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Manfredonia

A complex environmental remediation project distinguished by its innovative and sustainable groundwater management.

History of a complex reclamation

The Manfredonia and Monte Sant’Angelo petrochemical plant was founded in 1968 with Anic to produce fertilizers. Subsequently, the company Chimica Dauna, held for 50% by Anic and 50% by Snia Viscosa, began producing caprolactam, ammonium sulphate and other derivatives. In 1982, Anic acquired 50% of the shares owned by Snia Viscosa, to become the sole owner. Two years later, the company Chimica Dauna merged with Anic Agricoltura (then Enichem Agricoltura). Since 1976, following an explosion at the ammonia-urea plant, production was gradually discontinued until the caprolactam and fertiliser plants were closed down between 1988 and 1994. The Manfredonia industrial area was recognised as a Site of National Priority in 1998.

Our activities in Manfredonia

The environmental clean-up of the site began in 1999 with an investigation plan aimed at the qualitative definition of the land on all areas, with the exclusion of the plant areas. Between 2003 and 2016, the demolition of plants and the removal of waste in landfills (islands 12, 14, 16 and 17) and contamination nuclei (islands 13, 20 and perimeter areas) were completed. In addition, soil reclamation in the former Enel area has been finalised. The additional characterisation campaign carried out in the areas where the plants had stood, following their demolition, highlighted residual contamination involving a total of 2.6 hectares distributed over the islands 5, 9, 14, 15, 16 and 17. In 2016, Eni Rewind submitted the respective remediation projects for these residual contamination nuclei. All the projects were approved with the exception of Island 15, which was declared uncontaminated in terms of a Ministerial Decree in 2021. Currently, interventions are pending certification for islands 9, 13, 17, 20 and the perimeter areas, while are underway on islands 5, 14, 16. To the present day, 94 out of the 96 hectares owned by Eni Rewind in Manfredonia are already available for new initiatives. As far as the groundwater is concerned, the site has been operating a system of hydraulic stretching and barriers since 2006. The water is extracted from the contaminated areas inside the site and after treatment at the GTP plant, expanded in 2021, is reintroduced into the groundwater along the plant’s perimeter. Moreover, as of 2021 Eni Rewind is applying the Groundwater Circulation Wells technology, in collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome, which will accelerate the remediation of the aquifer on island 5.