Soil
ENVIRONMENT
Sarlux is constantly investing to prevent contamination of the soil and subsoil.
PROTECTION OF THE SOIL AND SUBSOIL
With regard to the protection of soil and subsoil at the Sarroch industrial site, the Group continues to carry out a multi-year programme of contamination prevention interventions, in order to avoid any problems relating to accidental releases on the soil and subsoil.
Prevention of soil and subsoil contamination
In addition to having adopted adequate process control systems, numerous waterproof pavements have already been built, and others will be built over the next few years, in the containment basins of the storage tanks and in the “pipe-ways”, i.e. the pipe tracks, along which the transfer lines of petroleum products wind, connecting the various tanks and plants to each other. These interventions make it possible to protect soil and subsoil in the event of accidental spills.
Similarly, the installation of double bottoms in storage tanks continues, also aimed at protecting the soil and subsoil in case they allow the same phenomenon to be avoided in the soil and subsoil, in the event of any problems on the bottoms of the tanks.
During the transition period to double bottoms, a verification process was put in place with the “noise emissions” technique, which makes it possible to detect any anomalies on the bottom of the tanks in advance.
The Site Characterisation Plan
The Italian Ministry for the Environment, the Region of Sardinia, the Province of Cagliari, Local Health Authority no. 8 and the Municipality of Sarroch, they have defined the procedures for implementing the Site Characterisation Plan, which included a series of surveys, and proposed additional actions to protect the environment and safeguard public health. The main actions were:
- emergency safety measures (MISE) for groundwater by constructing a dynamic water-extracting barrier
- operational safety measures (MISOP) for groundwater by constructing a physical barrier on the sea side, which was subsequently replaced by the creation of the “diffuse” hydraulic barrier boosting the emergency safety measures (“procedural variant”).
- remediation project for soil hot spots in the Western Tank Farm area and the area of the former ST1 reservoir.
The Site Characterisation Plan, completed in 2010, involved 879 soil samplings, 144 piezometer samplings and 539 control points (“gas surveys”).
WASTE
In order to reduce the production of waste, Sarlux has adopted, implemented and maintained over time, effective waste management policies and systems in accordance with the best international standards. We have also designed and adopted specific technologies and efficiency measures, favouring recycling and reuse from a circular economy perspective.
Increased recovery of sorted municipal waste
The initiatives carried out over the past three years have pursued the twofold objective of reducing overall waste production and increasing the capacity to sort recyclable waste.
In recent years, building on the trend started in 2021, we have continued to reduce the volume of municipal waste we produce at the site, through constant initiatives and staff awareness campaigns. We have achieved the target of reducing by approximately 50 percent our municipal waste production compared to the value in the two-year period 2019-2020.
The goal for the three-year period 2022-2024 is to improve the ratio of sorted waste to total municipal waste by one percentage point per year from 44 percent in 2021; in 2023, this target was far exceeded, reaching 82 percent of sorted waste.
Industrial waste reduction
Over the years, new management approaches to reduce waste production or maximise recovery have been evaluated. With regard to 2023, new projects have been initiated after the previous studies, which are summarised below:
- Reduction in the amount of Filter Cake produced
- Reduction in the production of packaging
- Increasing the sending of waste for recovery instead of disposal
- Reducing the environmental footprint in the waste transport process.
Sarlux provides at no charge bilge and ballast water disposal services
to the tankers docking at its marine terminal and to the ships that send their bilge water
from all Sardinian ports in tanker trucks.
Source: Sarlux 2023 Environmental Statement
