Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’energia, dei sistemi, del
territorio e delle costruzioni
Corso di laurea magistrale in
Ingegneria Idraulica dei Trasporti e del Territorio
Application of LCA in the treatment of
dredged sediments
LAUREANDO RELATORE
Stefano Liberatori Prof. Dott. Renato Iannelli
CORRELATORI Dott.ssa Elisabetta Giovenali
1 introduction 1
I The issue of dredging within European ports and LCA approach 3
2 management of dredged sediments in the european countries 4
2.1 Milford Haven Waterway (UK) case. 4
2.2 Republic of Ireland case 5
2.3 River Elbe case in Hamburg 6
2.4 The port of Dunkirk, France 8
2.5 Baltic Sea Region (BSR) 9
2.6 Italian case 14
3 the issue of dredging in italy 20
3.1 Italian Freameworks 20
3.2 Comparison between Italian Frameworks and European States 26
4 remediation technology 30
4.1 Waste or resource 30
4.2 Remediation Technology. 34
5 lca approach and openlca 43
5.1 Legal and policy status of LCA 45
5.2 Process structure LCA 46
5.3 Potential and difficulties of LCA 57
5.4 OpenLCA software 59
II Application of SEKRET technology at Livorno harbour 73
6 sekret project 74
6.1 Management of dredged sediments 74
6.2 AGRIPORT Project 75
6.3 Sediment Electrokinetic REmediation Technology 79
6.4 Description pilot plant 84
6.5 Treatment tank 85
6.6 Electrolysis plant 88
6.7 Electrolyte conditioning system 89
6.8 Gas treatment plant 91
6.9 Electrical system 93
7 lca application to sekret technology 94
7.1 Goal and Scope definition 94
7.2 Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) 95
7.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) 109
7.4 Comparison between SEKRET remediation and disposal in the land-fill 145
8 conclusion 151
I N T R O D U C T I O N
History shows how man has a natural aptitude with the aquatic environment. Small villages settle first along the main rivers and coast, then more and more complex urban centers right up to modern times, in which the development of sailing has reached very high levels, both for the transport of goods and for the transport of persons. The increase in commercial traffic coupled with increasingly efficient construction technologies, have produced increasingly large ships for length, draft and load capacity. For this to be feasible, it needs adequate infrastructure designed to safely accommodate the massive cargo ships and cruise ships.
Incorrect design choices, sea currents, human activities, development nautical, represent some of the major causes related to dredging. The issue of dredging is a very tricky issue; in recent years the Italian ports have lost about 40 million tons of goods. The cause lies in part to the economic cycle, but in part it is significant of the Italian ports and the raising of the seabed loss of competitiveness is one of the factors. The international stage, with regard to the handling of the seabed operations management, one of the main references is the London Convention of 1972, relating to dumping activities. In particular, the DMAF attached document (Material dredged Assestment Framework), which outlines the guidelines to di-rect choices and operations relating to various dredging. The last 20 years have followed conferences and meetings regarding the management and disposal of sediments, remember: OSPAR (Protecting and conserving the North East Atlantic and its resources) 1992, UNEP-MAP (United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan - Protocol for the protection of marine environment and the Mediterranean coastal region) 1995, IMO (International Maritime Organization - Specific guidelines for Assestment of dredgred material) 1997, UNEP-MAP 2005 (Guidelines for the handling of geological materials aggregates and uncontam-inated). Traditional sediment management techniques involve the disposal in reclaimed areas, or reuse of sediments as beach nourishment material coastlines. The problem is when these sediments have traces of contamination. To respond to these problems have been conducted experimental studies in Europe and Italian. The Life + SEKRET project was first launched with this purpose, reclaiming the dredged sediment for reuse as decontaminated soil, reducing the environmental impacts of the contaminant fraction.
The object of the study is to compare using a LCA electrokinetic remediation SEKRET with ordinary disposal in landfill of contaminated marine sediments. The "Life Cycle Analysis" method is a standardized procedure that allows you to record, quantify and assess the environmental damage associated with a product, a process or a service, in a very specific context, which must be defined in advance. The LCA structure is described in UNI EN ISO 14040 and the following. First, you
must define the purpose and scope of the investigation; then, you have to build the so-called "inventory analysis": in this phase the material and energy flows of the different steps of the procedure in question are noted, according to precise rules, in relation to a size that allows for the benefits defined units functional are noted, according to precise rules, the material and energy flows of the different steps of the procedure in question, in relation to a size that allows for the benefits defined units functional. In a third step, after completing all budgets, you can start the assessment: this estimate is used to identify and quantify the potential environmental effects of the examined systems and provides essential information for subsequent interpretations, which are realized in the fourth passage. At this point, the results of the mass and energy balance and the risk assessment are summarized, discussed and evaluated in relation to the objective previously set.
The thesis has been developed in two parts, Part I talk about: sediment man-agement in the major European countries like England, Germany, France, Ireland and the Baltic regions; Chapter 3 analyzes the Italian legal system, by comparing the Italian laws with France and Spain. In Chapter 4 are taken at the major de-contamination methods such as Capping, the Confined disposal facilities (CDF), Bioremediation, Phytoremediation and Electrokinetics. The last part, Chapter 5 analyzes the LCA in its entirety. Part II instead was structured as follows: Chapter 6analyzes the two main projects developed in recent years on the remediation of marine sediments, AGRIPORT and SEKRET projects. Chapter 7 instead encom-passes the sediment management comparison, conducted with the LCA, applied to the real case of the port of Livorno. Starting from the pilot site knowledge I proceeded to the modeling of a real-scale electrokinetic decontamination facility. I then compared the results of the LCA SEKRET with those relating to landfilling the same volumes of contaminated sludge.
This paper aims to analyze the aforementioned electrokinetic remediation pro-cess with the LCA method, and to disclose to potential users the final results.
The issue of dredging within
European ports and LCA approach
M A N A G E M E N T O F D R E D G E D
S E D I M E N T S I N T H E E U R O P E A N
C O U N T R I E S
The continued need to dredge the seabed, both for maintenance and for naviga-tional problems leads to the production of millions of cubic meters of material dredged every year, especially in Europe and North America. Part of this material is suitable for reintroduction into the sea, while for what can not be poured into the sea is necessary to identify the valid alternative management mode. Below are shown some solutions proposed in the major European countries.
2.1
milford haven waterway (uk) case.
The Milford Haven Waterway (MHW), in west Wales, is a great example of sea-river navigation communications. This place has been a major oil port since 1960 with up to four refineries, associated jetties and pipelines, and is one of the largest UK terminal for crude oil, diesel, gasoline. Emissions from tankers, the former oil-fired power stations and refineries and fires are significant sources of pyrogenic PAHs mainly via the atmosphere and runoff. These predominantly historical pollution sources are recycled by disturbance of superficial sediment exposing older material. The sediments contaminants were monitored since 1978 (hydrocarbons) and 1982 (metals), with the aim of providing surveillance of environmental quality in one of the UK’s busiest oil and gas port. After a review by the MHW Environmental Surveillance Group, sediments were investigated in detail in 2010 in the national interest, MHW must be kept open and safe for commercial navigation, in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable manner. From 2007-2012 there was much analysis, monitoring some parameters such as the PHBs, PCBs, Cd, Hg, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn.
