EU LIFE Environment in Action

14
European Commission
KH-32-00-039-EN-C
LIFE - Environment in action

LIFE - Environment in action 56 new success stories for Europes environment
ISBN 92-894-0272-5
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56 new success stories for Europes environment
LIFE - Environment in action
56 new success stories for Europes environment
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It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001
ISBN 92-894-0272-5
European Communities, 2001
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index
FOREWORD
AIR
...........................................................................
.....................................................................................
The AIM (air quality and integrated monitoring) project for London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Emission Control System for the simultaneous scrubbing of SO2 and particulates from
boiler flue gases, giving pH-correction of an alkaline effluent stream and significant heat recovery,
at Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Macbeth: Urban benzene and population exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Coupling of Corinair data to cost-effective emission reduction strategies based on critical thresholds . . . . . . . . 16
INDUSTRY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Substitution of cadmium-based pigments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Demonstration and documentation of the potential for replacing chemical protection of wood
with protection through design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Programme of awareness-raising and training in environmental management for artisanal enterprises . . . . . . . . 24
Development of a process to improve the durability and dimensional stability of timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
EMAS demonstration project: promoting EMAS as an integral part of total quality management . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Clean waste water thanks to a new process for manufacturing sintered-glass diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
High-speed sawing without cooling lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
LAND
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Integrated Environmental Management of the Agios Nikolaos Park and the River Arapitsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Alto Nabo environmental tourism project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Miribel Jonage Park: Rehabilitation of a natural fluvial environment to play a multiple role in
a suburban area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Citt, Castelli, Ciliegi (cities, castles, cherry trees) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Environmental/economic evaluation and optimal remediation of contaminated sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Restoring and enhancing the historical and archaeological heritage of Elvas and integrating it into the
environment: prospects for tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Conservation, improvement and economic promotion of the suburban agricultural area around Barcelona . . 48
Rehabilitation of the urban environment and biodiversity of Aranjuez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Goyas 250th anniversary: nature in Fuendetodos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Coastal change, climate and instability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Demonstration of methods of monitoring sustainable forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Nature in the garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
URBAN
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Promotion of a regional landscape in the shadow of the capital of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

The Respect-house: respecting man and the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Creation of an information platform for urban and environmental planning and management
in municipalities, open to media participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Building the eco-city. An environmentally sound approach to local administration through
cooperation between the local authorities and the local community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Development, introduction and implementation of an environmental management system in
medium-sized municipalities in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
The Iguana project demonstrates affordable bio-ecological houses constructed with a fullyenvironmental approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Sylvie `Systematic improvements to inner-city residential areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
WASTE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Rehabilitation management and protection of the biological reserve at the neolithical lake
settlement of lake Kastoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Research and development of technologies for the safe and environmentally-optimal recovery and
disposal of explosive waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Pontex-les-Forges household waste processing plant; seasonal peak-shaving by temporary storage of
bales of household refuse and the like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Guaranteeing the quality of sewage sludge for agricultural use by start-to-finish management of
the sewerage system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
New process for the extraction of terpenes and other products with high added-value from the
residues of citrus fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Recycling old car tyres (LIFE-ruenuv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Development of a method for the controlled closure and after-care of landfills,
using waste materials from energy production and industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Implementing a refractory waste management and recycling process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Development and installation of a pilot unit to recover solid waste and sludge
from the marble industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Pilot-plant tests and development of the PyroArc process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Disposal management system for utilisation of industrial phosphogypsum and fly ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Reclamation of plastic waste from hospitals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Demonstrating the feasibility of recovering and reusing complex waste solvent streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Minimising waste production in the aluminium slag recovery process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
WATER
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
`The Krasfidon vision: Integration of the Riverbed Krasfidon into a sensitive urban environment . . . . . . . . . . 108
Restoration of the River Pelenna: a constructed wetland treatment system for the
rehabilitation of sites contaminated by mine-water discharges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
A remote-sensing system for coastal zone management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Wood-based fibreboards Production process and environmental issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
LIFE Lestijoki: management of acid sulphate soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Waters: water data acquisition in real time for coastal eco-systems research and services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Zaragoza: a city saving water. Small steps. Major solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Sustainable land use in groundwater catchment areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
The wash & circulation system: cost-effective cleaning with integrated purification and recycling
of water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Integrated environmental management system in the chemical industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Lake Turingen remedial project: isolation of mercury contaminated sediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Lake Pyhjrvi restoration project: mathematical tool development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
foreword
The key objective of LIFE-Environment is to implement Community environmental policies and legislation for
the promotion of sustainable development. Sustainable development requires industry to find innovative
solutions to reduce total life-cycle costs in terms of raw materials, energy consumption and environmental impact
while reusing products at the end of their lives. LIFE-Environment provides support for both industry and local
authorities.
During the LIFE Week held in Brussels in 1999, I had the opportunity to meet with industrialists, NGO
members and local and national representatives actively involved in LIFE-Environment projects, and I was
impressed by the results achieved in many priority areas: reduction of air and water pollution, improvement of
waste management, cleaner production methods, public transport, urban planning initiatives and land-use
development.
This book presents a number of successful projects financed by LIFE-Environment, projects which validate the
idea that environment policy is about opportunities, solutions and success stories.
The new LIFE Regulation (2000-2004) approved in July 2000 opens up opportunities for planning new projects to
help deliver innovative solutions to the environmental challenges we will be facing in the years to come, while
building on the experience gained in the previous phases of LIFE.
Commissioner Margot Wallstrm

Commissioner responsible for the environment
Member of the European Commission
The New LIFE regulation LIFE-Environment III

On 17 July 2000, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 2000/1655/EC concerning the
Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE), published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities on 28 July 2000.
The Regulation establishes the financial framework for the entire duration of the third phase of LIFE. It covers a
period of five years, ending on 31 December 2004.
LIFE is made up of three thematic components: LIFE-Nature, LIFE-Environment and LIFE-Third Countries.
Life-Environment III relates to innovative demonstration actions for economic activities and local authorities, as
well as preparatory actions to support Community legislation and policies.
The specific objective of LIFE-Environment is to contribute to the development of innovative and integrated
techniques and methods and to further the development of Community environment policy; demonstration
projects should also have one of the following specific objectives:
(a) Land use development and planning: to integrate environmental and sustainable development
considerations into land-use development and planning, including in urban and coastal areas, or
(b) Water management: to promote the sustainable management of groundwater and surface water, or
(c) Impact of economic activities: to minimise the environmental impact of economic activities, notably
through the development of clean technologies and by placing the emphasis on prevention, including the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, or
(d) Waste management: to prevent, reuse, recover and recycle waste of all kinds and to ensure the sound
management of waste streams, or
(e) Integrated product policy: to reduce the environmental impact of products through an integrated
approach to production, distribution, consumption and end-of-life handling, including the development of
environmentally friendly products.
The total budget approved for LIFE Phase III is EUR 640 million, of which 47% is for actions under LIFEEnvironment.
Further information is available on the LIFE-Environment home page, e.g. how to apply for funding and how
projects are selected. A searchable database contains brief descriptions of projects from all funding years, i.e. 1992
and onwards. Full texts of the LIFE-Environment Information Package and the LIFE Regulation are available on
the homepage, which also allows users to download application forms and guidelines for LIFE-Environment
demonstration projects (published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 27 October 2000).
The LIFE-Environment homepage can be found on Europa, the European Unions server, at the following
address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/life/envir/index.htm
air
LIFE94 ENV/UK/813
Total eligible cost: EUR 668 660.16
LIFE contribution: EUR 321 977.98 (48.15 %)
Beneficiary: South East Institute of Public Health
Broomhall House
David Salomon's Estate
Broomhall Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN3 0XT
United Kingdom
Contact: Mr Stephen Hedley
Tel.: (44-1892) 51 51 53
Fax: (44-1892) 51 63 44
E-mail: STEVE@seiph.umds.ac.uk
Web site: http://www.seiph.umds.ac.uk
Duration: 1 November 1994 to 1 November
1996
The AIM (air

quality and
integrated monitoring)
project for London
responsibilities and duties that were

subsequently entrusted to local authorities by
the UK Government.
Introduction
Deteriorating air quality in London has become
a major concern for both the public and local
and central governments. Similar concerns also
apply to most other capitals and conurbations
across the European Community.
Description of the problem
Air quality management initiatives are an

attempt to provide a solution to the problem of
poor air quality, but a complete understanding
of air quality is first required in order to
determine the extent of the problem. Scientific
assessment of air quality will enable accurate
judgements to be made and avoid the risk of
implementing very expensive measures which
fail to tackle the overriding issue.
London's air pollution derives from a whole range of

sources, the most significant being emissions from
transport, particularly road transport, and from the
industrial, business and domestic sectors.
Concentrations of these pollutants in the outdoor
environment are regularly monitored at many
different locations. To understand air quality more
thoroughly it was necessary to develop techniques
and methods for both spatial and temporal
interpretation of pollution, for example at locations
where pollution is not currently monitored, and for
the future (or past).
This LIFE project, based in London, involved

developing an air-quality management system
capable of providing an understanding of both
current and future air quality across an area of
almost 2 000 km2. The area studied was that
bounded by the M25 (the orbital motorway
surrounding the Greater London area). The
scheme was intended to assist both local and
central government bodies in their air-quality
management tasks.
Technical solution
The overall project aim was to develop and integrate
six recognised components (continuous air-quality
monitoring, data archiving, emissions estimation,
dispersion modelling, statistical analysis and public
information) into an integrated air-quality
monitoring system for London.
This was an extremely ambitious project, as

