Contaminants · Metals
CopperCu
A metal. Like any element it does not break down: it can be taken out of the soil or water, held in place or changed in chemical form, but not destroyed.
On the national lists
Sites on the national lists whose official record names this substance. In the bar, the coloured part is the sites still listed. The lists, in full, are on the sites page.
Taiwan
Taiwan – control sites and remediation sites (Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act)5,872 sites, 119 still listed
United States
Superfund National Priorities List (NPL)530 sites, 429 still listed
Species reported in the literature
Species that acted on this contaminant in at least one study, with the highest level of evidence available. They are pointers from the literature, not a remediation plan.
Sites where it is found
Where plants or fungi were tried
Notable case, Gujarat (Bhavnagar), India
Alang-Sosiya ship-breaking yards
Microbial bioremediation
Notable case, Andalucía (Sevilla), Spain
Aznalcóllar spill and the Guadiamar Green Corridor
Phytoremediation
SIN, Napoli
Bagnoli-Coroglio (Naples)
Phytoremediation
SIN, Lombardia
Brescia-Caffaro
PhytoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
SIN, Torviscosa (Udine)
Caffaro di Torviscosa (formerly Grado and Marano Lagoon)
Phytoremediation
SIN, Cengio (Savona)
Cengio and Saliceto (ACNA)
PhytoremediationMycoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Notable case, Chambishi (tra Kitwe e Chingola), Zambia
Chambishi and the Kafue river (Zambian Copperbelt)
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Shangba (Wengyuan County), China
Dabaoshan Mine and Shangba village
Phytoremediation
SIN, Fidenza (Parma)
Fidenza (former CIP and Carbochimica plants)
MycoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Trial, United States
Florida, former CCA wood-treatment site
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Huanjiang (Hechi), China
Huanjiang (farmland polluted by mine tailings)
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Chungcheongnam-do (Seocheon), South Korea
Janghang smelter
PhytoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Notable case, Punjab (Kasur District), Pakistan
Kasur tanneries
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Lanping (Nujiang), China
Lanping lead-zinc mine
Phytoremediation
Former SIN, Province di Caserta e Napoli
Litorale Domizio Flegreo and Agro Aversano ("Terra dei Fuochi")
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Haut-Katanga, Congo - Kinshasa
Lubumbashi and the Katangan Copperbelt
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Santa Cruz / Boac / Mogpog, Philippines
Marcopper mine, Marinduque
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
Monchegorsk nickel-copper smelter and industrial barren
PhytoremediationMycoremediation
Notable case, Ashanti Region, Ghana
Obuasi gold mine
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Pennsylvania, United States
Palmerton Zinc Pile
Phytoremediation
SIN, Porto Torres, Sassari
Porto Torres industrial areas
Microbial bioremediation
Notable case, Portovelo e Zaruma, Ecuador
Portovelo-Zaruma gold district and the Puyango-Tumbes River
Microbial bioremediation
Trial
Puglia, suoli contaminati da metalli (prove con colza)
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Las Ventanas (Puchuncaví) e Quintero, Chile
Quintero-Puchuncaví (Ventanas industrial complex)
PhytoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Notable case, Minas de Riotinto, Spain
Río Tinto (Riotinto mining district)
Phytoremediation
Trial, Toscana
Scarlino, ceneri di arsenopirite (ex Nuova Solmine)
Phytoremediation
Italy, Serravalle Scrivia (Alessandria)
Serravalle Scrivia (land next to the KME works)
PhytoremediationMycoremediation
Notable case, Greater Sudbury, Canada
Sudbury
Phytoremediation
SIN, Portoscuso (Portovesme), Iglesias, Sarroch, Assemini (Macchiareddu), San Gavino Monreale, Villacidro
Sulcis - Iglesiente - Guspinese
Phytoremediation
SIN, Taranto, Statte
Taranto
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Anhui, China
Tongling copper mine tailings ponds
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Oshikoto, Namibia
Tsumeb smelter
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Johannesburg, South Africa
Witwatersrand gold tailings and acid mine drainage
Phytoremediation
Trial, England, United Kingdom
Woburn Experimental Farm, sludge-treated plots
Phytoremediation
The other sites with a page
In Italy
- BrindisiPuglia
- Crotone - Cassano - CerchiaraCrotone; Cassano allo Ionio e Cerchiara di Calabria (Cosenza)
- Falconara MarittimaFalconara Marittima (Ancona)
- Massa and CarraraMassa, Carrara
- Naples East (Napoli Orientale)Campania
- Orbetello - former Sitoco areaOrbetello, Monte Argentario (Grosseto)
- PiombinoPiombino (Livorno)
- Pitelli (La Spezia)La Spezia e Lerici
- Priolo (Augusta–Priolo–Melilli)Augusta, Priolo Gargallo, Melilli, Siracusa
- Sarno river basinProvince di Salerno, Napoli e Avellino
- Vesuvian Coast areasCosta vesuviana (Napoli)
Elsewhere in the world
- Ashio Copper MineAshio (Nikkō), Japan
- Athabasca oil sands tailings pondsFort McMurray, Canada
- Baia Mare (Aurul cyanide spill)Maramureș, Romania
- Bhopal (former Union Carbide plant)Madhya Pradesh, India
- Bor (copper mines and smelter)Borski okrug, Serbia
- Butte (Berkeley Pit and Silver Bow Creek)Montana, United States
- Cerro de PascoPeru
- Chañaral Bay copper tailingsAtacama, Chile
- Copșa MicăSibiu, Romania
- Gowanus CanalBrooklyn, New York City, United States
- Guiyu e-waste townGuiyu (Shantou), China
- KarabashKarabaš, Russia
- Kingston coal ash spillKingston, Roane County, United States
- La OroyaJunín, Peru
- Mount Lyell and the Queen and King riversQueenstown, Australia
- NorilskNoril'sk, Russia
- Ok Tedi mine and Fly RiverTabubil, Papua New Guinea
- Panguna mineAutonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
- Port Pirie lead smelterSouth Australia, Australia
- Rum Jungle uranium-copper mineBatchelor, Australia
- Sonora River spill (Buenavista del Cobre mine)Cananea, Mexico
- Ust-Kamenogorsk (Oskemen) metallurgical complexEast Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan