Asbestos reclamation at a disused industrial plant, Bagnoli (Naples, Italy).

Asbestos reclamation works were carried out at a disused industrial plant (157,000 m(2)) in Bagnoli, a high population density area of Naples. The case-study here presented recommends a new reclamation procedure that is not usually provided for by current international standards. To this purpose, a specific innovative cleaning machine (Safecar) was built in order to control the reclamation procedures also in non-confined areas. An accurate identification was planned and worked out of the various types of materials (10,111 t) present within the area, and this allowed a thorough mapping of the site to be decontaminated. Besides these reclamation activities, which were carried out in both confined and open sites, each material was cleaned, collected and encapsulated following diversified procedures, according to their characteristics. Moreover, the evaluation of airborne asbestos fibre concentrations, both within and outside the decontaminated area, assured a strict respect of environmental safety level.