Site of National Interest (SIN), Brindisi, Puglia, Italy
Brindisi
A petrochemical complex, power stations, an industrial zone, the port and farmland along some 30 km of Adriatic coast. Contamination differs by sector: mercury, arsenic, hydrocarbons and chlorinated compounds in the chemical area, metals and pesticides in farm soils.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Area
- 5,851 ha on land, 5,600 ha in water1
- Activity
- since 1959
- Media
- soil, groundwater, sediment
- Kind of site
- petrochemicals, chemical works, power plant, port, landfill, agrochemicals
- Area. 2021 MASE fact sheet: 5,851 hectares on land and about 5,600 at sea, along some 30 km of coast. The perimeter was redrawn by decree of 7 May 2024; the new area has not been verified.
Contaminants
Metals
Organic compounds
Status
Remediation under way
In 2021 a new Programme Agreement between the Ministry, the Puglia Region and the municipality for containment and remediation was about to be signed, with 24,447,073 euro available (MASE fact sheet, 2021). No up-to-date official percentage of remediated area was found.
Story
The Brindisi petrochemical plant was built at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s as part of the industrialisation of southern Italy. The perimeter now takes in the chemical area, the power-generation area, a craft and industrial zone, farmland, the port and the sea in front of it.
The Ministry's fact sheet describes contamination sector by sector. Chemical area: mercury, arsenic, cadmium, copper, vanadium, hydrocarbons, BTEXS, PAHs, 1,2-dichloroethane and chlorobenzene in soil; in groundwater also chromium VI, boron, phenols, PCBs, chlorinated aliphatics and aniline. Power area: arsenic in soil; sulphates, boron, arsenic, selenium and chlorinated compounds in groundwater. Farmland: metals (arsenic, beryllium, tin, cobalt, copper, cadmium, mercury, nickel), plant-protection products and chlorinated pesticides in soil. Port sediments: arsenic, cadmium, mercury, PAHs and toluene.
The site was named by law 426/1998 and its perimeter set in 2000. In 2024 the perimeter was redrawn under art. 17-bis of decree-law 152/2021, which provides for excluding areas that no longer meet the SIN criteria.
Timeline
- 1959The petrochemical complex is established.
- 1998Law 426/1998 names Brindisi a site of national interest.
- 2000Perimeter set by decree of 10 January 2000.
- 2024Perimeter redrawn by decree of 7 May 2024.
Health
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013-2017, hospital admissions 2014-2018, regional reference): all-cause mortality as expected in both sexes; excess mortality from malignant tumours in women (SMR 112; 90% CI 104-120) and, with an uncertain estimate, in men; excess from respiratory diseases in women. Among causes linked a priori to the site's exposures: excess of pleural mesothelioma in men and of Hodgkin lymphoma and leukaemia in both sexes (uncertain estimate in men).
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
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Medicago sativaAlfalfa, lucernePolychlorinated biphenylsPetroleum hydrocarbonsPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Berkheya coddiiBerkheya coddiiEvidence: field
- Brassica junceaIndian mustardEvidence: field
Fungi
- Trametes versicolorTurkey tailPhenols and chlorophenolsChlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Phanerochaete chrysosporiumPhenols and chlorophenolsPolychlorinated biphenylsEvidence: field
- Funneliformis mosseaePolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Pisolithus albusEvidence: greenhouse
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
SIN, Taranto, Statte, Puglia
Taranto
68 km
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Dioxins and furans
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
Phytoremediation
SIN, Puglia
Bari - Fibronit
107 km
- Asbestos
SIN, Valle del Basento (Matera), Basilicata
Val Basento industrial area
128 km
SIN, Crotone; Cassano allo Ionio e Cerchiara di Calabria (Cosenza), Calabria
Crotone - Cassano - Cerchiara
185 km
Sources
- Scheda SIN Brindisi (copia d'archivio), MASE, 2021
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto - Brindisi (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.