings on the top soil, 10 samples within Micorosa reported higher-than-threshold

levels. Within the nearby "protected oasis" (!) , 11 samples reported exceedance of PCCD/PCDF legal

thresholds with value ranging from 0,0125 μg I-TE/kg to 2,757 μg I-TE/kg , versus a limit of 0,01 μg I-TE/kg.

Such exceedances were reported on 7 surface samples (falling within the first 50 to 100 cm of depth from the

p.c.) and 4 sub-surface samples, including sample SM11.3 taken between 2 and 3 metres below the p.c.,

showing a value of 0,399 μg I-TE/kg." (Excerpt of the project report. This means the level was effectively 40

times above legal threshold.).

Level Number of

parameters above

legal thresholds

Classification of the samples

collected

Main exceedances

C1

0-1 metres

38 154 items of waste (80%) Hexachlorobenzene: 54 times above

threshold

Heavy fuel oil: 12 times above

threshold

14 mixed land/waste product

(7%)

25 land (13%)

C2

1-4 metres

41

114 waste items (59%) Vinyl chloride 32 times above threshold

Benzene 190 times above threshold

Monochlorobenzene 132 times above

threshold

38 mixed land/waste product

(20%)

41 land (21%)

C3

2-5 metres

38 62 waste items (32%) Benzene 47 times above threshold

Trichloromethane 55 times above

threshold

Tetrachloroethylene 260 times above

threshold

38 mixed land/waste product

(20%)

93 waste items (48%)

C4

3-19 metres

38 3 waste (3%) 1,1 dichloroethane 24 times above

threshold

Light hydrocarbons 630 times above

threshold

1 mixed land/waste product

(1%)

96 land (96%)

Excerpt of the safety measure implementation project

"Based on what has been discussed so far, the contamination level reported in the sample defined as "land"

that were analysed could be attributable partly to the circulation of contaminated soil aquifer below the

capillary fringe, and partly to the presence/nature of "waste or mixed waste soil" above the land. This was

based on the chemical-physical properties (density, solubility, vapour pressure) as well as toxicological

properties of the various analytes whose concentration values were reported to be higher than the

contamination threshold (for metals: arsenic, beryllium, cobalt, mercury, lead, selenium, thallium,

vanadium; for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) : benz[a]anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene,

dibenzo(a,e)pyrene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, indenopyrene; for aromatic compounds: benzene, toluene, xylene

and e ethylbenzene, for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic chlorinated aliphatic compounds and for

carcinogenic halogenated aliphatic compounds: dichloromethane, trichloromethane, 1,1,2,2-

tetrachloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethene, 1,1-dichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, vinyl

chloride, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethylene; for chlorobenzenes: monochlorobenzene, 1,4-

dichlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene andhexachlorobenzene; for aromatic amines: o-anisidine, m,p-

anisidine; methylphenol (o,m,p); PCB; light and heavy hydrocarbons ).

The "twin" case of the National Site of Interest of Bussi-Valpescara in the region of Abruzzi

The Micorosa landfill has a sort or "twin" site in the region of Abruzzi, in the area of Valpescara, the

municipalities of Bussi and Piano d'Orta, located in the province of Pescara. This are hosted from the early

900s two Montedison-Montecatini facilities for the production of solvents, sodium carbonates, tetraethyl

lead and, between the two wars, even chemical weapons. This was the case of the production of sulphur

mustards in the town of Bussi, located on the Apennine Mountains. Piano d'Orta hosted a fertilizer

production site.

The chemical production site of Bussi Officine Facility in Piano d'Orta

The Italian forestry department seized a 3.5-hectares landfill next to the facility and opposite the railway

station in 2007. The so-called Tremonti landfill was fully non-compliant with regulations, and was locating

in the gorges bearing the same name, where the Pescara river flows. This is also where the well-known

chlorinated pitch and other production waste had been dumped between the 1970s and the early 1980s.

According to calculations by legal authorities of Pescara, approximately 1 tonne of this waste had been

dumped directly into the Pescara river in the previous years.

Following the first seizure, forestry authorities also seized nearby areas just above the industrial area, along

the Tirino valley, 2A e 2B, officially authorised for the management of non-hazardous waste, but also in use

for hazardous one.