London is one of the largest cities in Europe.
The project also became even timelier in view of
the specific air-quality management
a i r
1 0
p r o j e c t s
An air-quality management toolkit was proposed and

built, with a series of inputs, tools and outputs,
including an ability to validate the use of the tools
(most specifically the dispersion software). Further
improvements reflected that:
The Monnet system provided comprehensive

network operating software, which allows automatic
data capture, storage and validation. Data were stored
in a relational database. The data available from the
monitoring network were used to provide the
feedback loop for air-quality management, whereas
the data in the air-quality archive were used for
validating air-quality modelling. The system was such
that it is ideal for developing empirical methods for
predicting pollution.
1. the system needs to be dynamic and not static,

since many of the inputs are highly uncertain and
are therefore being constantly revised;
2. the main strength of the system relates to the
continuous air-quality monitoring being
undertaken by the London air quality network
and adjoining networks.
Monnet e-mail and the Monnet web site were used

for the dissemination of data to site operators and
the Internet. This allowed rapid publicising of data
during pollution episodes. Data were also
disseminated on the Internet by both daily and
hourly bulletins.
The pollutants considered included: carbon

monoxide, nitrogen oxides (including nitrogen
dioxide), sulphur dioxide, lead, volatile hydrocarbons
(including benzene and 1,3-butadiene), PM10, ozone.
The London atmospheric emissions inventory
required the development of new methodologies
fixed firmly to the production of up-to-date emission
estimates of atmospheric pollutants, rather than
using other aggregated data which are then
apportioned on the basis of a surrogate statistic.
Results and impact

The major success of the project is that it enabled
key building blocks to be built, which subsequently
assisted the majority of local authorities in and
around London with their statutory responsibilities.
These building blocks have been widely used at the
local level by local government, as well as at the
London-wide strategic level, to understand future air
quality in London and refine the understanding of
the link between traffic management and air quality.
As the dominant source of emissions in London,

road vehicles required the application of the most
detailed emissions methodology possible based on
small-scale traffic estimates, i.e. link by link timeresolved flow, average speed, and vehicle mix. This
data was used to estimate emissions. The following
specific areas were also included in the new
inventory: methods for inclusion of the effect of cold
starts, ambient temperature, hot soak emissions,
speed and vehicle mix estimates for motor vehicles.
The air-quality management process is still

continuing and it is anticipated that later versions of
the system will continue to be improved and to be
widely used, as it will focus more fully on key areas
of interest, including local transport and
development policy.
The initial priorities for the project ensured that

detailed emissions information was provided from:
The monitoring of air quality is a significant

mainstay of the project and the systems developed
have since been used in other parts of the United
Kingdom. International interest, especially in other
capital cities in the European Union, has been
maintained, and similar techniques are currently
being tested. Thus the project has made a significant
contribution to the European knowledge base on
urban air quality.
transport and large-scale industrial sources,

comprising line and point source emissions, and
area/other sources, comprising many small
emission sources that, for a specific area, could be
aggregated to form an area source; specific
examples included emissions from the use of
small-scale heating boilers in residential and
commercial areas and vehicles on minor roads.
The other major part of the project was the
development of the integrated air-quality monitoring
system. This included building the prototype toolkit
from its principal components. Production of the
toolkit was vital to permit the integrated analysis of
different air-quality scenarios. The intention in
designing and producing the toolkit was to develop a
system that runs on PCs, using widely available
software.
The integrated monitoring system comprised the
Monnet network operating system, relational
databases for both air-quality data and emissions
information and the kit of air-quality management
tools. The air-quality management tools include
statistical/contouring/extended spreadsheet software
packages, as well as a GIS and prediction models.
a i r
1 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/IRL/91
Beneficiary: AHP Manufacturing BV
Askeaton
Limerick
Ireland
Contact: Austin Geraghty
Tel: (353-61) 39 21 68
Fax: (353-61) 39 24 40
Duration: 1 August 1996 to 1 August 1998
Emission control
system for the
simultaneous scrubbing of SO2
and particulates from boiler
flue gases, giving pH-correction
of an alkaline effluent stream
and significant heat recovery,
at Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland
water underwent full biological treatment prior to

local discharge. The micro-organisms essential to the
treatment process require the untreated waste water
to register within the pH band 6.0-8.5. A fundamental
element of the waste-water treatment process within
WNI was thus pH-correction of an alkaline waste by
the addition of hydrochloric acid.
Introduction
Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland (WNI), a subsidiary
of American Home Products Corporation, is one
of the largest infant nutritional manufacturing
facilities in the world, with European affiliates
in 12 of the 15 EU Member States. The Askeaton
plant manufactures both powder and liquid
infant formulas and employs 500 people.
Technical solution
WNI identified the potential for applying a single

solution to the two problems of atmospheric
emissions and effluent pH-correction by combining
the two waste streams in an innovative way.
Significant savings in plant operating costs were a
potential added benefit.
At the time of project conception, WNI operated

three steam boilers consuming approximately 11
million litres of heavy fuel oil per annum and as a
consequence generating emissions of sulphur dioxide
and particulates.
The idea was to utilise the untreated dairy waste

water as a boiler exhaust gas-scrubbing medium in a
non-clogging fluidised bed scrubber system. This
WNI also generated approximately 115 million

gallons of dairy waste water per annum. This waste
a i r
1 2
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

SO2 removal
The baseline established at the plant was around
2 400 mg/Nm3. The recognised emissions standard is
1 700 mg/Nm3. The equipment consistently operates
at a level below 600 mg/Nm3, which has become a
requirement of the integrated pollution control
licence at the plant. The system has the capability of
99 % removal of SO2.
Particulate removal
The system removes particulates below 15 mg/Nm3,
well in excess of the recognised standard of
30 mg/Nm3.
results in pH-correction of the waste water prior to

biological treatment and thus allows a substantial
reduction in the volume of acid previously used for
this purpose. Finally, the waste heat energy from the
boilers is recovered from the exhaust gases, creating
additional savings in energy consumption.
Energy savings
The system has been shown to achieve energy savings
of around 1.4 MW. This equates to savings of around
IEP 175 000 per year. There is also a surplus of heat
that has no use in this application. In theory,
2.64 MW is available.
The first stage of heat recovery then takes place in

economisers, where the heat is removed from the
flue gases and put into the boiler feed water. The
flue gases then pass through the scrubber tower,
where contact with the dairy waste water strips SO2
and particulates from them. The cleaned gases are
reheated and exhausted to the atmosphere.
Chemical use savings

The management information systems in the plant
have proven that the use of HCl in pH-correction
has been virtually eliminated as a result of the
installation of this system. This generates savings of
around IEP 124 000 per year.
The dairy waste water is circulated continuously over

the scrubber tower, with raw effluent make-up and
overflow bleed-off. The
secondary stage of heat
recovery takes place when
heat is removed from this
liquid and put into the
boiler fresh-water make-up
system.
The recirculated waste
water becomes acidic
following the take-up of
SO2. The overflow is
discharged to the effluent
treatment plant according
to pH-correction
requirements, thus
eliminating the need for
hydrochloric acid for this
purpose. The particulates
are also carried off into the
treatment plant, where they
are combined with the
normal sludge for disposal.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/IT/70
Total eligible cost: EUR 1 988 215.43
Beneficiary: Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri IRCCS
Via Svizzera, 16
I-35127 Padova
Contact: Vincenzo Cocheo
Tel.: (39-049) 806 45 11
Fax: (39-049) 806 45 55
E-mail: fsmpd@tin.it
Web site: http://pc4.fsm.it:81/padova/
homepage.html
Duration: 1 January 1997 to 1 July 1999
Macbeth:
Exposure of the
urban population to benzene
Six European towns and cities were chosen to host

approximately one hundred sampling sites each, the
site locations being distributed over a multi-scale grid
drawn over the city map. The site breakdown was:
85% background sites, 10% hot spots and 5%
suburban sites. On six occasions over a one-year
period, each site was monitored uninterruptedly
from Monday morning to Friday afternoon.
Introduction
This Life project was designed to help enforce
common policies and laws on environmental
protection by providing European legislators
with a correlation between urban benzene
pollution levels and human exposure, the goal
being to protect people against atmospheric
pollution.
At the same time, fifty volunteers and their homes

underwent personal monitoring. The volunteers were
non-smokers, divided into equal groups of people
exposed to traffic fumes as part of their job and those
not exposed. Personal and domestic monitoring was
carried out using the same technique and over the
same period as the environmental monitoring. The
volunteers movements within the city areas were
recorded in individual diaries, making it possible to
link exposure levels with exposure locations.

