Environmental Status of Italian Coastal Marine Areas Affected by Long History of Contamination

Abstract

In the first decades of 2000s, several Italian sites affected by strong anthropogenic impact were recognized as Sites of National Interest (SINs) for a successive reclamation project, some of which also including marine sectors. These coastal areas are characterized by high complexity and diversity as regards the natural setting as well as for extent, history, type, and degree of contamination. For this, the Italian Ministry of Environment charged its scientific research Institute (earlier ICRAM, now ISPRA) with planning a flexible, adaptable, and large-scale environmental characterization. In this context, the investigation of marine sediments was identified as the primary target to assess the environmental status, because of their conservative capacity with respect to contaminants and their role in the exchange processes with other environmental matrices, such as water column and aquatic organisms. A multidisciplinary, chemicalphysical, and ecotoxicological survey was identified as the most appropriate and objective criterion for assessing the sediment quality associated, when necessary, with integrative studies. The results derived from this multidisciplinary approach highlighted the main sources of contamination, together with size and extent of the environmental impact on the coastal marine areas, strictly correlated with the kind of anthropogenic activities and coastal morphology. In order to underline how the different environmental setting influences the degree of anthropogenic impact, four different case studies, selected among the more complex by geochemical and geomorphological viewpoints and more extensively studied, were considered. A comprehensive evaluation of these case studies allowed to deduce some general principles concerning the effects of anthropogenic impact, which can be applicable to other transitional and marine coastal areas.

The Paradox of an Unpolluted Coastal Site Facing a Chronically Contaminated Industrial Area

“…Industrial activities, even if interrupted for several years, have often left chronic marine pollution as a legacy (Romano et al, 2004;Gambi et al, 2020a;Naidu et al, 2021). This was also the expectation of the marine area facing the chronically contaminated industrial area of Falconara M.ma (central-western Adriatic Sea) enclosed since 2002 among the most polluted Italian sites and among the "problem areas" of the Europe's seas (Andersen et al, 2019;Ausili et al, 2020). However, the present investigation, revealed that heavy metal concentrations in all the investigated sediments were typically low or at values lower than those expected to cause detrimental biological effects (above Effects-Range-Median; Long et al, 1995).…”

“…The investigated area, Falconara Marittima on the western coast of the central Adriatic Sea, has an extension of about 1,200 ha (Figure 1), and is included among the most heavily polluted sites in Italy (SNI). There, remediation actions are required by Italian laws and therefore any type of human activity is prohibited, including shipping, fishing and bathing (Ausili et al, 2020). This SNI is an area at high risk of environmental crisis (AERCA; Martuzzi et al, 2002) and also includes a marine area, located to the north, in front of the former Montedison plant, and to the south in front of the mouth of the Esino river and an oil refinery (used since the 1940s as a refining and storage station for petroleum products).…”

“…In the present study, we conducted the chemical characterization of the sediments and investigated their trophic state and the effects on meiofaunal assemblages in a coastal area of the central-western Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea) located in front of a chemical industry abandoned more than 3 decades ago. This area is currently included among the most heavily polluted sites in Italy (defined as "Sites of National Interest, " SNI), which are off-limits to any human activity (e.g., shipping, fishery and bathing), and where clean-up and remediation actions are required by Italian laws (Ausili et al, 2020). In particular, we compared the health conditions of the benthic ecosystems of the SNI area with those of the northern and southern sediments outside the SNI used as controls.…”

Large-Scale Mercury Dispersion at Sea: Modelling a Multi-Hazard Case Study from Augusta Bay (Central Mediterranean Sea)

“…Augusta Bay represents one of the Mediterranean coastal and marine areas most pervasively affected by historical industrial pollution. Specifically, concentrations of inorganic and organic contaminants higher than threshold values for the Italian and European Legislation (e.g., Decree Law 172/2015, Directive 2008/56EC) were recorded in the bottom sediment [ 13 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ] as well as in the most superficial levels (0–10 cm) ( Figure 3 ).…”

Editorial: Environment and Health

“…The knowledge about the behavior and ecotoxicity of pollutants (including those of emerging concern) in the marine environment is particularly relevant given the complex interactions among different matrices (sediments, seawater, atmosphere, and biota), and represents a field of cutting-edge multidisciplinary science. In this context, Ausili et al (2020) presented a comprehensive view on the current status of monitoring and recovery actions of highly industrialized coastal-marine areas in Italy, and provide quantitative indicators to inform policies for restoring huge territory affected by pollution. D'Agostino et al (2020) reported on the environmental status of contamination by persistent and emerging contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, etc.)…”