Atlas of Contaminated Sites

Site of National Interest (SIN), Émarèse (Aosta), Valle d'Aosta, Italy

Emarèse asbestos mines

Émarèse

A former chrysotile asbestos mine at about 1,370 m, discovered in 1872 and worked on and off until 1970. Its waste-rock dumps hold 4.6 to 39.5% asbestos by weight and can release fibres into the air.

Status
Remediation under way
Area
23 ha on land1
Activity
1872–1970
People affected
223 (2019)2
Media
soil, air, surface water
Kind of site
mining, asbestos, landfill
  1. Area. 23 ha (ISPRA, June 2024). Perimeter set by decree of 26 Nov 2002, amended by decrees of 6 Oct 2006 and 20 June 2016.
  2. People affected. Residents of the municipality of Émarèse, 2019 census, from the SENTIERI Sixth Report.

Contaminants

Fibres

Status

Remediation under way

Of 23 ha: soil characterised on 74% and with an approved project on 74%, no soil procedure closed; for groundwater, characterisation and closed procedure on 74% (ISPRA, June 2024; the work mainly concerns making asbestos safe). The first phase of works ended in 2016; the other mine dumps remain to be dealt with.

Story

The Émarèse mine worked serpentinite carrying chrysotile asbestos through a funnel-shaped open pit and several shafts and adits. The SENTIERI documentation names the operator as Società Amianto Italiano Valle d'Aosta. Mining began after the 1872 discovery and went on intermittently until 1970.

Numerous waste-rock dumps with large amounts of fibre were left on the site, open to wind and rain. A 2013 survey by ARPA Valle d'Aosta and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia measured asbestos contents in the waste rock between 4.6% and 39.5% by weight.

Characterisation was carried out in 2002–2004 and divided the site into area A (the main Settarme-Chassan workings) and areas B, C and D (secondary workings). The solution agreed with the Ministry is permanent containment: a confinement basin sealed at the bottom and sides, into which waste rock was placed, and covering of the sources with imported fill, with drainage works and re-establishment of vegetation. Complete removal was done only on the yard in front of the hamlet of Chassan.

Works began in June 2014 and the first phase ended in 2016. ARPA measured background airborne fibre levels at three stations before the works and ran check analyses during them; in surface water (an irrigation channel and springs) fibre concentrations were highly variable.

Timeline

  1. 1872The chrysotile asbestos deposit is discovered.
  2. 1970Mining ends.
  3. 2001Decree 468/2001 lists Emarese as a Site of National Interest.
  4. 2002Perimeter decree (26 Nov 2002) and start of the characterisation surveys (2002–2004).
  5. 2013ARPA and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia measure 4.6 to 39.5% asbestos in the waste rock.
  6. 2014June: remediation and permanent containment works begin.
  7. 2016First phase of works completed; new perimeter decree (20 June 2016).

Health

SENTIERI Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013–2017, hospital admissions 2014–2018): the site is the single municipality of Émarèse, 223 inhabitants at the 2019 census. Cases are too few to estimate excesses or deficits; for asbestos-related causes (lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, asbestosis) no estimates could be calculated, as in the Fifth Report.

Remediation

  1. 2014containmentConfinement basin sealed at the bottom and sides for asbestos-bearing waste rock (2014–2016).
  2. 2014cappingCovering of the dumps with imported fill, drainage works and re-establishment of natural vegetation.
  3. 2014excavationComplete removal of the material from the yard in front of the hamlet of Chassan.

Nearby

SIN, Balangero e Corio (TO), Piemonte

Balangero asbestos mine

49 km

  • Asbestos

PhytoremediationMycoremediation

SIN, Pieve Vergonte (VB), Piemonte

Pieve Vergonte

55 km

  • DDT and breakdown products
  • Mercury
  • Arsenic
  • Dioxins and furans

Former SIN, Torino, Piemonte

Basse di Stura (Turin)

67 km

  • Mixed waste

SIN, Casale Monferrato (AL), Piemonte

Casale Monferrato (Eternit)

86 km

  • Asbestos

Sources

  1. Siti contaminati di interesse nazionale (indicatore, dati a giugno 2024), ISPRA, 2024
  2. Riferimenti normativi per i SIN (aggiornamento 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
  3. La bonifica della cava di amianto di Emarèse (A. Romani), Ecoscienza 4/2021, ARPA Valle d'Aosta / ARPAE, 2021
  4. SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto, Epidemiologia & Prevenzione 47(1-2) Suppl 1 (scheda Emarese, p. 46; SENTIERI6_Siti_informazioni), Istituto Superiore di Sanità / Epidemiologia & Prevenzione, 2023
  5. Émarèse (coordinate del comune), Wikipedia, 2026

Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.