Benzene pollution from motor traffic can cause
leukaemia, the risk being estimated at around four
cases per million among people who experience
lifelong exposure to benzene concentrations of 1
gm-3 in the air.
The environmental benzene pollution data
commonly available are quite variable and often
contradictory, due to striking differences between
sampling and analysis procedures, weather
conditions, the time of year at which data are
collected and the economic development and life
style of the investigated areas. While useful for
conveying a general idea of the problem, such data
are of little use in establishing a relationship between
environmental pollution and personal exposure.
All monitoring was carried out using the "radiello"

radial symmetry passive sampler. The sampler,
devised by the project coordinator, works by the
spontaneous transfer of gaseous molecules through a
diffusive barrier. It comprises a microporous
cylindrical diffusive body into which an adsorbing
cartridge is placed. Once assembled (the whole unit
weighs about 10 grams), radiello is exposed and only
the date and time of the beginning and end of
exposure need to be known.
Technical solution
The experimental database contains 6 205

measurements, distributed equally over the six cities,
comprising 3 147 environmental data, 1 559 personal
exposure data and 1 499 home pollution data. The
innovative methodological approach made it possible
to compile highly space-resolved isolevel maps of
The Macbeth (Monitoring of Atmospheric

Concentration of Benzene in European Towns and
Homes) project employed a new sampling device to
monitor both these parameters.
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p r o j e c t s
benzene concentration for each of the cities,

providing the public administration with a powerful
tool for making planning decisions regarding traffic
and the road network.
exposure may be estimated to be about twice that

calculated on the basis of the daily average urban
concentration and the time spent outdoors.
3) Pollution is considerably worse in homes than
outdoors
The low cost of the operation is also of great interest.

The optimum sampling grid is composed of 125 points
per 100 km2 of territory, roughly equivalent to a town
of 300 000-400 000 inhabitants. An entire sampling
campaign would cost about EUR 6 000, but if a city
were to undergo twelve measurement campaigns in a
year the overall cost would be less than EUR 72 000, i.e.
equal to the cost of purchasing and running just one
automated continuous instrument for one year.
The average pollution level in the home turned out

to be 1.51 times the outdoor level.
This experimental finding is surprising since it was
reasonable to suppose that home pollution came
from outdoor pollution, and should not therefore
have exceeded it.
The reason why indoor pollution is generally higher
than outdoor pollution might be an imbalance
between the inflow of pollutants from outside and
their removal from inside. In other words, the house
itself might act as a flywheel created by the adsorbent
surfaces of walls, floors, furniture and furnishings.
The hypothesis is interesting, since it was
demonstrated that the domestic-to-urban pollution
ratio rises from southern to northern Europe, and
this difference could result from the different indoor
coverings used in the north and the south.
Results and impact

The results have been judged excellent:
measurements carried out by six different European
laboratories have shown an overall relative
uncertainty lower than that offered by the best field
instrumentation presently available.
1) Urban benzene pollution levels increase from
the north to the south of Europe
The experimental data show annual average benzene
concentrations to range from 3.1 gm-3 in
Copenhagen to 20.7 gm-3 in Athens. Several factors
could explain this, including a difference in
prevailing meteorological conditions: during each
sampling campaign the average pollution level was
found to be lower where the average wind speed was
higher. However, this trend is not reflected by the
personal exposure and home monitoring data.
Conclusions
These surprising results are a consequence of the
combined action of urban and indoor pollution. The
former has a heavier relative influence in southern
towns, the latter in northern ones, though the
experimental data suggest that pollution in the home
derives in any event from urban pollution.
2) On average, European citizens are exposed to

double the mean level of urban pollution
The different geographical, climatic, economic and

social features of the six Macbeth cities ought to
make the situations observed there representative of
the average European situation. If the amount of
gathered data and the strict validation processes they
underwent are also considered, the Macbeth results
may reasonably be concluded to form a knowledge
base of high scientific value.
The experimental data suggest an explanation of this

phenomenon: people in cities tend to be on the
roads at the times of day when urban pollution is at
its highest.
Daily benzene concentrations oscillate between very
low values at night and very high values in the middle
of the day and in the evening. Since most people are
on the streets when the benzene concentration is 1.52.5 times higher than the daily average, actual outdoor
Macbeths innovative methodological approach is

now being adopted by small and large European
towns, including Paris, Rome and Brussels.
Benzene urban
pollution seems
to increase
from northern
to southern
European
towns.
Radiello shown in the vertical

assembly for personal sampling and
in the horizontal manner for
environmental sampling, together
with its adsorbing cartridge.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/FIN/336
LIFE contribution: EUR 452 823.44
Beneficiary: Finnish Environment
Institute/Impacts Research Division
PO Box 140
FIN-00251 Helsinki
Contact: Martin Forsius
Tel.: (358-9) 40 30 03 02
Fax: (358-9) 40 30 03 90
E-mail: martin.forsius@vyh.fi
Web site: http://www.vyh.fi/eng/research/
euproj/lifeiea/life2.htm
Duration: 1 October 1997 to 31 May 2000
Coupling of
'Corinair' data
to cost-effective emissionreduction strategies based on
critical thresholds
Introduction
further options for cost-effective application of

emission controls.
This project was carried out between 1997 and

2000 by an international consortium of partners
from Denmark, Finland, Spain and Sweden, and
was coordinated by the Finnish Environment
Institute.
The main aim was to develop and apply data,

methods and tools in integrated modelling to
determine precisely what impact atmospheric
pollution is having on the environment and
evaluate the need for further emission
reductions at national level. The activities were
closely connected to the background work on
developing a European emission-reduction
strategy.
The detrimental effects of atmospheric pollution

have been recognised as a leading environmental
problem in many countries. Local episodic pollution
events pose a threat to human health and produce
harmful long-term effects on ecosystems at regional
level. The long-range transport of pollutants across
national borders makes air pollution a truly
international problem, and one that is hard to tackle
with any means other than emission control at
source. This situation has prompted intensive and
extensive international cooperation on both
scientific research and policy-making.
Essentially, the work involved the further

development and application of a set of tools
already being used for cost-effective emissionreduction scenarios to minimise environmental
impact in European countries. The resulting
methodology allowed emission abatement and
ecosystems impact to be studied simultaneously
and in detail, giving the countries involved
Assessment of the acid rain problem currently

encompasses several related pollutants (sulphur and
nitrogen oxides, ammonia, volatile organic
compounds) and effects (acidification,
eutrophication and ground-level ozone). The
resulting highly complex model and policy
assessment is often referred to as the multipollutant/multi-effect approach.
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p r o j e c t s
used for policy support were harmonised, integrated

and documented. The work also paralleled, and
provided timely support for, the international
negotiations on emission reduction.
Technical solution
Covering the multi-pollutant/multi-effect problem
frame at the national level, the project was split into
four country-specific subprojects, each of which
involved emission and impact tasks as well as
management and dissemination. All the tasks
required in-depth expertise on the subject and its
application to integrated modelling and assessment.
The work on national emission scenarios

demonstrated a promising method of estimating
future emissions and reduction potential, and this,
along with the work on data aggregation, the
derivation of national cost curves and the relevant
documentation, has laid the foundation for
evaluating other pollutants. The work on the
connections between dynamic soil acidification
processes and long-term environmental targets
represented by steady-state critical loads
demonstrated the feasibility of using various
indicators of the current state and potential risk of
environmental impact. This information supports the
critical load concept, which is becoming increasingly
important in the near-future integrated modelling
network.
The tasks covered:

