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Resedaercvhelo&pment

Characteristics and possible reuse
of Favignana Harbor’s sediments

Italy is a country with a high coastal development where multiple activities are located in sites near the coast, which
makes the handling of marine sediments a topic of particular interest and socio-economic importance. At present,
the excavation of the seabed and the subsequent discharge of resulting materials into the sea represents a risk due
to the possible spread of contaminants in the ecosystem. National and international legislation has recognized
the immersion of contaminated material into the sea as an event of perturbation to the environment while promoting
alternative management options and introducing the concept of sediment as a “resource” and not as a “waste”.
There is a wide range of treatment technologies available and they significantly influence the reuse of dredged
material. In the present work, a site-specific conceptual model of the small harbour of Favignana is presented and,
on the basis of some preliminary analytical tests on superficial samples, the assumptions of management options
are predicted. One of them is particularly interesting as it could be applied to other cases where, for reasons
of safety of navigation, small volumes of slightly contaminated sand (less than 25,000 m3) must be dredged and,
after removing chlorides, they may be used on land to create sporting centres and increase tourist capacity

DOI 10.12910/EAI2015-069

QS. Cappucci, F. La Marca, R. Ferrantini, M. Maffucci

Introduction

Sediments are suspended or deposited solids, acting FIGURE 1 ;OL[OYLLÄLSKZVMZ\Z[HPUHISLKL]LSVWTLU[HUK[OLPY
as a main component of a matrix, which has been, or is PU[LYHJ[PVUPUYLSH[PVU[VZLKPTLU[4VKPÄLKMYVTBD
susceptible to being transported by water [1]. With the
raise of tourist flows,sediment is becoming an important Contact person: Sergio Cappucci
natural resource for the economic development of sergio.cappucci@enea.it
many countries, and its correct management is playing
a crucial role in the environmental, social and economic
sectors (Figure 1).
From the social point of view, sediments form beaches
and are distributed along coasts. So, their abundance
strongly influences the capability to contrast flooding, in
order to facilitate recreational and cultural events. From
the economic point of view, especially in small islands,
the accommodation capacity of tourists is affected by
the number of berths, the safe navigation within harbor
that should not be affected by siltation [3, 4]. From an
environmental perspective, the sediments also play a
vital role in the health of aquatic ecosystems as a result
of interactions with pore water and the water column

37EAI Energia, Ambiente e Innovazione 4/2015