In 2007, 2010 and 2012 the individual and total PAH concentrations at almost all station in MHW exceeded accepted sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). The proportions of stations in excess of threshold effect level (TEL) declined only slightly from >87% in 2007 to 80% in 2012. For the metals Cu, Pb and Zn, in both 2007and 2012, the TELs were exceeded in at least 47% of stations, the proportion in excess only declining slightly from >80% for Cu in 2007 to 73% for Pb in 2012; additionally, all stations except those in Sandyhaven Pill and the lower Western Cleddau had from one to six PAHs in excess of the PEL. For metals, there is some controversy over how acutely toxic this lability can be, whilst for PHBs, there is evidence that bioavailability increases. Although the disposal sites offshore have been studied, and the effects documented at the MHW dredging sites themselves,
the wider effect of sediment re-suspension inside MHW had not been properly studied. [47]
2.2
republic of ireland case
International trade is almost exclusively through maritime transport accounting for 90% of Ireland’s imports end exports by volume and 95% by value, representing a value in excess of€150 billion passing through the Irish water transport supply chain annually.
Dredging activities involving reclamation, beach nourishment or any port/har-bour/marina development work is regulated by the requirement for a Foreshore Licence, under the Foreshore Act. The foreshore is defined as the seabed and shore below the mean high water line to the twelve nautical mile limit seaward. In Ireland as in Europe, disposal at sea has historically been and remains the most common dredge material (DM) management practise, particularly of the fine grained fraction. Dredging and disposal effects are site-specific and in order to evaluate the potential environmental impact of dredging and disposal requires an assessment and comprehensive understanding of the site-specific dynamics. [65]
Disposal is regulated under Ireland’s Dumping at Sea Act [30] in conjunction
with the OSPAR and London Conventions [41]. The Dumping at Sea Act is the
only legislation recognising the potential beneficial use of DM in the alternative methods of disposal must be assessed prior to issuing a licence. Nowadays the Republic of Ireland has roughly 50 licensed disposal at sea sites with disposal sail distance of up to approximately 25 km.
The Waste Framework Directive [66], from which Ireland’s Wast Management
Acts are derived, establishes a hierarchy, a strategy for prioritising management of "waste" streams. A major issue for Ireland when considering potential beneficial use of DM is the lack of specific standards to determinate when DM is no longer considered a waste. Article 6 of the Waste Framework Directive indicates when a specified waste ceases to be waste.
Studies for the island of Ireland have identified the limited amount of benefi-cial use of DM practiced for the fine grained fraction, which is primarily from maintenance dredging projects. Innovative beneficial uses, such as sub-base ma-terial for road construction, landfill liner, lightweight aggregate, and stabilised construction fil material are now being researched and developed to increase the option available and aid the decision making process at the planning stage of a dredging project. The regulatory agencies in the Republic of Ireland have recently strongly encouraged the consideration of beneficial uses; however, no guidelines yet exist in Ireland to assist ports/harbours in their management of dredge ma-terials. Current DM management techniques are assessed including the ongoing practice of disposal at sea, the beneficial uses employed and the management of contaminated DM. Potential future trends, issue and challenges faced by the industry are highlighted and recommendations are made where appropriate.
Onshore disposal is generally recognised as a beneficial use DM (e.g landfill cover), with the exception being the placement of material in a hazardous landfill site for isolation. Disposal at sea is the most common DM management technique for all the major Irish ports (Cork, Dublin, Drogheda, Shannon Foynes and Water-ford) and these ports, as well as some of the smaller harbours, now operate their maintenance dredging under 5-year Dumping at Sea Licence. These licenses were introduced to encourage the ports to consider management of DM over a long time period, allowing for greater consideration of alternative disposal methods. The application for Dumping at Sea License states that "The dumping of dredge spoil at sea is only acceptable when other means of disposal are rule out for ecological ar sound social or economic reason. Even so, for ecological/environmental reasons the dumping of the waste may not be permissible in all cases."
Nowadays there is no economic incentive for ports to give serious consideration to alternatives to disposal at sea. The current application fee for a disposal at Sea License in Ireland is€63.49 [15], there are no other fees involved.
In Ireland only 20% of the dredged material is beneficially used. A number of recently completed dredging projects in Ireland have featured innovative beneficial use of dredge material( Table1). A calculation carried out by the Irish port
authori-ties, has indicated a production rate of 0.052 kg CO2 /Km/m3, which is equivalent
to the production of additional 5.2 tonnes of CO2per mile nautical route to dispose
100 000 m3of dredged material. [62]
Table 1.:International rates of beneficial use of DM.
Country Percentage reused (%) Comments
Ireland 20 Insignificant use of maintenance DM; 44% of capital DM reused
USA 20-30 Agriculture, forestry and horticultures uses; strip-mine reclamation waste man-agement; shoreline construction; indus-trial construction; beach nourishment Netherlands 23 4% of this material is treated before reuse,
4% has a direct reuse and 15% is spread on land
Spain 76 Used primarily for land reclamation and beach nourishment
2.3
river elbe case in hamburg
The port of Hamburg is the largest port in Germany, the third largest port in Europe, after Rotterdam and Antwerp, and one of the ten largest container port worldwide. It is considered a focal point for the trade conducted with Eastern and Northern Europe. [57] The port is situated inland on the River Elbe some 100 km
from the North Sea.[25] The development of the city of Hamburg has always been
interlinked with and shaped by its harbour activities. Due to its inland location and topography, the port’s main problem is the accumulation of sediments and the need for regular dredging.
The deepening of the river was specifically discussed in the 1990’s, when it was discovered that the river sediments were highly contaminated, and needed to be treated before any disposal inland. The main source of pollution derived from the industries located along the Elba. Since then, many pollution prevention and control techniques have been implemented and the quality of the river water has improved. In the early 2000’s the port of Hamburg had to also face the problem of where to store the dredged material, including the areas used to process them; the capacity of on-land storage of sediments will be exhausted in 6 years, thus new sustainable long term solution to deal with the increase amount of this material, including treatment and storage, need to be found. Being a city state, Hamburg had to dispose of the treated sediments, originating from dredging, in its limited city borders. Therefore Hamburg had to seek out other solutions. The Hamburg Port Authority and the Waterway and Shipping Directorate for example, have developed a sediment management concept for the tidal Elbe, which was seen as an economically feasible solution for sediment storage. The plan encompasses storage of 4.5 million m3of dredged material in the North Sea in the years 2005 to 2008. To allow 24 hours accessibility of the port, independent of high tides, as well as to allow ships with 15.5 metres draught and bigger transport capacities than ever before to float to the port of Hamburg, the Elbe needs to be at least 1 meter in depth. [44]
Initially, a technical solution for the treatment of dredged sediment was devised, consisting of pre-treatment, which is the separation into sand and contaminated silt fraction, and the de-watering process followed by environmentally safe disposal of the silt in two specially constructed silt mounds. [52] Pre-treatment is done in
the large scale METHA plant (MEchanical Treatment and Dewatering of harbour sediments). The operation of the METHA plant require 96 employees. The operating costs have been approximately€17 million per year, including personnel costs, depreciation and interest charges.
