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Strategic Environmental Action Plan against lindane waste contamination in Aragon
Published on 24 March 2020
Spain
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
A factory was producing lindane in Aragon from 1975 to 1989. An estimate of more than 150,000 tons of solid waste with high content of HCH and other organochlorine compounds was produced, and dumped, together with liquid wastes in two landfills. This caused the most severe contamination problem in Aragon. Since 1994, the Government of Aragon implements measures for the control and containment of the contamination.
This has been a matter of concern for Aragon region and the municipalities of the Gallego river basin for years. At the end of 2015, the regional Parliament approved two Motions that established the need of elaborating a technical Action Plan including a time schedule of actions to be performed till the complete remediation of the area.
The lindane Action Plan meets this requirements describing the lindane problem in Aragon and establishing a roadmap for five main actions:
- Ensuring the supply of drinking water and the quality of irrigation water
- Isolation of waste
- Pumping of DNAPL and decontamination of soils and rock
- Decontamination of surface soils and restoration
- Elimination of waste
The Unit for the comprehensive lindane decontamination, created in 2015, is in charge of implementing the Plan.
Stakeholders of the Plan are municipalities of the river Gallego basin, labour and agriculturalunions, social and ecologist associations, other regional and state authorities, universities and research groups.
An interim external evaluation of the Plan h
This has been a matter of concern for Aragon region and the municipalities of the Gallego river basin for years. At the end of 2015, the regional Parliament approved two Motions that established the need of elaborating a technical Action Plan including a time schedule of actions to be performed till the complete remediation of the area.
The lindane Action Plan meets this requirements describing the lindane problem in Aragon and establishing a roadmap for five main actions:
- Ensuring the supply of drinking water and the quality of irrigation water
- Isolation of waste
- Pumping of DNAPL and decontamination of soils and rock
- Decontamination of surface soils and restoration
- Elimination of waste
The Unit for the comprehensive lindane decontamination, created in 2015, is in charge of implementing the Plan.
Stakeholders of the Plan are municipalities of the river Gallego basin, labour and agriculturalunions, social and ecologist associations, other regional and state authorities, universities and research groups.
An interim external evaluation of the Plan h
Resources needed
The elaboration of the action plan needs mainly human resources:
- Technical staff to collect the information and write the Plan
- Personnel for the design and layout
Additionally, few economic resources will be dedicated to the printing hard copies of the Plan.
- Technical staff to collect the information and write the Plan
- Personnel for the design and layout
Additionally, few economic resources will be dedicated to the printing hard copies of the Plan.
Evidence of success
The Plan was elaborated as a tool for information to the general public and a guidance on the actions towards the complete lindane remediation.
An external evaluation was done to:
1. Assess the performance of the Plan, asessing the performance of the planned activities: this was rated as satisfactory
2. Assess the degree of satisfaction among stakeholders through surveys: Stakeholders remarked the great effort done in transparency and in the dissemination of official documents and reports
An external evaluation was done to:
1. Assess the performance of the Plan, asessing the performance of the planned activities: this was rated as satisfactory
2. Assess the degree of satisfaction among stakeholders through surveys: Stakeholders remarked the great effort done in transparency and in the dissemination of official documents and reports
Potential for learning or transfer
The Plan is a transparency tool to inform all stakeholders about the problem, to make the undertaken actions visible, and to inform about the actions under development and planned and the resources needed.
Lindane manufacturing waste contamination is not only a technical and economic challenge, it affects citizens from many European countries, becoming a social challenge. This plan allows the citizens to know about the magnitude of the problem, the measures taken, and the investments made to guarantee the water quality and to remediate the contaminated sites.
The Plan increases the knowledge of the stakeholders, and favours the coordination among the public entities and the participation of the social groups.
There are 25 lindane contaminated megasites in 14 European countries, according to the PETI committee "Lindane in EU" (40 megasites based in recent information). All the regions and countries where these sites are located could benefit from this Good Practice.
Lindane manufacturing waste contamination is not only a technical and economic challenge, it affects citizens from many European countries, becoming a social challenge. This plan allows the citizens to know about the magnitude of the problem, the measures taken, and the investments made to guarantee the water quality and to remediate the contaminated sites.
The Plan increases the knowledge of the stakeholders, and favours the coordination among the public entities and the participation of the social groups.
There are 25 lindane contaminated megasites in 14 European countries, according to the PETI committee "Lindane in EU" (40 megasites based in recent information). All the regions and countries where these sites are located could benefit from this Good Practice.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Government of Aragón
Spain
Aragón
Contact
Head of Service of Contaminated Soils