Site of National Interest (SIN), Tito (Potenza), Basilicata, Italy
Tito
The Tito Scalo industrial area near Potenza: the former Liquichimica phosphate-fertiliser plant, a steelworks and dumps. Soil holds phosphogypsum, steel slag and asbestos-containing materials; groundwater holds chlorinated solvents and vinyl chloride.
At a glance
- Status
- Under assessment
- Area
- 315 ha on land1
- Activity
- since 1959
- People affected
- 7,249 (2019)2
- Media
- soil, groundwater
- Kind of site
- chemical works, agrochemicals, steel, asbestos, landfill, illegal dumping
- Area. 315 hectares according to SENTIERI (2023). The perimeter was redrawn by decree of 27 October 2023; the area after that has not been verified.
- People affected. Residents of the municipality of Tito, 2019 census (the population studied by SENTIERI).
Contaminants
Organic compounds
Fibres
Other inorganics
Status
Under assessment
No up-to-date official source on the state of characterisation and remediation could be retrieved: the MASE fact sheet for the site was not accessible. The status given here is a cautious one.
Story
Industrial activity at Tito began in 1959. The documentation gathered by the SENTIERI study lists a chemical plant (formerly Liquichimica), a steelworks (Siderpotenza) and dumps of special and hazardous waste, with scattered heaps of abandoned waste.
The soil contains materials with asbestos or other hazardous fibres, slag and dust from steelmaking, raw materials and residues from phosphate-fertiliser production, and phosphogypsum. Groundwater shows iron, manganese, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethylene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane and benzene.
The site was added to the SINs by decree 468/2001, its perimeter set in 2002 and redrawn in 2023.
Timeline
- 1959Industrial activity begins.
- 2001Decree 468/2001 adds Tito to the SINs.
- 2002Perimeter set by decree of 8 July 2002.
- 2023Perimeter redrawn by decree of 27 October 2023.
Health
SENTIERI, Sixth Report (2023; mortality 2013-2017, hospital admissions 2014-2018, regional reference): all-cause mortality in line with the reference in both sexes; excess mortality from all cancers in men and from respiratory diseases in women. Among causes of a priori interest, excesses of colorectal and liver cancer in men and of chronic lung disease in women. The population studied is the municipality of Tito (7,249 residents in 2019).
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
- Populus × generosaHybrid poplar (P. trichocarpa × P. deltoides)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: field
- Typha latifoliaBroadleaf cattailEvidence: field
- Phytolacca americanaAmerican pokeweedEvidence: laboratory
- Populus × canadensisCanadian poplar (P. deltoides × P. nigra)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Scedosporium apiospermumBTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)Evidence: laboratory
- Trametes versicolorTurkey tailChlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: laboratory
Nearby
SIN, Valle del Basento (Matera), Basilicata
Val Basento industrial area
69 km
Former SIN, Province di Salerno, Napoli e Avellino, Campania
Sarno river basin
99 km
Former SIN, Costa vesuviana (Napoli), Campania
Vesuvian Coast areas
113 km
- Asbestos
- Mixed waste
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
SIN, Puglia
Bari - Fibronit
114 km
- Asbestos
Sources
- Riferimenti normativi per i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (agg. 31 dicembre 2025), ISPRA, 2025
- SENTIERI. Sesto Rapporto - Tito (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.