From the hopper dredgers or barges the water dredged material mixture si pumped into a 300 000 m3storage basin. In the beginning of METHA process a drum sieve
separate out all particles that are larger than a centimetre, such as stones and debris. In hydrocyclones the fine-grained silt (< 63µm) moves upwards under centrifugal forces, and the coarser-grained sand downwards. The silt fraction of the first separation unit is passed to smaller hydrocyclones where the silt and fine sand (> 20µm) are separated from each other by centrifugal force. The residual components are separated by a spiral separator; the cleaned fine sand is dewatered using a vacuum belt and reused. This process line needs a lot of electricity and a large water supplement. Beside the experimental treatment METHA, it is the classic technique of dewatering: the dredged silt is flushed in the so-called dewatering fields, these will reach a size from 2 to 4 ha, for a total of about 100 ha. The annual treatment capacity is up to a 20 0000 m3 profile volume. The dredged material is
flushed in the dewatering fields up to a height of 1.3 m; after a few weeks the silt has settled to the extent that the supernatant water can be drained off and the actual drying process begins. [25]
The sand is used as construction material and is almost contaminant free; the fine sand can be used in industry as a raw material or additive, whereas the silt can be used as sealing material in the construction of disposal sites or can be used for harbour backfilling. [43] "Zero emissions" at the time of filling of the harbour
basin with silt is unrealistic. However the specific pore water collection and the criteria that are typical for silt lead to a very low water permeability and good homogeneity with limited emission in the water path both in terms of amount and over time. Hamburg is particularly experienced in the beneficial use of dredged material as earthwork material in sealing construction. The positive experiences from the beneficial use of silt as sealing material now provide the opportunity to prospect the market for additional potential use. [25]
2.4
the port of dunkirk, france
Dunkirk, France is located 300 km north of Paris near the border with Belgium and covers a stretch of approximately 16 km along the North Sea. The port of Dunkirk is the third largest harbour in France. The East Port has a large tidal range and a navigable depth of 14.20 m to facilitate the passage of large cargos of 115 000 tonnes. The port also shelters a marina and a fishing port. The West Port has a navigable depth of 20.50 m and can accommodate larger vessels up to 300 000 tonnes. The port specialises in several industrial activities such as petroleum and gas, metallurgy, grains, granular materials and other heavy industries.
Since 1999 the GPMD (Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque) has executed several survey campaigns to characterise the sediments in the harbour, which has resulted in large registers with chemical and biological data. Several physico-chemical parameters have been considered in order to fix the maximum allowed values. In the future, the historically contaminated sediments will be dredged in the harbour and these will require treatment.
The GPMD is the first maritime harbour in France to establish a management plan considering the contamination of the sediments and their future valorisation. The treatment facility was built on a surface of 6 hectares inside the port area. By means of natural dewatering, sediments are dehydrated and ready to be valorised. With this facility, the GPMD is a pioneer in France and a good example for future facilities.
The project consists of three main stages during the first year and two stages during the following two years. During the first year the following three stages have been executed:
• Installation of the dehydration basins;
• Dehydration in the lagoons.
The first stage was the installation of the basins (Figure 1), including all site
facilities, such as fences, site offices, access roads and such. Because of the limited area, detailed engineering was done related to the construction and layout of the four basins.
The original idea was to use pumps to transfer the water from the lagoons into the next destination. As a result of the optimisation of the layout and the reliability of the system, natural gravitation has been selected. The excavation of the four basins started in January 2008. After excavation and construction of the bunds a HDPE geomembrane was installed. In the meantime the installation of a drainage layer also took place and a network of drainage tubes were installed in de dehydration basins. Once the first stage was done, in April 2008, the first dredging campaign started and a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) was used for dredging the first load of 22 000 DM. The sediments were dredged in “Bassin d’évolution de Watier” and were pumped ashore and distributed in the different lagoons. During the whole dredging campaign samples were taken and analysed for further optimisation of the dehydration process. During dredging operations and filling the lagoons with sediments, samples were taken at the discharge point at each lagoon. The dredged sediments had an average dry matter content of 33% and a sand content (<63µm) of 45%.
The dehydration of the lagoons was done in the following sequence:
• Decantation: overflow of the superficial water into the water storage basin;
• Natural dehydration;
• Mechanical dehydration: preparation of the windrows.
This process was closely monitored: quantities, turbidity and other parameters. At the end of the dehydration process, the materials will be removed from the basins and will be valorised into new projects. These can include: berm landscap-ing, aggregate in concrete, road construction and embankments. The advantages for the Port Authority are clear. This treatment centre gives the GPMD the op-portunity to valorise their contaminated sediments with a certain continuity. The project offers three lagooning basins which can be reused after the first dredging and dehydration period. A private contractor executes the project for a period of time. [32]
2.5
baltic sea region (bsr)
The Baltic Sea because of its geography has little exchange of water, the only places where there is continuous supply of water coming from the Atlantic Ocean are the straits of Øresund and Storebælt. Human activities mainly arranged on the coastal strip of the various countries, overlooking the Baltic Sea have produced thing in the years a strong pollution, this is consists of substances such as dioxins, PCBs,
Figure 1.: France, Dredging and environmental remediation in the port of Dunkirk.
TBT, PFOS and heavy metals that can have a serious impact on the ecology. No country can solve the pollution problem alone, here it is that the reduction of the latter has been identified as a priority for the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (SUERMB) (Figure2). Europe together with the local government has launched an
experimental phase for an integrated and better management of sediments that serve as reservoirs for long-term chemical substances in the aquatic environment. In the 2007-2013 period it was set the project SMOCS (sustainable development of contaminated sediments), funded by the European community with the active participation of 5 countries: Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Germany. Particular attention is given to the reuse of dredged sediments such as building material for new ports. This project involved the identification of sites to be treated and gave a priority on the urgency of remediation, then how to manage these contaminated sediments.
Most sites with contaminated sediments are located around the coasts of the Baltic Sea, both in local “hot spots” as well as distributed over large areas. Only in Sweden there are about 700 identified sites, containing approximately 100 000m3 of contaminated sediments each. To manage these sediments is expensive. For example, to treat contaminated sediments on a landfill costs approximately€ 100-200per cubic meter. Consequently, it is important to carefully choose which sites that is most important to manage and also to establish how the sediments should be treated. The choice on which contaminated sites should be treated must be based on ecological, social and economic considerations, i.e. a sustainability approach. Nevertheless, how to prioritize between contaminated sites, and subsequently how to manage them, are not clear. There is no general policy or agreement in BSR on which contaminated sites needs to be treated and how to prioritize between these different sites. Identification of contaminated sites, assessment or classification of the sites, prioritizations and subsequent management of contaminated sites are today carried out by each country separately. However, as the Baltic Sea is a common resource for the BSR countries, the management of contaminated sediments should be handled from a transnational perspective in order to achieve the best result and increase knowledge transfer between different countries. [48]
Figure 2.:Baltic Sea Region. [1]
2.5.1 Denmark
The most important stakeholders are the ports. There are about 400 ports of which 90ports are commercial. The ports that need to dredge ask the Nature Agency for dredging and dumping permits. Additional licenses have to be given by the Coastal inspectorate, the Fisheries Department (protection of fish), the Agency of Culture (Risk for historical dumping sites) and the Agency of Maritime Affairs (responsible for sea-lanes). There is no strategy or policy for the management of contaminated sediments in general in Denmark. There is neither no incentive to develop such strategies as no actions for identification, classification, prioritization or remediation of contaminated sediments is managed. So far, the strategy has been to let the contaminated sediments remain. Such strategy is motivated since the level of contamination in coastal sediments is decreasing over time. Issues related to contaminated sediments are mainly driven by the fact that the ports need to dredge and dispose dredged material. One of the key issues for the Nature Agency of The Ministry of Environment is how they can make better decisions about dumping permits and what benchmarks are appropriate. A general strategy for contaminated sediments is not a prioritized question but could be included in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. All member states of the framework are obliged to develop a detailed assessment of the environment, a definition of “good environmental status” at regional level and establish environmental targets and control programs.
