Remediation at Cala Figuera-Maó

The remediation project, approved by the General Directorate of the Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Maó Town Hall, will affect a surface area of 1,600 m2 and the volume of soil that will need to be treated will increase to 7,600 m3. While the plot occupied by the old facility is 7,000 m2, traces of hydrocarbon have been detected in only less than one quarter of the land.

The purpose of the environmental project is to recover land from the old plant for any urban use, though at the moment it is classified for port use. Likewise, the treatment of groundwater through a remediation system and reinjection into the subsoil is being considered.

After the performance of different subsoil investigation and environmental characterisation studies, the method chosen to treat the land was bioremediation.

The remediation technique selected enables the soil to be decontaminated through biological processes and consists of stimulation the development of hydrocarbon degradation bacteria on the land through his treatment with nutrients and the control of moisture conditions and oxygenation. This solution requires lower energy consumption and involves a less acoustic impact and minor emissions. This process will also enable remediation works to be executed without interfering in the normal activity of the municipality. 

The excavation of the different affected zones will take one month. Subsequently, the biological treatment of the extracted soil and its periodical disposal will begin, in order to achieve natural decontamination. Once the analyses of the samples are optimal and the administration has approved it, the clean soil  will be redeposited at the site from which it was extracted.

The most impacted soil by hydrocarbons could require more intense treatment, indeed a transfer to the Milá landfill is not ruled out. LITOCLEAN will be the company responsible for the decontamination, and the Menorcan construction company M. POLO will carry out the excavation works.

It is estimated that the remediation works at Cala Figuera will take approximately 10 months.