Site of National Interest (SIN), Bari, Puglia, Italy
Bari - Fibronit
Former asbestos-cement factory inside the city of Bari, active from 1935 to 1985. The soil contains asbestos; excess mesothelioma is recorded among residents.
Contaminants
Fibres
Status
Contained
The area, now owned by the City of Bari, is the subject of a permanent containment project funded under agreements of 2004, 2013 and 2016 (MASE fact sheet, 2021). How far the works have been completed was not verified against an up-to-date official source.
Story
The Fibronit plant made asbestos-containing products. It operated from 1935 to 1985 on about 11 hectares that now lie within the built-up area of Bari.
Characterisation found soil concentrations above threshold for asbestos and other parameters, and exceedances in groundwater too.
The site joined the SINs under decree 468/2001. A first agreement in 2004 funded making the area safe; in 2013 a Strengthened Framework Programme Agreement funded permanent containment; under the agreement of 28 July 2016 the land of Finanziaria Fibronit passed to the City of Bari to secure its remediation and environmental restoration.
Timeline
- 1935Production of asbestos-cement products begins.
- 1985The plant ceases operation.
- 2001Decree 468/2001 adds the site to the SINs.
- 2002Perimeter set by decree of 8 July 2002.
- 2004Framework Programme Agreement funding the making-safe of the area.
- 2013Strengthened agreement for permanent containment.
- 2016Agreement transferring the land to the City of Bari.
Health
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013-2017, hospital admissions 2014-2018, regional reference): all-cause mortality below expected in both sexes. Among causes linked a priori to asbestos: excess mortality from all mesotheliomas and pleural mesothelioma in both sexes, from lung cancer in women and from asbestosis in men; excess hospital admissions for malignant pleural tumours in both sexes. The population studied is the whole municipality of Bari (315,284 residents in 2019).
Remediation
- 2013permanent containmentThe «Permanent containment of the Fibronit-Bari SIN» project, funded by the Strengthened Framework Programme Agreement of 16 July 2013.
Nearby
SIN, Taranto, Statte, Puglia
Taranto
73 km
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Dioxins and furans
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
Phytoremediation
SIN, Valle del Basento (Matera), Basilicata
Val Basento industrial area
83 km
SIN, Manfredonia, Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia), Puglia
Manfredonia
98 km
SIN, Puglia
Brindisi
107 km
Sources
- Scheda SIN Bari - Fibronit (copia d'archivio), MASE, 2021
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto - Bari-Fibronit (Epidemiol Prev 2023;47(1-2) Suppl 1), con allegato "Informazioni sui 46 siti studiati", Epidemiologia & Prevenzione / ISS, 2023
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.