The Nature Agency is primarily interested to exchange knowledge for action levels and dumping in the BSR, since these problems occurs in daily work. How-ever, from a strategic point of view, it would be good to know about what polices and strategies are implemented in the other BSR countries and which key issues are identified in the project. [48]
2.5.2 Finland
The Regional Environment centres have an administrative responsibility for sedi-ment managesedi-ment. There are also 13 Centres for Economic Developsedi-ment, Transport and the Environment – ELY centres that are responsible for monitoring of sedi-ments as well as granting permits. The ELY centres also give statesedi-ments to the Regional State Administrative Agencies and deal with customer queries.
There is no strategy or policy for the management of contaminated sediments in general in Finland. Contaminated sediment management is only related to dredging activities in ports. Since contaminated sediments in coastal areas are not remediated there is no driving force for strategies for sediments in general. No inventory, classification, or prioritization actions measures are taken. The knowledge base about the contamination degree in coastal sediments is also very poor. Measurements are made in small scales, at monitoring stations located in the coastal areas. Most data available on sediment status are outdated and origins from sediment samples in the 80‘s. Monitoring needs to be extended and due to the Water Framework Directive, overall monitoring is an obligation. For land contamination, most contaminated areas have been identified. But no classification or prioritization system is available. The identification process for contaminated land was initiated by Finnish authorities. Kenneth Holm was not shore whether any EU Directive requires such. The Finnish authorities are primarily concerned of the management of dredged material. A key issue is the increased need for sediment disposal such as disposal of dredged material at sea or in landfills. Most sediment is clay-based and can’t be utilized as construction materials and there is little land available for land disposal. [48]
2.5.3 Latvia
The responsibility for environmental protection and regional development are all under the same ministry. The Department of Environmental Protection consists of three divisions where the Pollution Prevention Division is responsible for policies and regulations on air quality, chemicals and remediation of contaminated sites. The Pollution Prevention Division is directly involved in policy planning and coordination to implement environmental legislation to reduce pollution from industrial and agricultural activities. There is also the State Environmental Services which are the regional boards that are working with sediment management and give permits for dredging and/or remediation activities. There is no strategy or policy for the management of contaminated sediments in general. Also, at a project
level, there is no policy or strategy for remediation and dredging. Laws stated in the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers regulate the procedures for dredging and remediation in ports. The regulations prescribe the procedures for the cleaning and deepening of surface water bodies and port basins. However, contaminated sediments are sometimes remediated. There is an ongoing remediation project in the Karostas channel (Harbour of Liep¯aj¯a – Karostas Kan¯als) which is funded by EU structural funds. The Karostas Channel is polluted due to historical industrial activities and dumping of military wastes. [48]
2.5.4 Estonia
There is no strategy in general for the management of contaminated sediments. For ports sediments there is supporting documents for dredging activities. It was primarily developed for contaminated land remediation but is used for sediments as well. The knowledge base about sediments in general is low. There have not been any measurements of the Estonian coastal sediments since the 80´s when mapping activities were conducted. The responsibility for the sediment management and sediments in general could not be clarified. There is a need for strategies for sediments outside ports. [48]
2.5.5 Poland
The responsibility for sediment issues in general is at the Ministry of the Environ-ment´s Department of Geology and Geological Concessions and also the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy, Department for Maritime Transport and Shipping Safety. There is no strategy or policy for sediments in general. There have been and is now ongoing work to investigate the need for strategies to deal with dumped munitions in the Baltic Sea. The EUSBSR Flagship Project “Assess the need to clean up contaminated wrecks and chemical weapons” is led by Poland and is now being finalized. A final report is under development. Further on, the work conducted in HELCOM 1
[22] will take into account the
increasing usage of the sea floor, and probably expand the work towards other submerged hazardous objects. [48]
2.5.6 Sweden
In Sweden the Environmental Protection Agency has the overall responsibility for contaminated sites. However, the overall responsibility for the sea is since year 2011 the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. The boundaries between the two authority’s responsibilities are still a bit unclear. Furthermore, the Swedish Geological Survey, SGU has a responsibility for environmental monitoring of
1 The Helsinki Commission meets annually, with the Heads of Delegation (HOD) representing the Contracting Parties: Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
sediments and the Swedish Geotechnical Institute, SGI, has since 2010, responsible for research, technology development and knowledge in the remediation and restoration of contaminated areas.
Contaminated sediments are included in the national plan for contaminated land/areas, i.e. they are included in the National inventory on contaminated sites. However, the inventory has been built up by addressing industrial sectors one by one, and contaminated sediments occur at many types of former industrial sites. This means that there is no specific inventory/registry of contaminated sediments as such, but only in connection with e.g. impregnation facilities, pulp- and paper factories etc. [48]
2.6
italian case
The situation of the Italian ports is slightly different from the situation of the ports located in the northern regions of Europe. The Tyrrhenian Sea does not have distinguishing trait of strong tidal excursions and the only transportable or sediments derived from the sediment of the river trunk or from any localized water currents in brief physiographic units. We can distinguish two levels of intervention, the first contract for the dredging of small, mainly tourist, ports and the second for the dredging of large commercial-industrial harbours. It is however found that the problem of dredging is a worldwide problem. Over the last 20 years both in Europe and in America experimental campaigns have been launched to investigate the problem of disposing of dredged sludge. Below are shown some solutions proposed in Italy.
2.6.1 Life-SEDI.PORT.SIL Project in the port of Ravenna
SEDI.PORT.SIL is a project co-financed by the European Community, within the LIFE Environment Programme projects, the project began in 2009 and ended in 2013. The SEDI.PORT.SIL. project was intended to demonstrate the efficiency of consolidated treatment technologies coupled with innovative techniques aimed to the recycle and valorization of Port dredged sediments, that can be considered an important resource rather than just a dangerous waste. The main partners were MED Engineering, University of Ferrara, University of Bologna, ISPRA, GeoEcoMare DIEMME.