current and future air pollutant emissions from
different sources, possibilities for emission control
and related costs;
detailed estimates of local concentration and
deposition levels, variability in modelled
deposition;
use of critical loads as long-term environmental
protection targets, soil acidification modelling,
ground-level ozone effects on human health and
vegetation;
reliability of integrated modelling results,
uncertainty in the whole calculation system and its
modules;
dissemination of results, with technical documents
and laymen's presentations aimed at national and
international air pollution experts, policy-makers
and the general public.
The newly-created data and methods applicable to

emission control, atmospheric transport of
pollutants and environmental impact have extended
the variety of tools available for integrated modelling.
These resources may now be used in future
assessments.
The new data and methods are available to a variety
of users. The results can be applied to emissionreduction trading schemes and for the economic
optimisation of regional compliance with climate
change conventions.
Mathematical models were developed and applied

for these tasks, and linked to one another to form
integrated model systems. The same data and
methods were employed wherever possible, including
the emission-reduction scenarios
developed by the EU and the
UNECE/CLRTAP, to unify the
Figure 1. The potential effect of the European Union's proposed new large
results and to relate the findings to
combustion plants directive on emissions of nitrogen oxides from existing
international and national policylarge combustion plants in Finland in 2010. (Source: FEI, Finland.)
making processes.
20 000
15 000
The project tackled some of the

key issues on the Community's
environmental agenda. The aim
was to take existing emission
inventories, models and other data
on acidification, eutrophication
and ground-level ozone and use
them to develop emissionreduction strategies based on
critical thresholds. The result was
that the data, methods and tools
12 000
tNOx/a
Results and impact
8 000
4 000
0
Coal
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Peat
Wood
Gas turbines
Base case with 1995 emission factors
New LCPD for existing boilers
National limits (new) for existing boilers
p r o j e c t s
industry
LIFE94 ENV/F/763
LIFE contribution: EUR 772 170.07 (25 %)
Beneficiary: Rhodia Chimie
26, Quai Alphonse Le Gallo
F-92512 Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex
Contact: Mr Jo Golowski
Tel.: (33-5) 46 68 34 56
Fax: (33-5) 46 68 34 40
E-mail: joseph.golowski@eu.rhodia.com
Web site: http://www.rhodia-rare-earths.com
Duration: 1 May 1994 to 1 March 1997
Substitution of
cadmium-based pigments
toxicity. Countries such as the United States of

America and Sweden have prohibited its use for
some applications, e.g. in automobile plastics and
toys.
Introduction
Discovered during the 19th and early 20th
centuries, rare earths are a family of 16 natural
elements, just like iron, sodium, calcium or zinc.
Faced with this demand for environmentally-friendly

pigments, the Rhodia Company, which had been
undertaking research into the properties of cerium
sulphide for a number of years (with a patent filed in
1994), set out to study the conditions for the
industrial use of this new mineral pigment.
They include the series of 14 lanthanides, plus

yttrium and scandium.
Their specific electronic structure means that
they have very similar chemical properties,
making them difficult to separate, and physical
properties which can be used for many
applications such as catalysis, luminescence,
optics, magnetism, electronics and coloration of
materials. Rare earths are above all used for
obtaining colours in the ceramics industry, but
are also used as an agent for colouring or
discolouring glass.
Technical solution
The aim of the LIFE project undertaken by Rhodia
Rare Earths SA was to develop and define conditions
for the industrial use of a new technology to produce
coloured pigments without cadmium.
Cerium is also already widely used to depollute

diesel engines and in the catalytic converters of
petrol engines.
The project went through four phases:

a preliminary study of calcination technologies
and the determination of key parameters in a
laboratory furnace,
creation of a pilot plant unit to synthesise cerium

sulphide (producing 10 tonnes/year),
The red and orange shades in plastic materials (and

also in inks, paints and ceramics) and the red colours
in lamps and luminescent diodes are usually
obtained from pigments based on cadmium
sulphide.
industrial evaluation of products obtained in the

main polymer families, in the form of colour
concentrates or masterbatches,
completion of a study with a view to obtaining all
the regulatory accreditations needed for the widest
possible commercialisation.
But the use of cadmium, as of other heavy metals, is

being increasingly regulated on account of its proven
i n d u s t r y
2 0
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

This LIFE project delivered the
development and industrialisation of
mineral pigments based on rare earth
sulphides and posing no risk to health or
the environment.
Marketed under the name NeolorTM
since 1997, they meet the technical
specifications laid down by industry,
namely: very high thermal stability,
weather and ultraviolet light fastness,
excellent opacity, dimensional stability,
facility of dispersion, etc.
NeolorTM pigments comply with
European regulations on contact with
foodstuffs (Directive 90/128/EEC) and
with the toys standard (European standard 71).
A total of FRF 87 million has been invested in

industrial plant in order to produce these new
pigments, and deployed at Rhodia's three sites in La
Rochelle, Les Roches de Condrieu and Clamecy.
The current colour range extends from light orange

through red to burgundy.
Since this project will permit the rules restricting the

use of cadmium to be applied more rigorously, it can
be considered an environmental, technical and
economic success.
Thanks to their technical features, NeolorTM

pigments may be used to colour paints (powders, coil
coatings, car paints) and for all plastics technologies
(ABS, polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, PVC,
etc.).
i n d u s t r y
2 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/DK/1217
Beneficiary: Danish Technological Institute DTI
Centre for Wood and Furniture
PO Box 141
DK-2630 Taastrup
Contact: Martin Vestergaard
Tel.: (45) 43 50 43 50
Fax: (45) 43 50 40 24
E-mail: martin.vestergaard@dti.dk
Duration: 1 August 1995 to 31 October 1998
Demonstration
and documentation of the
potential for replacing
chemical protection of wood
with protection through design
biodegradation. A large proportion of this wood is

used in the construction industry. However,
chemically-treated wood constitutes an
environmental problem, from production and use
right through to disposal after end use.
Introduction
The project set out to show that chemical
protection of wood can be replaced partially or
entirely by using special designs for the
exteriors of buildings. The exteriors of houses,
and other outdoor constructions such as noise
barriers, can be protected by designing them in
such a way that the wood does not accumulate
moisture. This is called wood protection
through design.
Wood is a popular building material because it is

environmentally friendly. Adding chemicals to
preserve wood runs counter to its green image, but
consumers and industry demand reasonable
durability. There is thus a need to develop or
rediscover alternative preservation methods.
Application of this method to wood with

adequate natural durability will reduce the need
to use wood which has been treated with
chemicals. It will thus reduce the demand for
natural durable hardwood and impregnated
wood, and so relieve pressure on the
environment.
Technical solution
The project included laboratory trials (involving
accelerated, hard climate stresses), field trials and
full-scale demonstrations.
The first step was to identify parameters influencing
the life expectancy of wood in outdoor
constructions. In selecting the parameters,
consideration was also given to how easily designers
and builders using traditional methods could comply
with the new requirements.

Every year in the European Union millions of cubic
metres of wood are impregnated with chemical
agents, primarily as a protection against
i n d u s t r y
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p r o j e c t s
Long-term natural exposure is usually required in

order to document the service life of wood and
wooden structures, but accelerated testing was
employed here due to lack of time. The effect of the
design parameters was measured by exposing the
wood to a significantly harder climate than it would
normally be exposed to. These tests took place in the
laboratory. However, not all the design details were
suitable for laboratory testing and, since the results
had to be verified, field trials were conducted using
the same test parameters.
The protection afforded by different types of painted
drip caps was tested in a driving rain chamber. A
'four seasons' climate simulator was used to evaluate
a number of selected test parameters. The samples
were exposed to artificial ageing in the form of cyclic
exposure to heat, UV radiation, rain, frost and thaw.
Six wood species as well as various surface treatments
were tested. An exterior wall unit was tested in a large
climate simulator. To verify these laboratory tests, a
full-scale field test was also carried out in a field test
area.
Non-impregnated wood was used to construct
approximately 8 km of wooden noise barriers at
various locations in Denmark in 199798. These
structures incorporated protection through design.
Results and impact

