Site “NS-8”, Location: Estarreja (Aveiro, Portugal). Industrial area, mixed pollution.
40º46’1’’ N, 08º34’49’’ W
Brief description:
The site “Área do Segmento 1 da Vala de S. Filipe” is located in the vicinity of a large chemical industrial complex in Estarreja, Portugal. It is an area with high permeability and an average depth to groundwater level of less than 1 metre, with seasonal flooding due to the rise of the aquifer. Such characteristics led to the construction of a network of drainage ditches, which allowed the agricultural use of the land. Over 5 decades, from about 1940 onwards, the chemical complex used some ditches for the discharge of wastewater, with high content of aniline and derivatives, and other organics, ammonia and metals(loids) mainly As, Hg, Pb and Zn.
The concentration of the two main contaminants before remediation averages 3298 mg As/kg (about 3000 mg/kg at 25 cm depth) and 89 mg Hg/kg (about 50 mg/kg at 25 cm depth). Organic contaminants have not been quantified, but due to the history of the site, hydrocarbon contamination is known to be present: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, PAH.
The site will undergo a major remediation project in 2021. On the southern boundaries of the large intervention area (coloured red on the map), a plot has been established for Phy2SUDOE’s needs.
The area (coloured yellow), which was precisely defined in January 2021 to meet the requirements of the remediation project, is located around a central point with the approximate coordinates (40º46’1″ N, 08º34’49” W).