Araceli Mir, head of Reseach
“We did it!”
The removal of waste from
the landfill site and its deposit
in a new cell with the most
stringent safety measures will
significantly improve the
enviroment in Bailín and,
accordingly, the surroundings
of Sabiñánigo.
Bailín, as a region at the feet of the Pyre-
nees, is known for its exuberant vegeta-
tion and no one could imagine that it is
the home of a landfill site for waste ge-
nerated in the production of pesticides
(lindane), which are now banned becau-
se of their toxicity. We are talking about
420,000 tons of waste of which 66,000
tons corresponded to pure lindane was-
te.
The landfill site sits directly on the ground
without any protection whatsoever. The
geological characteristics of the subsoil
allowed the liquid waste to seep into the
permeable sandstone layers and the web
of cracks in these layers. The waste re-
ached the aquifer, contaminating it and,
since this waste is heavier than water, it
filtered through the entire rock massif and
contaminated it. Solid waste also affec-
ted the aquifer through leaching.
At the helm of the project and under the
supervision of María Jesús Kaifer, technical
manager of FCC Ámbito, and of the ma-
nager of the project’s joint-venture, Julián
Imaz, also manager of the Aragón branch
office, was Araceli Mir, head of Research,
Javier Corrales, project manager, José Mª
Celaya, head of the Soil Decontamination
Department. Also participating in the project
were Guadalupe Bobadilla, manager of the
Prevention, Quality, and Environment De-
partment; Ivan Botamino, head of the Land
and Landfill Sites Engineering Department;
and Lucila Bellido, technician at FCC Ámbi-
to. The other collaborators included Victo-
ria Nonay from the Prevention Department;
María Ángeles de Miguel, from the Adminis-
Although the decontamination of the
aquifer has been ongoing since 2004,
it was necessary to remove all waste to
prevent further contamination. This task,
which was not the first carried out in
Spain, required that it be conducted in
the less rainy season, that is, from mid-
May to the end of September. Only four
months, but we were able to do it.
Part of the team that participated in the decontamination project.