This project demonstrated and documented the fact
that wood protection through design (designing
constructions in such a way that the wood does not
accumulate moisture) reduces, and to some extent
removes, the need to use impregnated wood,
allowing clean wood to be used instead. It is
anticipated that around 50 % of the 34 million m3 of
wood currently used each year can be protected
through design or, in some cases, through the use of
less hazardous chemicals.
In cases where a service lifetime of only 1520 years is
required (e.g. for noise barriers), a relatively
inexpensive, low-grade wood can be used to lower
the cost, thus giving builders an incentive to use
clean wood. However, the overall economic benefits
are not substantial, and using clean wood as an
alternative to chemically-treated wood is less a matter
of saving money than of protecting the environment.
The project results have already been used on some
real construction projects, where clean wood was
substituted for chemically-treated wood.
i n d u s t r y
2 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/F/845
Total eligible cost: EUR 710 105
LIFE contribution: EUR 352 601
Beneficiary: ECO-Conseil, Institut europen pour
le conseil en environnement
(European Institute for
Environmental Counselling)
7, rue Goethe
F-67000 Strasbourg
Contact: Mrs Pascale Dautheuil, Mr Serge
Hygen
Tel.: (33-3) 88 60 16 19
Fax: (33-3) 88 61 07 12
Web site: www.ecoconseil.org
Duration: 1 January 1996 to 1 June 1999
Programme of
awareness-raising and training
in environmental management
for artisanal enterprises
However, these diffuse activities are a potential

source of pollution and nuisance which may affect
the lives of those living close by and the quality of
their environment. It is often no easy matter,
however, to persuade artisanal enterprises to take on
board concern for the environment. The size of such
undertakings, the unwillingness of artisans,
ignorance of the regulations and a lack of resources
to fall into line with standards, as is sometimes
necessary, are all factors militating against increased
awareness on the part of those involved.
Introduction
The main objective of ECO-Conseil Entreprise,
the Mulhouse Section of the Environmental
Counselling Association, is to promote
awareness of the environment among artisanal,
industrial and agricultural enterprises in Alsace,
and particularly among SMEs, small and
medium-sized industries and artisanal
undertakings. After an initial pilot programme
dedicated to designing educational tools for
environmental awareness in the wood and paint
trades, supported as part of the DirectorateGeneral for the Environment's awareness
campaigns in 1994, ECO-Conseil Entreprise
decided to step up its efforts by widening its
approach to include new sectors of artisanal
industry and new tools.
ECO-Conseil Entreprise therefore took up the task

of devising and leading a campaign to make artisans
in Alsace more aware of the environment.
Technical solution
ECO-Conseil Entreprise's campaign was targeted at
six artisanal sectors, represented by some 7 000
businesses in Alsace: painting, secondary wood
processing, the car industry, printing, heating &
plumbing, and building. A number of awarenessraising tools were used as support material,
including:

Small artisanal enterprises are one of the pillars of
Alsace's economy, and their presence throughout the
region sustains economic activity and provides jobs
both in rural areas and in small municipalities.
i n d u s t r y
2 4
p r o j e c t s
ECO-Guides describing the impact of

activities on the environment,
informing artisans of the regulations
in force and recommending a few
simple practices to follow to reduce
such impact; four ECO-Guides were
produced (for the car, printing, heating
& plumbing, and building sectors);
the 'environmental self-diagnosis kit'
enabling artisans to assess the
environmental position of their
business;
educational toolkits entitled 'My trade,
our environment' for occupational
training in the artisanal sectors
concerned (painting, wood and car
industries).
Training exercises using some or all of
these tools were also undertaken,
including educational talks in schools or
aimed at members of a particular trade,
detailed environmental diagnoses in
enterprises which requested them, etc.
ECO-Conseil Entreprise also endeavoured
to make the transfer of these tools and
actions an integral part of the project.
The broad range of people involved, the project

having brought together various professionals,
trainers and local authorities (the project was
heavily cofinanced by the Region and the
Departments of Alsace), the ADEME (Agency for
the Environment and Energy Management), the
Rhine-Meuse Water Agency, etc. The Banque
Populaire du Haut-Rhin made the ECO-Conseil
Entreprise diagnosis one of its preconditions for
awarding low-interest loans for environmental
investments.
The diversity of the various tools and the support
from current and future professionals for the
approach adopted. The quality of the tools was
universally acclaimed and further proof of their
value provided by the award of the Territoria prize
in 1999 and the Fibres d'or de l'cole du bois, of
Rennes, prize in 1998.
Transfer operations were successfully performed;
for example, two vocational ECO-Guides and two
educational toolkits were adapted in Picardy, the
ECO-Guide for the printing trade may be adapted
for use at national level, creation of an ECO-Guide
for the various trades of the food industry
(caterers, butchers, bakers, etc.).
Results and impact

Although the tools are only just beginning to be
used in the field, the project led by ECO-Conseil
may already be considered a success for the following
reasons.
i n d u s t r y
2 5
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/NL/277
Beneficiary: Plato Hout BV
Wildekamp 1B
6704 AT Wageningen
Netherlands
Contact: Mr G. T. Pott
Tel.: (317) 42 11 14
Fax: (317) 42 47 16
E-mail: plato@gld.bart.nl
Duration: 1 January 1996 to 1 October 1999
Development
of a process to
improve the durability and
dimensional stability of timber
Fast-growing, non-durable (plantation) timbers in

particular can be upgraded with the Plato process.
Though in abundant supply all over the world, their
poor durability and stability mean they are of only
limited use. One alternative would be high-quality
(durable) tropical types, but these are relatively
scarce, and felling could make an undesirable
contribution to over-deforestation.
Introduction
Wood is used the world over as a reliable
construction material lending itself to a broad
range of applications. The huge variety of woods
available guarantees that one meeting the
demands of the intended application can always
be found. For this reason, timber products are
highly valued throughout the world.
Building traditions and construction methods

vary considerably from one country and culture
to another, but two demands are commonly
made of timber: high durability, by which we
mean resistance to woodrot, mould and insects,
and good dimensional stability, a measure of
any changes in the shape or size of timber in
response to fluctuations in humidity.
Wood is a biodegradable material. This, in itself, is

useful, since deadwood and other plant waste would
not otherwise be broken down naturally. However, in
products made of wood, biodegradation (rotting)
becomes a disadvantage. Rotting wooden windowframes look unsightly, are weaker and could result in
breakage of the double-glazing they support.
Wooden pillars in buildings weaken and eventually
snap. Rotten wood must be replaced, at financial
expense.
Durability and dimensional stability both

depend to a large extent on intrinsic biological
factors, but technologies are now available
which can deliver major improvements in both
these properties, thereby extending product life.
The commonest sign of dimensional (in)stability is

when doors jam repeatedly during wet weather. The
wood absorbs some of the moisture from the air,
expands and loses shape. Expansion is also a problem
in wooden constructions, where distortion can
produce cracks forming weak spots in the product.
Moisture can be retained in the cracks, creating ideal
conditions for woodrot.
'Plato' is one such technology for upgrading the

durability and stability of non-durable types of
wood, using a process now patented in many
countries. LIFE-Environment has provided
substantial support for development of the
process.
i n d u s t r y
2 6
p r o j e c t s
These two problems therefore share the blame for

accelerated ageing of wood products and premature
deterioration of paintwork and joints.
The Plato process is the fruit of almost eight years of

development work. For example, it had first to be
determined how long the wood needed to be treated,
and at which temperatures, in order to obtain a highquality product. Stability and rot-resistance are not
the only important things: a great deal of research
has focused on timber strength and workability
(sawing, drilling, planing, nailing, screwing, painting
and gluing). The end result is a mill which now
produces 50 000 m3 of timber a year using the Plato
technology (see photograph).
Technical solution
Plato is a three-stage treatment process, involving low
energy and water (steam) consumption. The timber is
first exposed to high-temperature, high-pressure
saturated steam, then dried in a heated chamber and,
finally, cured in a kiln. This three-stage process alters
the wood so that it can absorb far less water from
the air. The wood remains permanently drier. In this
way, both durability and stability can be upgraded in
one go.
Results and impact