The study area includes the nine small harbours, mainly used for docking of fishing vessels and yachts, which are located along the 130 km seaboard of the Emilia Romagna Region. Due to the morphological characteristics of this coastline, which is made up exclusively of low and sandy beach, the harbours could be of two types: harbours built by using the river mouths or harbours built by sectioning the back-shore and the shore-face by means of an artificial canal. This was the only way in which it was possible to connect an internal shelter and mooring
basin for ships with the open sea. For such reasons, all the harbours along the Emilia-Romagna coastline belong to the category of canal harbours. It is therefore obvious that, depending on the location and length of the docks as well as on the direction of the coastal sediment transport, all the canal harbours are liable to silting. The materials that accumulate in their mouths are in fact made up of sediments that move along the coastline driven by the coastal currents. In a coast like the one being analysed, the opening of a submarine canal to facilitate the access of boats to the harbour entails in fact a change in the seabed morphology that inevitably has a brief duration, given that the wave motion lifts and moves the sediments, filling up the submarine canal and thus restoring the initial conditions of the seabed. The harbours located at the end stretch of the torrents are also liable to silting, due to the sediment transport by the watercourse. Thanks to the arc-shaped profile of the coastline of the area and the delta cusp of the Po river in the North, this can receive, depending on the direction of the coastal currents, sedimentary contributions from both the Marche coast and the southern branches of the Po river’s delta. In the past, a modest amount of sand resulting from the erosion at the foot of the sea cliff between Pesaro and Gabicce fed the beaches of the central southern part of the seaboard, but this source practically exhausted a few years ago due to the fact that the sea cliff has been protected with reefs in more stretches. The coastal sediment transport is therefore essentially fed by the sediment transport of the Apennines watercourses, whereas the contribution of the Po river mostly relates to the Scanno di Goro and the seaboard stretch up to Porto Garibaldi. In all the harbours on the seaboard of the region, the sediments accumulated in the canal section need to be removed by dredging in order to ensure the safe passage of boats. Up to the middle of the 1990’s, the materials dredged were usually disposed into the sea off the coast, subsequently, when the Italian Ministerial Decree 24/01/1996 came into force, it became possible to reuse the material when it has suitable quality characteristics, otherwise it is placed in specific areas off the coast indicated by the Region for discharge. The SEDI.PORT.SIL. project is intend to demonstrate the efficiency of consolidated treatment technologies coupled with innovative techniques aimed to the recycle and valorisation of port dredged sediments, that can be considered an important resource rather than just a dangerous waste. Specific objectives of the project are:
• to maximize the innovative contribution of the project to management of dredge sediments within Italian and European administrative and legal frameworks;
• to demonstrate the efficiency of a treatment process for the decontamination of polluted sediment and associated water on the sediment of the port of Ravenna;
• to identify and plan best possible reuse of decontaminated sediment and extracted silicon;
• to create a business and a Master Plan to analyse the realization of a treatment plant at the port of Ravenna.
Ravenna is one of the major Italian ports for break-bulk cargo (e.g. raw materials for ceramics, cereals, fertilisers) and general cargo. To increase its own commercial potentiality, the port Authority foreseen to deep the port in order to accommodate vessel with a draft of up to 44 ft, that means bulk carriers with a 50000 tons load capacity container carriers with a capacity over 4-5000 TEUs. The foreseen dredge will bring the movement of 11 million m3 of sediments. Portion of sediments presents variable concentration of contaminants, depending of port area and sedi-ment depth. Fine and very fine sand sedisedi-ment fraction are mainly contaminated by hydrocarbons. Silt and clay instead facilitate the accumulation of contaminants, and it’s possible to find, in addition to hydrocarbons, also heavy metals such as Pb, Hg, As. In regard to possible reuses of decontaminated sediment, the Emilia Romagna region coastal zones, offers several opportunities. A great amount of sediment is needed for beach nourishment. The coastline is about 130km long and is entirely consisting of low and sandy beaches edged by dunes, pine forest and valleys; it is affected by beach erosion process and the constant need of beach nourishment; also is possible reuse the sediment as a foundation material for many infrastructure projects. [58]
The feasibility and effective treatments, first tested on sediments collected from the Port of Ravenna, were then replicated on marine sediments collected from the seabed of the port of Midia, overlooking the Black Sea, Romania. The conducted activities, start with an inventory of available data and two of the port basin characterization campaigns, are then continue with the testing of the soil washing and heat treatment technology. The type of inorganic pollution of sediments did not consider it appropriate application of landfarming. As for sediments of the Port of Ravenna, the Soil washing has resulted after incineration sands where it is not found to contain any pollution, thus suitable for reuse such as environmental engineering; the heat treatment, thanks to a higher percentage of SiO2in sediments,
allowed to extract a greater percentage of silicon alloy; furthermore considering the cost of electricity, much lower than in Italy, makes it all the more attractive the possibility of producing ferrosilicon from marine dredging sediments, considered to date an environmental issue unresolved, which can now be seen as an important resource to be exploited to obtain significant benefits from an environmental point of view, social and economic.
2.6.2 Life-COAST BEST
Life-COAST BEST is also a project co-funded by the European Community, the activity period was 2010-2013, a total badget of 1 730 501.00. The project part-ners were the University La Sapienza of Rome, ISPRA, ARPA Emilia-Romagna, University of Cagliari, Envisan NV and Lab&Lab.
The main objective of the project Life-COAST BEST is to preserve the quality of coastal zones through integrated management of sediment generated by the dredging of small ports. The project focuses on the actions to be taken to promote the sustainable use of these fractions in an integrated system that includes beach
nourishment, the reconstruction of the morphological profiles as well as other industrial applications. The aim is to create a system able to associate the need for dredging to the environmental protection with economic, social and environmental benefits. For this purpose, 9 small ports in Emilia-Romagna will be connected into a network to coordinate all dredging activities, separation/treatment, reuse and disposal of waste fractions. The project involves the construction of a pilot plant useful for the selection of the most appropriate technologies for treatment of dredged sediments. After studying several options for the final destination of the treated sediment, the project will assess the actions to be taken to promote the use of environmentally friendly and integrated sediment treated. Among the possible uses of the sediments recovered are: beach nourishment projects, reconstruction of morphological profiles of the coasts, industrial applications. The approach of integrated management of sediment allows the reduction of the areas to be allocated to dump, and a lower consumption of natural resources. Transparency and detection procedures ensures the reproducibility and dissemination of the project results.
The study area includes the nine small harbours, mainly used for docking of fishing vessels and yachts, which are located along the 130km seaboard of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Due to the morphological characteristics of this coastline, which is made up exclusively of low and sandy beach, the harbours could be of two types: harbours built by using the river mouths or harbours built by sectioning the backshore and the shoreface by means of an artificial canal. This was the only way in which it was possible to connect an internal shelter and mooring basin for ships with the open sea. For such reasons, all the harbours along the Emilia-Romagna coastline belong to the category of canal harbours. In all the harbours on the seaboard of the region, the sediments accumulated in the canal section need to be removed by dredging in order to ensure the safe passage of boats. Up to the middle 1990’s, the materials dredged were usually disposed into the sea off the coast; subsequently, when the Italian Ministerial Decree 24/01/1996 came into force, it has become possible to reuse the material when it has suitable quality characteristics, otherwise it is placed in specific areas off the coast indicated by the Region for discharge.
