Chapter 15 - Characterization and Remediation of a Brownfield Site: The Bagnoli Case in Italy

Abstract

Abstract This chapter documents the case history of the Bagnoli brownfield site government remediation project, which is still in progress, being in the remediation phase. The site was the second largest integrated steelworks in Italy and is located in the outskirts of Naples, in an area that is part of the quiescent Campi Flegrei (CF) volcanic caldera. Hundreds of surficial and deep boreholes have been drilled, with the collection of about 3000 samples of soils, scums, slags, and landfill materials. In addition, water samples from underground waters have been collected. The samples have been chemically analyzed for inorganic and organic elements and compounds, as required by Italian Environmental Law DLgs 152/2006. In general, heavy metal enrichments in the cores and water suggest mixing between natural (geogenic) and anthropogenic components. The natural contribution of volcanically related hydrothermal fluids to soil pollution, in addition to the non bioavailability of metal pollutants from industrial materials, indicate that heavy metal remediation of soils in this area would be of little use, because continuous discharge from mineralized hydrothermal solutions would cancel out any remediation effort. The real pollution to be remediated is the occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) distributed in different spots across the brownfield site, but mostly in the area sited between two piers along the shoreline that is filled with slag, scum, and landfill material.