The first batches of Plato timber have already been
on sale to professional users at do-it-yourself chains
in the Netherlands. The product is also proving
attractive outside the Netherlands: companies in
other (European) countries are showing interest in
building mills to apply the Plato process to timber
from local sources. The environmental benefits are
considerable, since this is an economically
competitive, environmentally-sustainable process for
obtaining a high-quality product suitable for largescale applications. The environmental benefits were
demonstrated conclusively in an LCA (life-cycle
analysis) by an independent consultant.
This is quite apparent as regards dimensional

stability: since the wood soaks up less moisture from
the air, it no longer loses shape. It is more resistant
to woodrot, mainly because there is not enough
water in the timber for mould to grow. What is
more, the components susceptible to rot are
selectively converted, simply removing the nutrients
on which woodrot thrives. Another advantage is that
durability can be improved without applying toxic
substances. Plato timber is even less toxic than the
original raw material.
i n d u s t r y
2 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/B/262
Beneficiary: GOM West-Vlaanderen
Baron Ruzettelaan 33
B-8310 Assbroek/Brugge
Contact: Philippe Tavernier
Tel.: (32-50) 36 71 00
Fax: (32-50) 36 31 86
E-mail: philippe.tavernier@gomwvl.be
Web site: http://www.gomwvl.be
Duration: 1 August 1998 to 31 July 2001
EMAS
demonstration
project: promoting EMAS as an
integral part of total quality
management
environmental concerns are integrated into company

policy and are more performance-oriented, with the
added advantage of involving less administrative
work.
Introduction
Environmental management systems such as ISO
14001 and EMAS have received a lukewarm
reception in Belgium. By March 2000 some 130
firms had an environmental management
system certified in accordance with ISO 14001,
while by June 2000 only nine companies had
opted for EMAS registration. This is in sharp
contrast to the large number of companies
already over 3 000 with certified quality
management systems conforming to ISO 9000.
The objective of this LIFE project is to demonstrate

that:
environmental concerns are an integral part of
total quality management,
integrating environmental management into other
management systems is easy and within the reach
of every company,
there are many advantages to applying integrated
management systems.
It is hoped that this will lead to environmental

management systems (EMAS and ISO 14001) being
used more widely in Flanders (and Belgium).
The particularly low number of EMAS registrations

in Flanders is a matter of particular concern for
Flanders and for Belgium as a whole. The relative
lack of success of environmental management
systems is partly attributable to the exacting
environmental legislation that applies in Flanders,
but the low priority many companies give to a
certified environmental management system as
opposed to quality management schemes is also a
major contributing factor. Many companies prefer
initiatives such as environment charters (Presti 4
programme on waste prevention) and responsible
care, because schemes of this type ensure that
i n d u s t r y
Technical solution
A total of 24 firms, divided into three groups, are
taking part in the project. Individual support and
joint training sessions are organised to explain the
requirements of EMAS and ISO 14001. The
environmental management system and a quality
management system are to be introduced in the first
2 8
p r o j e c t s
group. Companies in the second group already have

a quality management system, so their task is to
marry it with an environmental management system.
The objective of the third group is to integrate the
environmental management system into the safety
management system. Each group also includes an
additional company which committed itself at the
outset to seek EMAS registration and is therefore
receiving intensive individual support.
various areas of overlap between the different

management systems, so that certain procedures are
common to all and need only be written once.
Companies which combine the various management
systems in an optimum whole thereby save a great
deal of time and trouble and take a significant step
towards total quality management.
The group sessions have now been completed.

Approximately two thirds of the firms are able to
keep to the pre-arranged timetable. In other words,
they have successfully completed the initial
environmental analysis and are currently engaged in
drawing up procedures and instructions for their
company. The first certifications/verifications are
expected towards the end of 2000 or the beginning of
2001.
Contrary to the project's original objective, many of

the participating companies are choosing not to aim
immediately for EMAS verification, but to seek ISO
14001 certification first. Because it involves a public
environmental statement, EMAS goes a great deal
further in terms of environmental policy. Experience
from the project has shown that this is too big a step
for many companies. Nevertheless, some companies
regard their ISO 14001 certification as preparation for
EMAS. The new version of EMAS (2000)
acknowledges this trend and provides for easy
transition from an ISO 14001 management system to
EMAS. Four or so companies will probably aim for
immediate EMAS registration.
It appears from the training and the experience

already gained that integrating environmental
management into other types of management system
poses no problem in many cases. Every management
system has more or less the same structure and is
based on the same principles. Furthermore, there are
The example set by this project and its methodology

are already being followed, with the same consultants
supporting the introduction of an environmental
management system (possibly coupled with a quality
management system) at nine waste incineration
facilities.
Results and impact
i n d u s t r y
2 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE99 ENV/A/391
Beneficiary: Vishay Semiconductor Austria GmbH
Telefunkenstrae 5
A-4840 Vcklabruck
Contact: Mr Franz Mathe
Tel.: (43-7672) 724 51
Fax: (43-7672) 780 81
E-mail: franz.mathe@vishay.at
Web site: http://www.vishay.de
Duration: 1 February 1999 to 1 October 2001
Clean waste
water thanks to a
new process for manufacturing
sintered-glass diodes
Introduction
Technical solution
Vishay Semiconductor Austria has now developed a
new process in which no heavy metals at all will get
into the waste water. The molybdenum pins will be
coated rather than etched, the type of coating being
selected in each case on the basis of a catalogue of
technical requirements relating to the surface
properties required for industrial application.
With this completely new production process

Vishay Semiconductor GmbH in Vcklabruck
plans to stop polluting the waste water
discharged from its sintered-glass diode
production plant within 36 months. The
European Union is contributing 30 % of the cost
of the EUR 1 million project from the LIFE II
financial instrument.
This clean technology once again meets the goal of

protecting the environment which the company has
set for all its 480 staff. The company's environmental
statement declares that 'Everyone working with
technologies stretching far into the future bears a
particular responsibility for the environment'. Back
in 1998, Vishay Semiconductor Austria obtained
certification under the DIN ISO 14001 international
standard on environmental management systems.

Vishay Semiconductor Austria produces about 200
million diodes a year at its site in Vcklabruck. These
are used as fast rectifiers in a wide range of
applications in monitors, switching circuits and
fluorescent light tubes, as well as PCs, TV sets and
electronic components for cars.
The Vcklabruck plant was founded in 1965 by AEGTelefunken. Today it is owned by Vishay
Intertechnology Inc., a worldwide operator with
some 4 600 employees in the EU alone. Within this
corporation the Vcklabruck plant is of central
importance for diode production. The ultra-modern
semiconductor plant by the river Vckla is one of the
world's leading producers of high-quality diodes,
with a turnover of around ATS 1 700 million a year.
Investment in research and development, e.g. in
clean production processes, enables the company to
remain at the forefront of technology.
Production of the diodes involves the use of sintered

molybdenum pins. In the past, these have had to be
etched with nitric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acid
before being used in the production process. The
waste water generated thereby is neutralised and
then discharged into the river Vckla with a
molybdenum content of not more than 18 mg/l,
within the legal limit.
i n d u s t r y
3 0
p r o j e c t s
Reliability, release, notification

Vishay has given an undertaking to test important
product modifications and announce them to its
customers. The proposal to replace the polluting
etching process with the pre-soldering process is one
such change which will have to be announced
(November 2000 to January 2001).
Results and impact

The required properties of the coated surfaces have
been established, and possible deviations and
acceptable tolerances have been determined. The
process has been optimised at the laboratory scale.
Defining the acceptable parameters in this way is an
essential step in designing the production process
and achieving the planned reduction in emissions
(September 1999 to February 2000).
Transfer to production
The new processes will be adapted to the production
plant (January 2001 to August 2001).
Selection of the manufacturing process

Test runs have been conducted on available
equipment to select the process giving the best
overall results. A prototype soldering furnace has
been acquired to ensure that the selected process
meets requirements in terms of environmental
performance, quality and cost (October 1999 to
October 2000).
i n d u s t r y
Observation and optimisation

Checks and analyses will be stepped up in order to
ensure product quality and environmental quality.
Old equipment will be taken out of service (February
2001 to March 2002).
3 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE99 ENV/D/435
High-speed
sawing without
cooling lubricants
chemical solution, which results in the frequent

changing of the coolant. This has an ecological
impact on both the air and the soil.
Introduction
High-speed sawing without cooling lubricants
means more environmentally-friendly sawing
techniques in the manufacture of tubes and
profiles in the metalworking industry. The
project tackles the problem of cooling
lubricants and aims to show how they can be
dispensed with completely.
Technical solution
This is the starting point for our project. Based on
the favourable experience with portable, tipped,
metal circular saw blades as already used on building
sites and the specially-developed thin-cut saw blades,
we designed the 'Dry tech' cold circular saws for
industry, which do without cooling lubricants. The
aim was to completely exclude cooling lubricants
from the manufacturing cycle. As a result of this
preventive measure, there is none of the negative
impact on the environment as in conventional
sawing.

