Environmental status of an Italian site highly polluted by illegal dumping of industrial wastes: The situation 15 years after the judicial intervention

Matteo Vitali; Federica Castellani; Giorgia Fragassi; Alfonso Mascitelli; Cecilia Martellucci; Gianfranco Diletti; Emanuela Scamosci; Maria Luisa Astolfi; Leila Fabiani; Riccardo Mastrantonio; Carmela Protano; Vincenzo Romano Spica; Lamberto Manzoli

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144100

Environmental status of an Italian site highly polluted by illegal dumping of industrial wastes: The situation 15 years after the judicial intervention

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Mar 25:762:144100. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144100. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: matteo.vitali@uniroma1.it.
² Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy. Electronic address: federica.castellani@uniroma1.it.
³ Regional Healthcare Agency of Abruzzo, Via Attilio Monti 9, 65127 Pescara, PE, Italy.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, University of the Marche Region, Via Tronto 10/a, 60020 Torrette di Ancona, AN, Italy.
⁵ Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise "Giuseppe Caporale", via Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, TE, Italy. Electronic address: g.diletti@izs.it.
⁶ Environmental Protection Regional Agency of Abruzzo, via Marconi 49, 65126 Pescara, PE, Italy. Electronic address: e.scamosci@artaabruzzo.it.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: marialuisa.astolfi@uniroma1.it.
⁸ Department of Life, Health & Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, P.le Salvatore Tommasi 1, 67100 Coppito, L'Aquila, Italy. Electronic address: leila.fabiani@univaq.it.
⁹ Department of Life, Health & Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, P.le Salvatore Tommasi 1, 67100 Coppito, L'Aquila, Italy. Electronic address: riccardo.mastrantonio@graduate.univaq.it.
¹⁰ Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: carmela.protano@uniroma1.it.
¹¹ Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza Lauro De Bosis 6, 00135 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: vincenzo.romanospica@uniroma4.it.
¹² Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 64B, 44121 Ferrara, FE, Italy. Electronic address: lmanzoli@post.harvard.edu.

PMID: 33360460
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144100

Abstract

In 2008 the Italian government classified the Bussi sul Tirino area (Central Italy) as Site of National Interest destined to remediation which, unfortunately, has not yet begun. The decision followed >20 years of illegal dumping of industrial wastes, lasting from 1984 to 2005, that generated the biggest illegal toxic waste disposal site in Europe. The contamination profile of the site was mainly characterized by PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PAHs, chlorinated solvents, Hg, and Pb. Due to the health concern of the population and local authorities, an extensive monitoring and biomonitoring campaign was carried out in 2017-2018, checking the site-specific pollutants in local food (free-range hens' eggs, milk from grazing sheep and goats, wild edible mushrooms, and drinking water), environmental (air and freshwaters) and biological (human urine) matrices. A total of 314 samples were processed, obtaining 3217 analytical data that were compared with regulatory limits, when available, and values reported by international literature. The sum PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs ranged from 0.24 to 3.6 pg TEQ g^-1 fat, and from 0.46 to 8.3 pg TEQ g^-1 fat, respectively in milk in eggs, in line with the maximum levels established by CE Regulations except for an egg sample. As regards PAHs, all our results were lower than the literature data, as well as for Hg and Pb. Outdoor air showed levels of chlorinated solvents ranging from <LOD to 36 μg m^-3, and freshwaters from 0.21 to 2.8 μg L^-1. All drinking water samples resulted compliant with the maximum levels established by the current EU directive. Despite the severe pollution of the illegal dumping site and the remediation not yet carried out, the local environment and the population living in Bussi and surroundings seem not to be affected by significant exposure to the toxics characterizing the landfill.

Keywords: Central Italy; Industrial waste disposal; Lead; Mercury; POPs; Site of national interest.