Site of National Interest (SIN), Manfredonia, Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia), Puglia, Italy
Manfredonia
Former Enichem Agricoltura chemical plant (fertilisers and caprolactam) on the Gulf of Manfredonia, with municipal and industrial waste landfills. In 1976 the explosion of a column in the ammonia unit spread arsenic over a very wide area.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Area
- 216 ha on land, 860 ha in water1
- Activity
- since 1970
- Media
- soil, groundwater, sediment
- Kind of site
- chemical works, agrochemicals, landfill, accident
- Area. 2021 MASE fact sheet: about 216 hectares on land and about 860 at sea. SENTIERI (2023) gives 303 hectares on land and 855 at sea. The perimeter was redrawn by decree of 2 December 2024; the new area has not been verified.
Contaminants
Status
Remediation under way
The public landfills (Conte di Troia, Pariti I and Pariti II) were contained or remediated between 2011 and 2014. In the Eni Rewind areas soil and groundwater remediation is under way (MASE fact sheet, 2021). Programme Agreement signed on 20 December 2019.
Story
The former Enichem Agricoltura plant, now owned by Eni Rewind, covered about 130 hectares divided into 17 «islands». In 1976 the explosion of a stripping column in the ammonia unit, on island 5, released arsenic that contaminated a very wide area; the plant has been under investigation ever since. The SIN also includes neighbouring farmland, the public landfills Conte di Troia, Pariti I and Pariti II (former calcarenite quarries filled with waste) and the sea in front of the plant.
Soil contamination is localised: heavy metals (mercury, lead, zinc), arsenic and organic compounds (BTEX, caprolactam, PAHs). Groundwater contains BTEX, caprolactam, PAHs, arsenic, mercury, zinc, aluminium, nickel, lead and ammoniacal nitrogen. On about 29.5 hectares of private farmland, characterised in 2013, there were widespread exceedances of beryllium, tin and thallium in soil and of sulphates in groundwater.
Works on the public landfills, run by the Commissioner for the environmental emergency in Puglia, were completed between 2011 and 2014. Remediation is under way in the Eni Rewind areas.
Timeline
- 1970Industrial activity begins at the chemical plant.
- 1976Explosion of a column in the ammonia unit (island 5) and release of arsenic.
- 1998Law 426/1998 names Manfredonia a site of national interest.
- 2000Perimeter set by decree of 10 January 2000.
- 2013Characterisation of the private farmland (about 29.5 hectares).
- 2014Containment and remediation of the public landfills completed (2011-2014).
- 2019Programme Agreement of 20 December between the Ministry, the Region and the two municipalities.
- 2024Perimeter redrawn by decree of 2 December 2024.
Health
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013-2017, hospital admissions 2014-2018, regional reference): mortality below expected for all causes and for respiratory and circulatory diseases in both sexes; among causes linked a priori to the site's exposures, excess mortality from stomach cancer in men. Hospital admissions are in excess for all causes in both sexes. In the first year of life there is an excess of overall mortality, associated with deaths from congenital malformations.
Remediation
- 2014landfill containmentPermanent containment/remediation of the Conte di Troia, Pariti I (municipal waste and sewage) and Pariti II landfills, completed between 2011 and 2014.
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
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Pteris vittataChinese brake fernEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Berkheya coddiiBerkheya coddiiEvidence: field
- Biscutella laevigataBuckler mustardEvidence: field
Fungi
- Funneliformis mosseaePolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: greenhouse
- Pisolithus albusEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Agaricus bisporusButton mushroomPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
- Mucor circinelloidesEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
SIN, Puglia
Bari - Fibronit
98 km
- Asbestos
SIN, Tito (Potenza), Basilicata
Tito
119 km
- Phosphogypsum
- Asbestos
- Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)
- Vinyl chloride
SIN, Valle del Basento (Matera), Basilicata
Val Basento industrial area
144 km
Former SIN, Province di Salerno, Napoli e Avellino, Campania
Sarno river basin
151 km
Sources
- Scheda SIN Manfredonia (copia d'archivio), MASE, 2021
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto - Manfredonia (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.