Cooling lubricants are used in traditional sawing as
well as generally in metal cutting. At the present time,
little is done in this field without such lubricants.
They optimise cutting by cooling the tool and the
workpiece, reduce friction heat and minimise wear of
the tool. In spite of the technological benefits, the
use of cooling lubricants brings problems. These lie
in the disposal of the cooling lubricants and the
costs connected therewith. Added to these are the
high cost of maintenance, supervision, energy,
handling and logistics. However, it is not only the
disposal of the cooling lubricants which is
problematic, but also the waste disposal of offcuts
contaminated with the lubricant.
Dry cut technology is based on the fact that the

tipped saw blade is very thin. This thin cutting
technology combined with load-dependent feed
regulation means that the energy required for sawing
is relatively low, as then is that part converted into
heat energy. This is largely dissipated through the
cuttings and the tool.
Cutting speeds of 500 to 1 500 m/min mean that in
spite of a very high overall feed speed, the speed per
tooth is very low. This means that burr formation is
considerably reduced compared with conventional
sawing techniques.
An important aspect is the harmful effect on the

health of workers coming into contact with the
coolants. Through skin contact or by being breathed
in, cooling lubricants can have harmful effects on
health, ranging from skin irritations and breathing
difficulties to incapacity for work. Added to this are
odour nuisances caused by the topping up of the
i n d u s t r y

LIFE contribution: EUR 118 973.53 (29,74 %)
Beneficiary: ITEC GmbH
Ernst Abbe Str. 5
D-52249 Eschweiler
Contact: Nikola Nestler
Tel.: (49-2403) 98 94 21
Fax: (49 2403) 98 94 73
E-mail: drytech@t-online.de/info@drytech.de
Web site: http://www.drytech.de
Duration: 1 January 1999 to 1 January 2003
A comprehensive machine design was developed

which covers both semi- and fully-automatic as well
3 2
p r o j e c t s
as manual machines and self-propelled saws for

profile or tube plants.
Results and impact

This sawing technology saves every user an enormous
amount of time when sawing tubes and profiles
because of the high cutting speeds and reduced tool
costs of the saw blades through multiple regrinding.
In the medium term, dry cutting technology will
become established throughout the metalworking
industry and in the long term will replace traditional
cutting processes.
The use of this new technology will prevent
pollution, i.e. lower the impact on groundwater,
reduce transport needs by eliminating agents and
avoid direct physical effects for the operator. This is
of direct benefit not only for metalworking firms but
also society at large.
Dry cutting technology is the future of sawing:
Rapid Little burr Environmentally friendly.
i n d u s t r y
3 3
p r o j e c t s
land
LIFE94 ENV/GR/1348
Beneficiary: Municipality of Naousa
30 Dimarchias Square
GR-59200 Naousa
Contact: Mr Paul Kiriakidis
Tel.: (30-332) 222 08
Fax: (30-332) 242 60
Duration: 20 March 1995 to 20 August 1997
Integrated
environmental
management of the Agios
Nikolaos Park and the River
Arapitsa
noise pollution,
deterioration of general appearance,
increased risk of fire.
Introduction
The Agios Nikolaos Park to the south-east of the
town of Naousa in the region of West Macedonia
is an area of rare beauty. The main goal of the
project was to develop this park and the River
Arapitsa for tourism, and included the rational
development of recreational activities, with
environmental constraints also being taken into
account. The project also set out to protect the
ecosystem, create new jobs, foster the
development of the region and create the
conditions for environmental education to take
place.
Technical solution
The approved landscape works divided the area into
9 sections according to 9 different activities and
utilisations, as follows:
the park entrance;
the area around the existing hotel and the
buildings for environmental education;
the recreational area (for picnics, etc.);
the area around the church;

The Agios Nikolaos Park occupies an area of
4 000 m2. The salient features of this area are the
River Arapitsa and a centuries-old sycamore forest.
For many years the park was a recreational area for
Naousa's citizens, but was used so intensively, with
phenomena such as illegal driving and parking inside
the park, that the environment was jeopardised in a
number of ways, engendering:
water pollution,
loss of plants alongside the river,
soil attrition caused by pedestrians and vehicles,
A view of the Agios Nikolaos Park showing project works.
disappearance of flora and fauna species,
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p r o j e c t s
the playground, the lake and a second building for

visitor recreation;
the water features;
the sports centre;
the parking area;
the section of the River Arapitsa beside the
Monument to the Sacrifice of the Women of
Naousa during the Greek Revolution.
Results and impact

The project succeeded in restoring and safeguarding
the ecosystem, promoted alternative forms of
recreation and tourism and helped regional
development. It also played a significant role in the
environmental education field and raised local
people's awareness of the environment.
A detailed map indicating the project activities in the Agios

Nikolaos Park Area.
The Agios Nikolaos Park now draws many visitors,

who have the opportunity not only to enjoy the
benefits of the park, but also to become acquainted
with Naousa and its products.
The municipality of Naousa proved a very effective
local authority in implementing this project, which
was awarded a European prize in the field of regional
and urban planning in 1998.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE94 ENV/P/1156
Beneficiary: QUERCUS Associao Nacional de
Conservao da Natureza
Apartado 122
P-2490 Ourm (Portugal)
Contact: Eng. Jos Antonio Neves
Tel.: (351-249) 544 500
Fax: (351-249) 544 500
E-mail: quercusourem@quercus.pt
Web site http://www.quercus.pt
Duration: 1 December 1994 to 31 December
1997
Alto Nabo
environmental tourism project
Introduction
The Alto Nabo environmental tourism project

grew up around Agroal, a very special location
halfway down the River Nabo where a carstic
spring rises to the surface and flows abundantly
throughout the year, guaranteeing the river a
reasonable flow all the way to its outfall into
the River Zzere, a tributary of the Tagus.
Tourism is restricted to the summer season, at which

point tourists arrive in their hundreds. Nonetheless,
the business they provide is meagre, so that both the
spring itself and the banks of the river have been
occupied by temporary constructions, no better than
huts, where food and drink are sold without even a
basic concern for hygiene.
The Agroal spring emerges from the left bank of

the Nabo, at the bottom of a deep valley
surrounded by extremely arid stone cliffs
covered with dense Mediterranean brushwood.
At the point where the spring water flows into the

river, a kind of swimming pool has been improvised
with stones and boards, where bathers gather in the
summer.
From where the spring rises, the river has

forged a steep-sided fluvial-carstic canyon
through the rock over a distance of some 2 km.
Thanks to its isolation, the canyon supports a
rich biodiversity, including eagle owls (Bubo
bubo), otters (Lutra lutra), blue rock thrushes
(Monticola solitarius), kingfishers (Alcedo atthis)
and many other species.
The site has attracted humans for millennia,
probably on account of the abundance of water,
fish and game, as testified by the many remains
found in local settlements (Iron Age hilltop
villages) and caverns.
To understand the attraction Agroal holds for
local communities, it must be appreciated that,
on the one hand, this area is a kind of green
oasis in an extremely arid region and, on the
other, people have believed for many decades
that the waters of the spring are medicinal and
can cure skin diseases.
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p r o j e c t s
Despite the area's shabby appearance and the large

numbers of people visiting it in the hottest months,
vegetation has managed to survive beside the river
both in the canyon and in the areas closest to it,
forming a strong contrast with the hillsides and their
characteristic Mediterranean shrub cover.
Technical solution
The LIFE project was a starting point for carrying
out studies and creating infrastructure in order to
make the most of existing resources and create a
protected area.
The value of environmental tourism is that it makes
it possible to publicise a region and to create
prospects for improving the living conditions of the
local population. With this goal in mind, the project
had the following priority objectives:
drawing up of a detailed plan to restore the Agroal

area, currently being approved;
drawing up of an application for inclusion on the
national list of sites to be included in the Natura
2000 network.
to make the most of the environmental and

traditional resources of Alto Nabo;
to create a network to promote tourism;
to create infrastructure to support tourism,
entities to inform the public and promote
endogenous resources;
to reverse the trend of the population exodus away
from Alto Nabo;
to foster an outlook among local people conducive
to balanced management of the region's natural
resources.
Results and impact

