Site of National Interest (SIN), Mantova, Lombardia, Italy
Mantua Lakes and chemical complex
A refinery (from 1946) and a petrochemical plant (from 1956) stand on the shore of the lakes that the Mincio river forms around Mantua. Mercury, hydrocarbons, solvents and dioxins are found in soil, groundwater and sediments; the site also includes stretches of river and lake.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Area
- 1,027 ha on land1
- Activity
- since 1946
- People affected
- 63,314 (2019)2
- Media
- soil, groundwater, sediment, surface water
- Kind of site
- petrochemicals, chemical works, oil, landfill, port
- Area. 1,027 ha (ISPRA, June 2024), including river and lake areas; the progress percentages refer to 614 ha, that is the site without the river and lakes.
- People affected. Residents of the two site municipalities (Mantua and Borgo Virgilio) at the 2019 census, according to SENTIERI.
Contaminants
Status
Remediation under way
On the 614 ha of land: soil 60% characterised, clean-up or containment project approved for 10%, procedure closed for 3%; groundwater 60% characterised, project approved for 14%, procedure closed for 2% (ISPRA, June 2024). Part of the chemical plants is still operating.
Story
The refinery came on stream in 1946 and the petrochemical plant in 1956. The SENTIERI site sheets list a refinery, a petrochemical plant, metallurgy, an industrial incinerator and industrial waste landfills, with the Syndial, Polimeri Europa, ITAS and IES plants. In 1991 the chlor-alkali unit and the cracker shut down and the incinerator stopped burning chlorinated waste; the refinery closed in 2013 and was converted into a logistics hub in 2015. Other plants are still operating.
Soil contains metals (mercury mainly in the petrochemical area), BTEX, light and heavy hydrocarbons, dioxins, furans and PCBs. Groundwater contains metals, aromatics, chlorinated aliphatic compounds, PAHs, MTBE and ETBE in the former refinery area, styrene and cumene in the petrochemical area. Sediments contain arsenic, cadmium, mercury, chromium, zinc, hydrocarbons, PAHs, dichloroethane, styrene, cumene, dioxins and furans.
The site has been a SIN since 2002. In June 2024 the procedure was closed on 3% of the soil and 2% of the groundwater; SENTIERI notes that some clean-ups have remained incomplete.
Timeline
- 1946The refinery comes on stream.
- 1956The petrochemical plant comes on stream.
- 1974The industrial incinerator starts burning chlorinated waste (until 1991).
- 1991The chlor-alkali unit and the cracker shut down; the incinerator no longer burns chlorinated waste.
- 2002Law 179/2002 adds the Mantua Lakes and chemical complex to the Sites of National Interest.
- 2003Ministerial decree of 7 February: the SIN perimeter is set.
- 2013The refinery stops operating; in 2015 it becomes a logistics hub.
Health
A first case-control study (incidence 1989–1998) found a much higher risk of soft-tissue sarcoma for people living closest to the industrial incinerator of the chemical complex (OR 31.4; 95% CI 5.6–176.1). The incinerator burned chlorinated waste from 1974 to 1991. A later study covering 1999–2014 no longer found the excess (Benedetti et al. 2020).
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (Mantua and Borgo Virgilio; mortality 2013–2017, hospital admissions 2014–2018): mortality from the main causes in line with expected, except for an excess of circulatory diseases in both sexes. Admissions in excess in both sexes for lung and colorectal cancer; breast cancer in excess in women; for soft-tissue sarcomas an excess in both sexes but with an uncertain estimate. Excess of some congenital anomalies, in particular ventricular septal defect.
Remediation
- 2008characterisationFirst characterisation of the lake and river areas completed, with analyses of sediment, water, benthos, bivalves and fish.
- 2021emergency groundwater containment and soil remediationAccording to the 2022-2027 regional remediation programme, emergency containment of groundwater and soil remediation are under way on several private areas; on 12 February 2021 a new programme agreement assigned 18.2 million euros to groundwater monitoring, waste removal, further characterisation and work on the lakes and the lower Mincio.
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
- Medicago sativaAlfalfa, lucernePolychlorinated biphenylsPetroleum hydrocarbonsPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Cucurbita pepoZucchini, pumpkinPolychlorinated biphenylsDioxins and furansEvidence: field
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Lolium perennePerennial ryegrassPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Miscanthus × giganteusGiant miscanthusPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
Fungi
- Funneliformis mosseaePolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: greenhouse
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Agaricus bisporusButton mushroomPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
- Cunninghamella elegansPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Italy, Trissino (Vicenza), Veneto
Miteni (formerly RIMAR), Trissino
62 km
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
SIN, Lombardia
Brescia-Caffaro
64 km
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
- Dioxins and furans
PhytoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Former SIN, Sassuolo (Modena) e Scandiano (Reggio Emilia), Emilia-Romagna
Sassuolo-Scandiano ceramic district
67 km
SIN, Fidenza (Parma), Emilia-Romagna
Fidenza (former CIP and Carbochimica plants)
67 km
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)
- Coal tar
MycoremediationMicrobial bioremediation
Sources
- Programma regionale di bonifica delle aree inquinate 2022-2027, Allegato 1: Siti di Interesse Nazionale, Regione Lombardia, 2022
- Siti contaminati di interesse nazionale (indicatore, dati a giugno 2024), ISPRA, 2024
- Riferimenti normativi per i SIN (aggiornamento 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto (risultati Nord-Ovest e schede informative dei siti). Epidemiologia & Prevenzione 47(1-2) Suppl 1, Epidemiologia & Prevenzione / ISS, 2023
- Benedetti M. et al. Residential proximity to an industrial incinerator and risk of soft-tissue sarcoma, 1999-2014. Epidemiologia & Prevenzione 44(2-3):128-136, Epidemiologia & Prevenzione, 2020
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.