An integrated sediment management approach was designed during the COAST-BEST project. They used a network-based system connecting nine small harbours of the Emilia-Romagna Region (Cattolica, Porto Verde, Riccione, Rimini, Bellaria, Cesenatico, Cervia, Porto Garibaldi, Goro). The approach took into considera-tion the different phases of dredged sediment management, including dredging, separation-treatment, reuse and final disposal. Outcomes from this work included:
• collection of basic information related to dredged sediments management. This was done in order to identify possibilities and limits for application, including quantitative and qualitative characterisation of dredged sediments in the area of interest, as well as site-specific constraints;
• a thorough chemical, physical and toxicological characterisation of the sedi-ments in the area of interest;
• a pilot plant line for size separation of sediments was installed at the Livorno harbour and tested on four groups of sediments from four different harbours in Emilia Romagna. The plant has a low-cost and flexible layout, which is defined on the basis of the results of lab-scale tests carried out during the initial stages of the project. The plant can be applied to different kinds of contaminated dredged sediments and produce a tailor-made sediment treatment chain;
• an integrated sediment management system (ISMS) was defined (GIS-based) that brought together results of the above work and linked related activities (management phases, dredging, separation/treatment, beneficial reuse, and final disposal) within a network of nine small harbours;
• environmentally friendly applications of dredged sediments were identified and assessed.
Environmental assessments indicated that the project results could be harnessed to help prevent the land-filling of about 50 000m3 of sediments. Social benefits
included increased awareness, networking, and transparency between key stake-holders (two harbour authorities, six Regional and Provincial authorities, around 100companies, and approximately one million citizen.) Economic outcomes from the project’s new sediment management toolkit included a cost-effective technique for integrated management of dredging activities in small harbours; promotion of a local market for dredged material, and the creation of improved linkage between sediments supply by dredging operators and demand by end-users. These will result in savings of about€60-100 per tonne of sediment, which is the anticipated cost for landfill disposal. [20] Last but not least, it is to have also the purpose to
create favourable market conditions for the reuse and recycling, reuse of separated materials. Its analyses and activities within the COAST-BEST project made it possible to verify, also emerged during the discussions during the workshops and conferences that have been held, the unwillingness of the productive sector to consider the recovery sediments as a resource to replace natural raw materials. This is due to the absence of clear procedures of connectivity integration between the dredging, treatment and eventual reuse of the treated sediment. The involve-ment of the world of production entities outside the territorial boundaries directly affected or located close to the subject areas of dredging may allow it to promote the possibilities for use of these materials (not only in quantitative terms but also in terms of expansion the types of industrial sectors and processes to which the recovery sediments can be powered), a potential positive impact on the degree of confidence of both private individuals against the institutions of alternative options for disposal. [24]
2.6.3 Piombino harbour
The current functional structure of the port is historically conditioned by the presence of large steel industries that have arisen at the end of the nineteenth
century and developed in the last century in areas adjacent to the port. In fact Piombino is home to a major industrial manufacturing district, where many major companies are controlled by multinational groups among the largest in the world, such as Lucchini Spa, the second steel plant in Italy, owned by Severstal (Russia) producing long products (bars, wire rods, billets, rails); La Magona d’Italian spa, the Arcelor-Mittal group (France and India), which produces flat-rolled galvanized and painted; Tenaris Dalmine, the Techint Group, which specializes in producing sanitary tubes and for the oil sector. The other historical vocation of the port is closely linked to the tourism sector (Elba sector, Corsica and Sardinia), the high number of passengers, a result of the tourism development of the Island of Elba and the considerable interchange of traffic with Sardinia. The project ’designed to revitalize the Port of Piombino through the upgrading and expansion of port infrastructure by advancing to a height - 20 m of the access, the basin evolution canal and the front of the dock new construction in the Port. The dredged material, amounting 2 883 million m3and was refluxed in 2 areas filled according to its type (contaminated or not contaminated). [2]
2.6.4 Gioia Tauro harbour
The Port Authority of Gioia Tauro has planned to standardize the seabed at 18 m depth coordinate to ensure the transit safely. These works were done to upgrade the Port of Gioia Tauro to be suitable for sea transport done using latest generation container ships. It involved widening the port canal over a distance of about 1.600 m, with about 2 million m3of sediment material to be dredged. The sandy material
will be used for the nourishment of the beach overlooking the harbour. In this way it will be re-established the morphological profile, as envisaged in the original project to develop the port channel, in order to protect it from the erosive effects and to reduce the environmental impact of dredging on coastal.
2.6.5 Civitavecchia Harbour
The port of Civitavecchia is aligned, like the other locations considered, to a dredged sediment management on reclaimed land. Physical-chemical analyses showed concentrations of pollutants below or slightly above the standards present in national guidelines. The expansion of the port of Civitavecchia and the new port of Gaeta were made with sediments dredged from the seabed. The major problem detected by the Port Authority, was a geotechnical problem, related to the stability of the sediments; as to achieve a quay the filling material must be adequately treated.
T H E I S S U E O F D R E D G I N G I N I T A LY
This chapter deals with the myriad laws regarding the sediment management, trying to shed light on still unclear aspects. It then concludes with a comparison of the Italian legislative system with the Spanish and French.
3.1
italian freameworks
Contrary to what happens in other countries (such as Germany and the Nether-lands), in Italy has not yet been enacted a organic regulation concerning the problem of sediments, although some indications are provided by current decrees on waste and quality of water bodies . Before 1996, the dredging activities were not regulated very stringent rules and they were exclusively in chief the State. The enactment of the law 84/1994 " Riordino della legislazione in materia portuale" has ceased by Excavation Ports Services.
Table 2.:Sediment volume dredged in Europe before 1996.
Country Dredged millions m3
Holand 25-30
Germany 46
France 50
Italy 5-6
• D.M 31/1996 "Direttive inerenti le attività istruttorie per il rilascio delle
autor-izzazioni relative allo scarico nelle acque del mare o in ambienti ad esso contigui, di materiali provenienti da escavoescavodi fondali di ambienti marini o salmastri o di terreni litoranei emersi, nonché da ogni altra movimentazione di sedimenti in ambienti marini.. This law regulates the discharge of sediment from the dredging of the seabed.
It is forbidden the sea discharge for:
– dredging material classified as harmful toxic waste under D.P.R 915 of 1982;
– dredged material containing the components specified in Annexes I and II of law 30/1979, in quantity, concentration to compromise the productive balance of biological resources.
