Press Release
Montpellier, October, 2006,
What does the future hold for large metal-polluted sites ?
Difpolmine Conference 12, 13 & 14 december 2006 – Montpellier – Le Corum
Presentation : From December 12th to December 14th, 2006, ADEME (the French Environnement and Energy Management Agency), with the support of Life-Environnement, proposes an international conference relating to the treatement and remediation of large heavy-metals or metalloids polluted sites, at the conference center Le Corum of Montpellier. The day of December 14th will be focus on a technical tour of La Combe du Saut site (Salsigne, near to Carcassonne – Aude – France). Europe has been the site of the intensive industrial production and transformation of ores and metals for hundreds of years. These activities have produced large quantities of pollutants, derived in particular from the transportation and storage of waste, and the release of various substances into the environment, sometimes from large areas. The erosion of contaminated soil and waste still leads to the release of heavy metals and metalloids into nearby rivers. Some of this pollution can be treated using traditional methods (excavation, physicochemical treatment, containment, etc.), especially for highly concentrated sources of pollutants. However, residual or diffuse pollution remains in the soil around these hot spots and it will be necessary to find solutions to minimise the impact and manage the site in the long-term. So what does the future hold for large metal-polluted sites ? To answer it, the following four subject will be approched during the conference : • “State of the art” of public politics in management of metal-polluted sites • Pollutants transfer process and risk assessment • Biodisponibility, bioaccessibility of pollutants • Reclamation techniques (including phytoremediation) Conference aims : - to do progress approaches in domains of studies, work or monitoring, to define a durable management of these spaces damaged by the industrial activity. - to present the Difpolmine program engaged on the La Combe du Saut site. This conference concern : industrial site managers, polluted site stakeholders, prime contractors, consultants, and companies specialized in polluted sites remediation or revegetation, as well as analytical and research laboratories. Scientific Committee : Mr. BIDOGLIO Mr. BOLLINGER Mrs. DARMENDRAIL Mrs. GRUIZ Mr. JACQUEMIN Mr. KAO Mr. MENCH Mr. POTTECHER Mr. VANGRONSVELD Mr. VERRAES
Joint Research Center Limoges University BRGM Budapest University ADEME CEMAGREF INRA IRH Environnement Hasselt University Ecole des Mines d’Alès
European Commission France France Hungary France France France France Belgium France
Registration fees : 150 euros (1 day), 250 euros (2 days), 350 euros (3 days) - preferential rates : 250 euros for registrations for the 3 days before october 27th, 2006.
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La Combe du Saut site (Salsigne, near to Carcassonne – Aude – France) : Technical tour on december 14th Ore was extracted in Salsigne, in the Aude region of southern France, for over a century. Apart from gold, the ore contains a high proportion of arsenic, treated by smelting or hydrometallurgy in La Combe du Saut site, support of Difpolmine Programme. 10,000 tonnes of arsenic was produced annually (for use in vine protection and wood preservation). The topsoil, which covers several tens of hectares at La Combe du Saut, is so polluted that revegetation has not occurred and the run-off transfer of arsenic to rivers exceeds 1 t/year. Since 1999, ADEME has managed a remediation programme that combines the containment of highly polluted material and the management of residual or diffuse pollution (several g/kg of arsenic) by soil phytostabilisation. Difpolmine Programme : A purpose for remediation of large metal-polluted sites. ADEME works in association with IRH Environnement (France), the Hasselt University (Belgium) and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary) on the project called Difpolmine (Diffuse pollution from mining activities), and funded by the European Commission’s Life Environment Programme. •
Solutions by full scale phytostabilisation evaluation, which is a new technique, that is know to be cheaper than classical ones.
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A suitable approach to the management of polluted runoff water and phytostabilisation of the soil for : reduce the transfer of pollution to surface water on old mining sites. restore the water to good quality avoid the accumulation of polluted sediments.
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Information and download of programme and registration form : www.difpolmine.org —
[email protected] Contacts : Communication / Organisation : ADEME – Délégation Régionale Languedoc-Roussillon Hubert Pscherer – Responsible for communication Cédric Fratini – Technician of communication Marc Arguillat – Polluted sites Coordiantor Tél. : +33 4 67 99 89 79 - Fax : +33 4 67 64 30 89 Registration : ADEME Brigitte Bouhours - Régisseur de recettes 27 rue Louis Vicat - 75737 Paris Cedex 15 - FRANCE Tél. : +33 1 47 65 23 73 - Fax : +33 1 46 38 37 19 -
[email protected] About ADEME : The French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) is a public establishement under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Develoment, the Ministry of Industry and Research. It participates in the implementation of public policies in the fields of the environment, energy and sustainable development. The agency makes its expertise and consultancy skills available to business, local communities, public and helps them to finance projects in five areas (waste management, soil preservation, energy effiency and renewable energy, air quality and noise abatement) and to make progress with their sustainable development procedures. ADEME is also very active internationally. It contributes to the implementation of international agreements on climate change. It develops solid relationship with the northern countries in order to foster exchanges of experiences and carries out joint projects with southern countries in order to back them in their actions on energy management and environmental protection for sustainable development. www.ademe.fr
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