Cogne Steel Redevelopment Project

"Minimizing Ecological and Human Health Risks"

What's the most effective way to manage one of Europe's largest industrial demolition and decontamination "brownfield" redevelopment sites?

That was MWH's challenge with the Cogne Integrated Steel Complex. Located in Northwest Italy, the facility is one of the nation's largest stainless steel and super alloy production plants.

With active production since the early 1900s, the facility now faced several environmental problems. During the 1950s and the 1980s, large-scale on-site storage of industrial process ashes and slag took place at Cogne. These wastes were stockpiled and stored on-site. They were also used as construction fill across much of the facility.

As a result, these large waste management units were posing a threat to surface and groundwater resources, as well as the environment.

Multi-Faceted Program

In 1997 MWH was retained to:

• Develop and implement dynamic work plans for site wide and focused soil and groundwater investigations
• Conduct a contaminant fate and transport study and vulnerability assessment
• Develop a comprehensive human health risk assessment
• Prepare detailed demolition, decontamination, subsurface and detailed integrated site redevelopment plans and remediation designs
• Supervise demolition, decontamination, remedial construction and site redevelopment
• Design and supervise implementation of leachate, groundwater and air monitoring programs prior, during and following remediation.

Partially funded by the European Union, the Cogne project is one of the largest industrial demolition and decontamination "brownfield" redevelopment sites in Europe. It boasts a superficial area of more than 450,000m2.

Risk Reduction

MWH developed remedial designs with the objective of minimizing ecological and human health risks. The designs were developed based on contaminant fate and transport, as well as risk assessment modeling.

The remediation plans also considered how to optimize property reuse activities to deliver the highest value to the client — while also protecting human health and the environment.

The total value of the integrated redevelopment and construction activities — for which MWH completed all studies, design and construction supervision — is approximately € 29.5 million.

The project was began in June 1997, and construction was completed in spring 2002. However, MWH is continuing to handle environmental monitoring of the area. We are developing an Environmental Management System. This will facilitate the data and resource management of multiple stakeholders. It will also deliver benefits for sustainable long-term environmental management of the area.