Characterization and documentation

Sites of national interest

Sites of national interest (SIN) are areas of the national territory defined according to the characteristics, quantity and danger of the existing pollutants, the impact on the surrounding environment in terms of sanitary and ecological risk and the damage to the cultural and environmental heritage. These sites are identified and their perimeters are outlined in accordance with a Decree of the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection, in agreement with the regions involved. These differ from other contaminated sites because their reclamation procedure is under the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection, which can also seek assistance from other agencies such as APAT, ARPAT and ISS, among others.
The table shows regulations for the identification and outlining of SIN perimeters. Currently there 54 SIN sites. Some of them cover very extensive areas (such as the Domizio Flegreo-Agro Aversano coast, the Vesuvian coast and the Sarno Basin). The general outlining of the perimeter was followed by the definition of a sub-perimeter on a detailed scale. This activity highlighted areas where characterization procedures should be started. 

Characterization of contaminated sites

Characterizing contaminated sites involves conducting investigations (surveys, piezometer-readings, chemical analyses, etc.) in a contaminated site or in a site that is potentially considered as such with the main aim of defining the geological and hydrogeological structure, verifying whether the land and water is contaminated and developing a conceptual model of the site. Below is a list of documents that can be useful in this first stage of analysis, both for planning characterization surveys and for analysing results achieved.

Register of contaminated sites

The Register is a tool prepared by regions and autonomous provinces, as provided by regulations on contaminated sites (Article 17 of Ministerial Decree no. 471/99 and Article 251 of Legislative Decree no. 152/06). It contains: the list of sites submitted to reclamation and environmental recovery interventions as well as interventions carried out in the same sites; the bodies in charge of reclamation activities and the public bodies which the region makes use of to carry out its duties in case of failure of the bodies in charge.
The contents and structure of the Register’s essential data for sites requiring reclamation were defined by APAT in conjunction with the Regions and ARPA agencies. The first version of these criteria was published during the course of 2001.