Project Details
Location / Buenos Aires, ArgentinaContaminants / Lead and Chromium
Project Duration / June 2013 - February 2015
Project Cost / $75,000, provided by the European Commission
Implementing Partners / City of Buenos Aires Environmental Protection Agency (APrA) and Housing Institute (IVC)
Affected Population / 1,000
475 Riverside Drive, 8th Floor, Ste 860, New York, NY 10115 | t: 212.647.8330 | f: 212.870.3488 | www.blacksmithinstitute.org
Background and Scope
The site, known as “Ex-Astillero Osvaldo Tacconi”, is one of the multiple polluted sites located in the “Matanza-Riachuelo Basin”. This basin, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is one of the 10 top polluted sites in the world.
This site is an abandoned shipyard, which began its activities in 1940. This shipyard was a deposit for damaged and discarded ships, engines, the ship industry´s unwanted spare parts, as well as industrial hazardous waste. Although many of the large machinery parts have been removed, the site surface soil is still filled with polluted land waste. The Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) of Blacksmith Institute for a Pure Earth found that lead in surface soil was 10 times higher than the recommended levels and chromium more than 8 times higher.
The “Ex-Astillero Tacconi” is located near the densely populated settlement of Villa 21-24, which has a population of 45,000 inhabitants. Therefore, it is in constant risk of intrusion and kept under custody. In addition, the City of Buenos Aires plans to build affordable housing in this area. For this reasons, the GAHP pilot project involves the detailed characterization and the design of a remediation plan for this site.
Solution Implemented
The Technical Direction of the Environmental Protection Agency (DGeT) of APrA, with the support of Blacksmith Institute developed an analysis of the local technologies for the assessment of polluted sites. A local university, Universidad Tecnologica Nacional (UTN), was selected to carry out the assessment and the remediation plan.
After a long discussion between APrA, UTN and BI about the number of samples and chemicals to be measured, the sampling took place in December 2014. In January 2015, the UTN submitted a progress report with the preliminary results of the site characterization and risk assessment. The UTN took samples of soil and ground water for determination of lead, nickel, cadmium, total chromium, mercury, total hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, total organic carbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds. The results of the sampling are ready and available in the progress report, but it is still necessary to analyze these results and develop the remediation strategy. Then, the City of Buenos Aires will be responsible for funding the full remediation of this site to reduce the contamination and the risk of toxic exposure of the population living nearby. The construction of an affordable housing depends on the final recommendations from the UTN.
Project Results
The final report will be submitted in early February and will be shared with the Buenos Aires City government after revision by Blacksmith Institute for a Pure Earth.
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
· This pilot project had many delays due to changes in the leadership of APrA. In December 2013, the APrA President was changed due to political reasons. This change implied new requirements for the pilot project. There was even a need to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as a condition of the new legal team of APrA. Therefore, projects with government agencies need to estimate delays and cost rises given possible changes of authorities during the project.
· One of the most important positive lessons regarded the importance of clear articulation of the country’s capabilities. It was possible to identify the capacity of the UTN to perform characterization and risk assessment of contaminated sites.
· Working with a local university was very convenient, as the same work proposed by other companies was more expensive. Furthermore, this generated a higher level of trust from the local government, given the high prestige of the university.
· This pilot project is part of an overall strategy from the city of Buenos Aires to curb pollution in the “Matanza-Riachuelo Basin”. Thus, a successful remediation may stimulate replication of this kind of activity in the area.
475 Riverside Drive, 8th Floor, Ste 860, New York, NY 10115 | t: 212.647.8330 | f: 212.870.3488 | www.blacksmithinstitute.org