Releases instead opinion in favour of disposal at sea, demonstrated the impossibility of testimony or use on land with fewer environmental risks. [26]
• D. Lgs. 11 maggio 1999, n.152, art.35 "Disposizioni sulla tutela delle acque dall’inquinamento e recepimento della direttiva 91/271/CEE concernente il tratta-mento delle acque reflue urbane e della direttiva 91/676/CEE relativa alla protezione delle acque dall’inquinamento provocato dai nitrati provenienti da fonti agricole It states that the activity of diving in sea of material resulting from excava-tion and laying of sea cables and pipelines is permitted only when there is demonstration of inability to provide nourishment for the use or recovery. Disposal must be performed in a manner that should have been defined in not adopting implementation decree provided for in the said Article 35, which states that the materials management is primarily directed to the re-use (in the event that the dredged material has certain physical and chemical characteristics requirements and toxicology). [28]
• Manuale per la movimentazione dei sedimenti marini Commissioned by
the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, just with the courage intent of the Guidelines for the whole national territory as it regards sampling, management and analysis on dredged material. [49]
• D.M. 9 Aprile 2002"Indicazioni per la corretta e piena applicazione del regolamento
comunitario n. 2557/201 sulle spedizioni di rifiuti ed in relazione al nuovo elenco dei rifiut" Transposing 2000/532 / EC and the subsequent 2001/573 / EC, identifies the contaminated dredging with codes CER 2002 17:05:05 and 17:05:06, depending or not they contain dangerous substances. [39]
• D.M. 6 Novembre 2003, n.367"Regolamento concernente la fissazione di standard
di qualità nell’ambiente acquatico per le sostanze pericolose, ai sensi dell’articolo
3, comma 4, del D.Lgs. 11 maggio 1999, n. 152". The sediments are classified
as "waste", being included among the substances that make up Annex A to D.Lgs 22/97 (Ronchi decree). [59]
• D.Lgs. 152/2006"Testo Unico - Norme in materia ambientale"
Art. 109: Immersione in mare di materiale derivante da attività di escavo e attività di posa in mare di cavi e condotte requirement states that "it is permitted to deliberate immersion in the sea [. . . ], or in areas adjacent to it, such as beaches, lagoons and brackish and coastal embankment ponds, [. . . ] of excavation materials seabed [. . . ] The immersion authorization at sea [. . . ] is issued only when the competent authority, and ’demonstrated, as part of its investigation, the technical impossibility or economic to use them for the purpose of nourishment or recovery, or their alternative disposal [. . . ] Art. 184-quater (Introdotto dalla legge 116/2014): Utilizzo dei materiali di dragaggio requires that:
1. The dredged material submitted for recovery operations in reclaimed areas or other facilities authorized under current law, cease to be waste if, following the outcome of the recovery operations, which can also consist of sorting and selection operations, and meet they are used in compliance with the following requirements and conditions:
a. do not exceed the values of concentrations of contamination thresh-old in columns A and B of table 1 of Annex 5 of title V of part Four, with reference to the urban estimation of site use or, in the case of direct use in a production cycle, meet the technical requirements referred to in point;
b. it is certain the target site and are used directly, including for the re-use or environmental remodelling, without risk to the envi-ronmental matrices concerned and in particular without causing contamination of ground and surface waters.
For direct use in a production cycle, must, however, comply with the technical requirements for the specific purposes identified, the existing legislation and standards applicable to products and raw materials, and in particular should not lead to higher emissions into the environment or qualitatively different from those that result from the use of products and raw materials for which has been granted authorization to operate the plant.
2. In order to exclude any risk of contamination of groundwater, the dredged material intended for use in a site must be subject to leaching tests according to the methods and limits set out in Annex 3 of the Decree of the Minister for the Environment February 5, 1998 , published in the ordinary supplement no. 72 to the Official Gazette no. 88 of 16April 1998. The competent authority may derogate from the limit concentrations of chlorides and sulphates where the dredged material are intended to areas facing and the coast and are consistent with the levels of soil salinity and groundwater.
3. The producer or holder shall prepare a statement of compliance which shall include, in addition to the manufacturer’s specifications, or holder and the user, the type and quantity of materials being used, the recovery activities carried out, the target site and other methods of use are provided and the declaration that the criteria set out in this Article. The declaration of conformity is submitted to the competent authority for the recovery procedure and ARPA (Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambientale) in whose territory is located the target site or the production cycle of use, thirty days before the start of the transfer of assets. All those involved in the recovery process and use of the materials referred to in this article shall keep a copy of the declaration for at least one year from the date of issue, make it available to competent authorities upon request.
4. Within thirty days of notification of the declaration referred to in para-graph 3, the competent authority for the recovery procedure ensures compliance with the requirements and procedures covered by this ar-ticle and if it finds discrepancies or violations of the same order the
prohibition of the use of material referred to in paragraph 1 which are subject to the waste regime.
5. The materials which ceases to be waste in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 during the movements are accompanied by the notification referred to in paragraph 3 and the transport document or copy of the contract of carriage shall be in writing or by transportation file referred to in articles 6 and 7-bis of legislative decree 21 November 2005, n. 286. [54]
• D.M. 7 Novembre 2008"Disciplina delle operazioni di dragaggio nei siti di bonifica
di interesse nazionale, ai sensi dell’articolo 1, comma 996, della legge 27 dicembre
2006, n. 296
Art. 3: Deposito dei materiali dragati. According to the uses of art. 5, paragraphs 11 ter and 11 quater, of Law no. 84 of 1994, resulting materials from the activity dredging can be deposited in facilities engaged, made pursuant to art. 5, paragraph 11-d, of the same law. The mixing of the materials classified as hazardous in accordance with Annex D, Part IV of the Legislative Decree n. 152/2006 is prohibited, and those not dangerous and mixing between non-hazardous materials only to reach concentration values suitable for use under art. 5, paragraph 11-ter.
Art. 4: Collocazione definitiva dei materiali dragati in strutture di contenimento. The dredged material, pursuant to art. 5, paragraph 11 quater, in reclaimed areas, collection tanks or other containment structures in coastal environ-ments, can be mixed himself with different characteristics, subject to the exclusions in art. 4, in order to reach the limits of current legislation on remediation for specific use. Mixing must also be aimed at improving the characteristics of stability of the cluster of materials.
Art. 5: Verifica dei fondali dragati. At the end of dredging, it is necessary to proceed to the analysis of dredged seabed to be carried out in accordance with Annex "A" limited to the surface layer and the parameters that exceed the intervention values. If the concentration values measured in the said layer sediments exceed the intervention thresholds identified by ISPRA for each site of national interest, you must enable the reclamation procedure. [27]
• Legge 24 marzo 2012, n.27"Conversione, con modificazioni, del decreto-legge 24
gennaio 2012, n. 1: Misure urgenti in materia di concorrenza, liberalizzazioni e infrastrutture
Art. 48: Norme in materia di dragaggio. In the subject of national interest reclamation sites, the materials resulting from the activities dredging may be placed or refluent into the sea in compliance with Article 109 of Legislative Decree 3 April 2006, n. 152. This does not affect any powers of the region
concerned. Dredged material can also be used for the nourishment of beaches and coastal land to form authorization of the competent territorial region. Materials resulting from the dredging activities referred to in paragraph 1, or activities dredging to be implemented under remediation procedures pur-suant to Article 252 of Legislative Decree 3 April 2006, n. 152 and subsequent modifications, dredging operations can also be carried out simultaneously with the preparation of the project on remediation [. . . ] Materials resulting from the dredging of port areas and marine-coastal placed in the national interest reclamation sites, or any their single sieve fraction obtained after separation by physical methods [. . . ] the suitability of dredged material to be managed in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be verified by means of special analyses to be performed on the site before the dredging on the basis of methodologies and criteria established by the decree of the Minister of environment and protection of land and sea 7 November 2008 [. . . ] If, on the other hand also for different needs from the reclamation, for example to ensure the safety of navigation it would become necessary the dredging of harbour or coastal marine areas placed inside the SIN, the materials, depending on the characteristics, will be able to have three different locations ( paragraph 2):
– entry or back-flow in water bodies from which they come, nourishment of beaches, formation of coastal land or improving the condition of the seabed by means of capping activities;
– use on the ground;
– backflow within the reclaimed areas, collection tanks or containment structure equipped with a waterproofing system with precise perme-ability requirements.