On the left hand side, landfills 2A e 2B and in the background the town of Bussi. On the right hand side, the

Tremonti landfill the white banks are close-to-pure hexachloroethane blocks)

In 2007, legal authorities of Pescara also seized the facility of Piano d'Orta, that had been abandoned in 1964

but that never underwent any reclaim or safety measure implementation process.

A total of 19 managers of Montedison are currently accused of environmental disaster and water pollution in

legal proceedings before the Court of assizes of Chieti. This waste has heavily polluted all the aquifer of the

area as well as the S. Angelo wells, 1.2 miles downstream, which had been built in 1982. In particular, the

presence tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, hexachloroethane, chloroform was

reported. The wells were providing water to the houses of the Valpescara area, including Chieti and Pescara.

During legal proceedings, it was also brought up that an internal document of Montedison had highlighted

the presence of pollution from chlorinated solvents in the wells containing water for human consumption as

early as 1992. Public bodies had known since 2004 at least, but the wells remained open, and the population

was left unaware. As an attempt to counteract the situation, authorities installed active-carbon filters that,

after a few weeks of their installation, were increasing the concentration of pollutants in water as opposed to

filtering them. The reality only surfaced in 2007, thanks to private analysis and to the protests from WWF,

Italian association for the defence of public water Forum dell'Acqua and the political party Rifondazione

Comunista, and the wells were finally closed down. Public prosecutors have currently presented a motion for

indictment for the responsible of the local health authority (ASL), the Chairman and Director of the water

facility management group, as well as the Chairman of the Ambit Authority under charges of having supplied

contaminated water to them population.

In 2014, the Italian Higher Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) presented a sworn expert

appraisal prepared on behalf of the Public prosecutor, which estimates that 700,000 people were exposed to

carcinogenic and toxic substances due to the pollution of the aquifer and to the supply of water from the S.

Angelo wells. Angelo. The water supply is now operated from alternative wells, dug as an emergency

solution upstream of the areas contaminated in 2007.

In 2008, the Ministry of Environment has recognised the chemical complex of Bussi Officine, the dismissed

facility of Piano d'Orta and the Enel basins in Valpescara, where the sediments carried by the Pescara river

from Bussi downstream to the valley are trapped, as a National Site for Reclamation with a legal decree.

At the end of 2001, the industrial site was bought over by Solvay, which also joined the proceedings seeking

damages from Montedison managers, has it inherited the heavily-serious contamination state. The group had

also flagged this up to public authorities in 2004, when it had presented the first characterisation plan.

In the upper-left corner, the

residential area of Bussi In

purple, landfills 2A and 2B. In

yellow, the industrial area. In

red, the Tremonti landfill. In

green downstream, towards

Pescara, the S. Angelo wells. (on

the edge)

The table below shows the

concentration of toxic and/or

carcinogenic substances in the

deep aquifer (approximately 328

feet) as well as in the surface

aquifer below the facilities (data

from 2009-2012)

As of 2013, 6 managers of Solvay are also under investigation upon report of the public associations and

defence group, with accusations of having omitted prevention measures in the areas currently owned by the

Belgian multinational. While not being responsible for the pollution, according to Public Prosecutors, the

company should have tried to avoid the spreading downstream of the contaminating substances. This is

linked to the fact that the “pump and treat” pumping system activated on the far edge of the facility for the

treatment of the aquifer circulating underneath the site towards outer areas was reportedly not entirely

effective in decreasing contaminating substances level below legal thresholds. Landfills 2A and 2B were also

seized again - the latter being a pretty unique case within the framework of criminal action taken within the

country.

Other than the above-mentioned malfunctioning treatment plant, the only other safety measure

implementation and reclamation project until now was a capping and a sheet piling operation on the

perimeter of the illegal Tremonti landfill. Both operations were carried out by a delegate Commissioner of

the Government, and were heavily challenged by the public opinion and association, as well as by regional

authorities. Piano d'Orta has not undertaken any operation.

According to several studies by the University of Teramo, a report by the Italian Higher Institute of Health

and monitoring operations by ARTA, the regional agency for environmental protection, the entire valley of

Pescara is subject to a widespread pollution. In particular, a high concentration of mercury was found in the

Tirino riverbed, close to the facility and extending until the sediments in the port of Pescara, 31 miles

downstream. A high concentration of mercury was also confirmed in the hair of fishermen in Pescara, and

the levels found in prawns collected from the area opposite Pescara were over legal limits set for food

consumption.

