Former SIN, now under the region, Province di Salerno, Napoli e Avellino, Campania, Italy
Sarno river basin
A short river (about 24 km) with a densely populated and industrialised basin between the Picentini mountains and the Bay of Naples, polluted by discharges from tanneries, canning plants and agriculture. Its water and sediments carry arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc to the sea.
At a glance
- Status
- Under assessment
- Media
- surface water, sediment
- Kind of site
- tanneries, agrochemicals
- Area. The perimetered area of the former SIN was not verified. The river basin measures about 438-500 km² and the river is about 24 km long (Wikipedia).
Contaminants
Status
Under assessment
Since 2013 remediation has been the Region's responsibility. No up-to-date official source on the state of characterisation and remediation was found; the status given here is a cautious one.
Story
The Sarno rises at the foot of the Sarno hills and reaches the Bay of Naples between Castellammare di Stabia and Torre Annunziata; it takes in the Solofrana and Cavaiola streams. The basin spans the provinces of Salerno, Naples and Avellino. Pollution is attributed to discharges from tanneries and canning plants along the river and its tributaries, to agricultural run-off and to insufficiently treated industrial wastewater.
A study by the University of Naples Federico II (Montuori and colleagues, 2013) measured eight metals (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc) in water, suspended particulate matter and sediment: sediment concentrations ranged from 90.7 to 2,470.3 mg/kg, and the load discharged to the sea was estimated at about 13,978 kg a year.
The basin was named a SIN by law 266/2005 and delimited in 2006; in 2013 it passed to the Campania Region.
Timeline
- 2005Law 266/2005 names the Sarno basin a SIN.
- 2006Perimeter set by decree of 11 August 2006.
- 2013The decree of 11 January 2013 hands the site to the Campania Region.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Cannabis sativaIndustrial hempEvidence: field
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Noccaea caerulescensAlpine pennycressEvidence: field
Fungi
- Funneliformis mosseaeEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Pisolithus albusEvidence: greenhouse
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Fomitopsis pinicolaRed-belted conkEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Former SIN, Costa vesuviana (Napoli), Campania
Vesuvian Coast areas
14 km
- Asbestos
- Mixed waste
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
SIN, Campania
Naples East (Napoli Orientale)
24 km
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
- Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)
SIN, Napoli, Campania
Bagnoli-Coroglio (Naples)
34 km
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
Phytoremediation
Former SIN, Napoli (quartiere Pianura), Pozzuoli, Campania
Pianura (Naples)
37 km
- Mixed waste
Sources
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- Montuori P. et al., Metals loads into the Mediterranean Sea: estimate of Sarno River inputs and ecological risk. Ecotoxicology 22:295-307, Springer, 2013
- Sarno (fiume), Wikipedia, 2026
- Sarno (river), Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.