Site of National Interest (SIN), Biancavilla (Catania), Sicilia, Italy
Biancavilla
A town on the slopes of Etna where lava stone quarried at Monte Calvario, used for decades in mortar and plaster, contains a natural amphibole fibre, fluoro-edenite, carcinogenic like asbestos. The source is in the fabric of the town itself.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Area
- 330 ha on land1
- Activity
- since 1950
- Media
- soil, air
- Kind of site
- mining, asbestos
- Area. About 330 hectares according to the MASE fact sheet (2021).
Contaminants
Fibres
Status
Remediation under way
A Programme Agreement for containment and remediation was signed on 12 October 2020 by the Ministry, the Sicilian Region and the municipality. In 2020 procedures for carrying out building works safely within the site were approved; the municipality has submitted a feasibility study for remediating the urban area (MASE fact sheet, 2021).
Story
Biancavilla never had a polluting industry in the usual sense. From at least the 1950s two quarries at Monte Calvario supplied crushed lava stone to local builders. The rock contains an asbestos-like fibre of volcanic origin, later named fluoro-edenite. Many buildings in the town were built with mortar and plaster made by grinding that rock, and the quarry area, once outside the town, now lies within it.
Fluoro-edenite has been recognised as a carcinogenic fibre comparable to asbestos. Studies by national scientific bodies found it, at varying concentrations, in air, water and soil samples from the municipality.
The site was added to the SINs by decree 468/2001 and its perimeter set in 2002. The quarry is closed. In 2020 technical procedures for carrying out building and planning works safely were approved, and the Programme Agreement for containment and remediation was signed.
Timeline
- 1950Lava-stone quarrying at Monte Calvario (from at least the 1950s).
- 2001Decree 468/2001 adds Biancavilla to the SINs.
- 2002Perimeter set by decree of 18 July 2002.
- 2020Procedures for safe building works approved (May) and Programme Agreement signed (October).
Health
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013-2017, hospital admissions 2014-2018, regional reference): excess mortality from all causes and from cardiovascular diseases in both sexes. Among causes linked a priori to the site's exposures, excess mortality from mesothelioma, pleural in particular, in both men and women, and excess hospital admissions for malignant pleural tumour in both sexes; in men also an excess of lung cancer and of non-cancer respiratory diseases.
Nearby
SIN, Augusta, Priolo Gargallo, Melilli, Siracusa, Sicilia
Priolo (Augusta–Priolo–Melilli)
60 km
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)
- Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)
SIN, Milazzo, San Filippo del Mela, Pace del Mela, San Pier Niceto, Monforte San Giorgio (Messina), Sicilia
Milazzo
72 km
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Dioxins and furans
SIN, Gela (Caltanissetta), Sicilia
Gela
83 km
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)
SIN, Crotone; Cassano allo Ionio e Cerchiara di Calabria (Cosenza), Calabria
Crotone - Cassano - Cerchiara
254 km
Sources
- Scheda SIN Biancavilla (copia d'archivio), MASE, 2021
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto - Biancavilla (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.