It is currently estimated that the area of Bussi includes approximately 2 million tonnes of contaminated

land/waste/residues, with high, and above-legal threshold, levels of tens of hazardous substances, including

dioxin, mercury, lead, arsenic, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride.

Public organisations have been asking for an epidemiological survey to be carried out since 2008. However,

the region does not have a cancer registry. According to a study commissioned by the regional health agency

in 2012 and that only saw the light more recently thanks to the Forum dell'Acqua association, the incidence

of cancer is very high in Bussi (70% more than the average regional incidence), the nearby town of Popoli,

and the metropolitan area of Pescara (*18%). the study was based on the hospitalisation of citizens from all

the municipalities of the region.

Nothing was done for prevention or to further research this alarming data ever since 2012.

Piano d'Orta today. Piryte ashes

rich in cadmium, arsenic, lead

and chromium are literally in the

open air, and can be easily

reached by anyone being found

by the side of houses and on the

streets. The soil is heavily

contaminated by inorganic

compounds including arsenic,

lead, mercury, beryllium, copper,

vanadium, zinc and selenium.

The values of such compounds

were at times hundreds times

higher than the Contamination

Threshold Concentrations (CSC)

set in legislative

decree152/2006. The

groundwater layer also reported

contamination caused by

substances of the same nature as

the inorganic ones found in the

soil.

Conclusion

For the area of Brindisi, the following excerpt from the safety measure implementation project should be

noted:

"According to the outcome of several analyses carried out in the area of Micorosa and its surrounding, the

different environmental component in question - soil, subsoil, subsoil water and interstitial water - are

heavily affected. This is due to the significant pollution that spreads over the entire area. Based on a

comparison of the different surveys, and in particular based on the outcome of the analysis on the soil

aquifer, it becomes evident that the most contaminated areas within the Micorosa site are located on the

north-eastern and south-western corners. Outside the site, the most affected areas are the southern and

eastern ones. Amongst some of the most common polluting components are some heavy metals and a number

of organic compounds ( hydrocarbons, chlorinated aliphatic compounds, chlorinated and non-chlorinated

aromatic compounds). The reported amounts of these were at times many times higher than the

Contamination Threshold Concentrations set for residential areas and subsoil water. The contamination may

also be linked to the dumping of production waste in the area over the previous decades."

Comitato NO Carbone Brindisi, and Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l'Acqua have filed a legal request to

assess where the responsibility for the current, staggering, pollution status of the Micorosa site lies, and how

it is possible for the area to be effectively abandoned, despite the huge levels of pollution therein reported.

Citizens are also requesting that:

- any reclamation/safety measure implementation process be carried out by private companies or, where the

state is intervening, only under the agreement to claim as a "damage" against the liable parties, with the aim

of recovering any amount that public authorities may want to invest into these operations, in a similar

fashion to what is happening in other comparable situations.

- the Ministry of Environment and any other public bodies involved put into practice the legal Decree

195/2005 on the transparency of environmental information, thereby publishing all the documentation on

Micorosa and in general on the Site of national interest of Brindisi on their websites. . This would include

any report from the service conferences, analytic data from characterisation and monitoring activities, etc. It

is also to be reminded that it is mandatory by law to publish any environmental information, something

which so far has not been done by the Ministry of Environment.

- any choices for the future of the area be taken in conjunction with citizens and committees, so that all and

every options are considered, other than the filling in-loco of the waste material, with a stronger focus on the

different possibilities.

In relation to the Bussi-Piano d'Orta area and for the entire Valpescara area, the committees request :

- the immediate start of an epidemiologic survey, as well as of measures aimed at preventing contamination-

related illnesses;

- the completion of environmental characterisation across all the areas;

- the termination of the current provisional government administration status;

- the reclamation of all contaminated areas, at the expenses of the liable party, based on the principle that

"those who pollute, pay";

- a monitoring program of all the affected components, including water, soil, and biologic components,

including humans themselves, to assess the actual contamination degree in Valpescara. This is based on the

consideration that the hazardous material from Bussi could have polluted the area's lands both during the

river flooding and during the use of polluted water for irrigation purposes, over the course of several decades

.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

BRINDISI

Comitato No Carbone

noalcarbonebrindisi@yahoo.it

http://noalcarbonebrindisi.blogspot.it/

+39 3402813059

VALPESCARA

Forum Italiano Movimenti per l'Acqua

segreteriah2oabruzzo@gmail.com

www.acquabenecomune.org

www.abruzzosocialforum.org/

+39 3683188739