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Guest-column
By: María Jesús Kaifer Brasero
Technical Manager – Industrial waste
Through its specialised subsidiary, FCC Ám-
bito, FCC maintains a leadership positioning
in a field as selective as that of soil decon-
tamination.
An article was recently published in the ma-
gazine which explained in detail the project
being executed in Sabiñánigo (Huesca),
where more than 200,000 m
3
of waste, con-
sisting of Lindane mixed with the soil, were
transferred and treated.
This is yet another example of an industrial
activity that was carried out even before the-
re were any environmental laws and, there-
fore, the waste resulting from the production
process was not contemplated as part of
such process.
Industrial waste is not always a small part
of the manufactured product; often the re-
lationship is 1 to 1 or even higher. Hence,
in the case of Lindane synthesis, one of the
three isomers that were produced could be
sold and the remaining two were considered
waste which was handled incorrectly.
Currently, even some of the industrial pro-
cesses continue to produce a large amount
FCC maintains its leadership
positioning in soil decontamination
of waste, the cost of its management is part
of the process and it is the industry’s respon-
sibility to ensure that this waste is handled
in accordance with the environmental laws
in force.
Most of these environmental liabilities ori-
ginating in industrial processes which were
found near urban centres have been remo-
ved and managed and the new value of the
soil made it possible to tackle the removal
of the waste, its correct treatment, and the
subsequent urban planning of the site.
Nevertheless, when the liability is situated far
from a city, it is difficult to recover it unless
public initiative is involved.