The choice between the different locations is done, as mentioned, on the basis of the characteristics that the sediments have the origin or as a result of treatments aimed at the removal of the polluted. In all three cases men-tioned above it is allowed a maximum temporary storage 30 months without quantitative limitations, but that should not ensure the transfer of pollutants to the surrounding environment.
• Legge 28 Dicembre 2015, n.221"Disposizioni in materia ambientale per
promuo-vere misure di green economy e per il contenimento dell’uso eccessivo di risorse naturali. Article 78 of the Law amends the rules relating to the use of materi-als resulting from dredging of port areas and marine-coastal implemented SIN contained in the Act of 1994 (the number 84). In particular, changes the circle of possible uses, the characteristics of the target structures and regulates the methods through which you can reach the exclusion, from the perimeter of SIN, the areas affected by dredging. The first change con-cerns the reclaimed areas, the collection tanks, and containment structures or contamination for the collection of non-hazardous sludge, which are at the origin or following treatments aimed exclusively to the removal of pollutants
(excluding therefore the processes aimed at the immobilization of pollutants yourself such solidification and stabilization). Such structures must conform to the application of Best Available Technology (BAT) and in line with the design criteria formulated by accredited international technical standards. They must also be such as to guarantee the absence of risks to health and the environment. Particular reference is made to the constraint not to worsen the state of the environmental media quality, soil, subsoil, groundwater, surface water, sea water and transition, and not undermine the achievement of the quality objectives of the same. So with the Linked the construction criteria of the reclaimed, collection tanks, or containment or contamination are simplified: it is no longer required a waterproofing system "natural or artificial or artificially completed the perimeter and on the bottom in a position to ensure equivalent permeability requirements to those of a natural material layer with a thickness of 1 meter with smaller K or equal to 1.0 x 10−9m/s ". The criteria to be right now are the design criteria formulated by accredited international technical standards. Another new feature, however, interested in the destination of sludge that are characterized by concentra-tions of pollutants below the specific reference values defined according to the criteria approved by the Ministry of Environment and Protection of Land and Sea. In this case the area or areas concerned will be excluded from the scope of SIN (Site National Interest), following the favourable opinion of the conference service. Previously the affected area was returned to legitimate uses increasingly favourable opinion from the conference service. For the rest of the destination of the material resulting from dredging activities in port areas and marine-coastal placed in SIN, it remains the same as provided for by the 1994 Act, as amended. So with permission of the competent authority for the remediation, they will be placed or refluent in water bodies from which they came, or may be used for the reconstruction of the beaches, to form coastal land or to improve the state of the seabed by means of capping activities. All this can take place when materials are not contaminated, they have characteristics similar to the donor site and suitable than the destination. Instead, if the sludge is not contaminated but have, at the origin or as a result of treatments which have exclusively the purpose of desalination or the removal of pollutants, in function of the intended use and if they comply to the leaching test may be used on the ground. However, in the case in which they were intended to use in areas with groundwater naturally salinized, the materials to be placed may have a level of concentration of sulphates and chlorides in the eluate superior to those laid by the Ministry provided that, on compliant ARPA opinion territorial jurisdiction, either prevented any change in the characteristics. [23]
• D.M 15 Luglio 2016, n. 172-173"Modalità e delle norme tecniche per le operazioni
di dragaggio nei siti di interesse nazionale (SIN) - Legge 28 Gennaio 1994, n.84" and "Autorizzazione all’immersione in mare dei materiali di escavo di fondali marini;
attuativo dell’articolo 109, Dlgs. 152/2006" The new regulation provides for the content you want for the dredging project, i.e.:
– the results of the characterization of the area to be dredged and, when necessary, the results of the characterization of the site re-use;
– the identification of the area to be dredged by means of the indication of geographical coordinates of the vertices that make up the area in the WGS84 reference system;
– the methods chosen for the whole of the dredged sediment management process or of individual fractions of the same, from the dredging until the final storage or re-use and its schedule of activities;
– the methods and measures for the mitigation of the expected effects of operational and management methods chosen,
– the monitoring plan for the whole process of handling and sediment management;
– the procedures for verification of dredged seabed;
– the project of realization of any reclaimed areas, collection tanks or containment facilities to house the dredged sediment or individual fractions of the same and the methods of management of dredged sediments on land.
Also for the purpose of reuse of dredged material within the body of water of origin and for their authorization to their use of the dredging project will identify the suitability of sediments to be placed or plowed in water bodies from which they come, or used for the reconstruction of the beaches, to form coastal land or to improve the state of the seabed by means of capping activities; to be used on land or in areas with groundwater naturally salinized; to be plowed in containment structures. [50,16]
3.2
comparison between italian frameworks and
eu-ropean states
3.2.1 Spain and Italy
In Spain in 1994 came into force the "Recommendations" (RRGMD) contemplating how to best management option the recycling of dredged material. The "quality" of the dredged material is critical to the decision of his spill at sea and the environmental impact statement is required in this case. This recommendation uses a series of chemical guide-lines for the evaluation of the quality of the sediment.
The study of materials management and RRGMD "indicate" that a character-ization must be carried out of the area to be dredged and a comparative study
of alternative destinations of spill sites. Three categories of intervention were established, in which can produce chemical effect on marine biota.
• Category I: comprises material with low contaminant concentrations, for
this type of material is allowed the free spillage at sea, also considered the possible mechanical effect;
• Category II: the material with moderate contaminant concentrations. This
type of material can be poured out into the sea in a controlled manner prior to approval and after a careful selection of the spill area in line with the impact and a monitoring program indicated in Recommendations (RRGMD);
• Category III: the material with high contaminant concentrations. This type
of material has to be isolated and processed properly as indicated in the Recommendations.
The RRGMD include 2 steps:
• Step 1: Making the particle size analysis and the content of organic matter;
• Step 2: The binding assays are performed to characterize that include
mer-cury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr) and the sum of the seven PCBs that have the following nomenclature IUPAC 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. In the case where the concentrations of certain contaminants exceed the Action Level 1 veins also analysed the arsenic (As) and other organic compounds.
The material that has concentrations below the values proposed in the action level 1 (NA1) can be spilled into the sea, while if the values fall within the action level 2 (NA2) can not be discharged into the sea and therefore must be used in other way.
As in Spain, in which the first management option is the recycling of dredged material also in Italy if the chemical, physical, microbiological material are op-timum, then class A1, the material must be preferentially recycled and as a last management option poured into the sea. The dredged material is classified into three categories or classes, each of which is compatible with specific uses and destinations. As in the "Recommendations" also in APAT (Environmental Protec-tion and Technical Services Agency) manual explains the parameters that need to be analysed. In the "Recommendations" the concentration of these parameters for example specifically those of metals (Table3). They are referred to as Level
of Action 1 (NA1) and 2 (NA2) while in manual APAT are expressed as Basic Chemical Level (LCB) and Chemical Threshold Level (LCL). What can be observed for metals is that the concentrations of the LCB and the LCL respect to NA1 and NA2 are much lower.