Agroal and the Alto Nabo are now known
throughout the region and in much of Portugal.
They have been added to traditional tourist routes,
and now feature in tours passing through Ftima,
Ourm, Tomar and Albufeira do Castelo de Bode.
These objectives were attained by means of the

following:
a systematic study of the natural qualities of Alto
Nabo;
publicising of these qualities through public
information channels, publications, exhibitions,
videos, day trips, awareness campaigns, guided
tours, holiday camps, the promotion of tourism;
signposting of routes with explanations for
pedestrians in Agroal and the areas closest to it;
erection of information boards and descriptions
of the countryside in the area most visited by the
public;
publication of two brochures, production of a
poster and a sticker;
production of a video on Alto Nabo;
organisation of 20 educational camps attended by
about 600 young people from around the country;
annual organisation of 'environment days' in
Ourm;
direction of guided tours for schools, associations,
groups of explorers, environmental clubs, etc.;
drawing up of a plan for a campsite in Agroal,
already approved;
l a n d
They are also popular destinations for exponents of

rock climbing, rappelling, pot-holing and canoeing,
which are promoted by Regional Development
Associations, private companies and cultural
associations.
Another area in which the project has had a major
influence is the shaping of public opinion,
prompting calls for better conditions at Agroal.
Articles regularly appear in the regional press calling
for healthier and safer conditions at the site.
Access roads to Agroal have already been improved
and two water treatment plants are currently being
built about 2 km upstream, which will improve the
quality of the water.
In terms of nature conservation, the project's
achievements are nudging both public and official
opinion towards preserving the countryside, the
flora and the fauna of this region in the centre of
Portugal.
3 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/F/501
Total eligible cost: EUR 1 829 333
Beneficiary: Symalim
Chemin de la Bletta
F-69120 Vaulx-en-Velin
Contact: Mr Andr Grange
Tel.: (33-4) 78 80 30 67
Fax: (33-4) 72 04 07 95
E-mail: info@parc-miribel.fr
Miribel Jonage
Park: rehabilitation of a
natural fluvial environment to
play a multiple role in a
suburban area
being used to best effect but was in fact subject to

diverse and sometimes contradictory uses liable to
compromise the sustainability of its resources. For
instance, the park's water areas were created by the
extraction of gravel, but this had an adverse impact
on the environment: lowering of the water table,
problems with floodwaters, disappearance of certain
tracts of water.
Introduction
This project in the Greater Lyons area (1.2 million
inhabitants) set out to reorganise and bring new
value to natural areas, and in particular wetlands
of ecological interest, within a large recreational
park: the Miribel Jonage Park.
The park occupies 2 200 ha of a vast, 4 000 ha
alluvial plain, rich in natural heritage. Most of
the park's visitors now head for the 'leisure
zone' and the adjacent sports areas (tennis
courts, horse-riding centre, fitness area, etc.). All
these facilities make the park the largest and
most popular recreational destination in the
Greater Lyons area.
There were also such environmentally-unfriendly

practices as motor-cycle scrambling, unauthorised
camping and the dumping of rubbish.
The project aim was to suggest new uses and

functions for natural areas on the outskirts of
towns.

The park covers a large natural and semi-natural area
made up of wetlands, ponds, oxbows of the Rhne,
alluvial forest, meadows, etc., which was not only not
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p r o j e c t s
Lastly, the former farming land,

the open spaces and the Rhne
oxbows were in a state of general
neglect, synonymous once again
with the changes to the water
system and the impoverishment of
the environment.
Technical solution
To bring new value to these natural
spaces and to encourage overall
management of the local water
system, Symalim (the syndicate
which owns the Miribel Jonage
Park) decided to make the park
layout more coherent by creating a
smooth transition between the
recreational areas and the natural
areas. Implementation of this
policy was entrusted to Segapal, a
semi-public company responsible
for the managing the park.
This involved the following:
rehabilitation of a 60 ha tract of
water next to a recreational lake,
to encourage greater biodiversity, reduce the
eutrophication of the lake and maintain water
levels;
rehabilitation of degraded sites to accommodate
rare species of flora and fauna and for use as
nature-discovery areas, with the active involvement
of the quarry companies;
protection and rehabilitation of natural habitats:
ban on mechanised sports, restoration of the
Rhne oxbows, integration of species protection
into the management of recreational spaces, etc.;
educational 'nature presentation' activities aimed
not just at visitors, but also at the residents of
nearby areas.
authorities, the quarry companies and the local

water management partners (Agence de l'Eau, Voies
Navigables de France, EDF) were all involved either
technically or financially.
Lastly, Symalim's efforts and concerns in this project
are emblematic of the central issues now affecting
natural recreational areas at the edges of Europe's
urban zones.
The growing number of uses to which these spaces
are put, and the growing number of visitors to them,
are forcing their managers to reconcile the
satisfaction of society's many demands with the
protection of a natural asset of increasing value to
urban Europe.
Results and impact
The solutions put forward for Miribel Jonage in this

LIFE project, and now being discussed within the
Fdnatur international network of suburban parks,
are exemplary in their capacity to meet these
seemingly contradictory requirements.
The project culminated with a public opening and

the inauguration of the newly-created natural spaces.
The success of the initiative has already been
underscored by the site's inclusion on the Natura
2000 list for the Rhne Department.
The partnerships set up in order to carry out the
project are one of its interesting features: the local
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4 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/IT/154
Total eligible cost: EUR 457 561
LIFE contribution: EUR 181 651 (39.70 %)
Beneficiary: Regione Emilia Romagna
Viale Aldo Moro, 30
I-40127 Bologna
Contact: Mr Stefano Vannini
Tel.: (39-051) 28 33 53
Fax: (39-051) 28 33 80
Citt, Castelli,
Ciliegi (cities,
castles, cherry trees)
The other problem concerned criteria and methods

for selecting and managing public and private actors
capable of helping to protect rural areas from a
sustainable development perspective. For this reason,
the project set out not only to consider the natural
heritage and the historical dimension, but also to
work with the existing economic structure. This
meant dealing with questions relating to typical
forms of agricultural production and local industry,
and their impact on the environment.
Introduction
This project focused on the relationship
between towns and their surrounding areas, and
the environmental consequences thereof.
Geographically, it covered a hilly and
mountainous area stretching over 14
municipalities (25 000 ha and 40 000
inhabitants), equally distributed between the
provinces of Bologna and Modena in the Italian
region of Emilia Romagna.
Technical solution
The first decision was that financing would only be

granted to new projects, to the exclusion of existing
activities, in order to foster new approaches and
targets. A communication network was then set up
between all the local actors deemed to be potential
partners in the project, with particular attention also
to other players (e.g. consultants, private enterprises,
tourist agencies) in a position to contribute their
knowledge to the overall process.
Since the early 1980s, the hilly territory in the vicinity

of Bologna and Modena has been subject to growing
pressure from the expansion of a great many new
settlements, both residential and industrial.
In 1993, the three municipalities of the Panaro valley
Vignola, Savignano and Marano decided to draw
up a new municipal town planning scheme.
Essentially, the project focused on the consequences
of the close relationship between the towns and their
surrounding areas.
The work lasted two years, and was financed by the

Emilia Romagna Region (EUR 270 000) and the LIFE
programme (around EUR 180 000). The regional and
local authorities provided further funding for
collateral initiatives not co-financed by LIFE (local
promotion and seminars, web site, publications), for
an amount of about EUR 100 000.
The greatest difficulties arose at the outset, when it

came to defining an approach and a method of
governance for handling issues relating to rural areas
by means of an 'institutional tool' such as the town
planning scheme, which was designed essentially for
use in urban areas. A typical problem facing all local
authorities is the rigidity of institutional planning
methods, which often give rise to inefficiency in
public action on the environment.
l a n d
The project was directed by the Tourist Office of the

Emilia Romagna Region, which acted as project
leader. All the local municipalities and authorities
were involved from the outset, and took part in the
basic decisions regarding project methodologies and
4 2
p r o j e c t s
expenditure. Under this

approach, the entire network of
local actors agreed on the
distribution and aims of
funding, preferring to focus on
a limited number of strategic
actions rather than spread the
funds too thinly.
The Emilia Romagna Region
was supported by 'ECO&ECO',
the company which conceived
the 'core idea' of the project, by
the Centro Divulgazione
Agricola (Agricultural Advisory
Centre) of the Province of
Bologna, specialists in the
agricultural and agroenvironmental sector, and by
'Promappennino', a tourism
promotion firm operating in
the area covered by the project.
Cooperation between local municipalities on land

and environmental management.
Creation of a touristic food and wine itinerary,
based on typical local products.
New job opportunities for young people in the
area, relating to the exploitation of typical local
products and activities and connecting the
historical heritage with cultural initiatives (theatre,
music, literature, etc.).
Promotion of a new fair to advertise all the local
products, especially the new forms of sustainable
production methods.
New perspectives and patterns in educational
schemes in school curricula.
Increasing the number of visitors and farm
holidays.
Creation of an animal oasis near an existing
regional park, with training for 10 new
'environmental couriers' whose job it is to
welcome visitors and guide them through the
park.
To overcome the difficulties caused by the rigidity of

the traditional institutional planning processes, a
range of actions were promoted and added to the
planning activities in order to vary the actions that
impact on the local environment. These activities fall
into four broad categories:
local environment information systems (maps of
the area, indicating typical local products;
hypertext of the territory);
promotional activity (creation of a cherry and fruit
farms network; river clean-ups involving the
general public; creation of gastronomic routes);
communication and training activities (meetings
and seminars; teacher training: Conoscere il bosco
(Getting to know the woods) course for officials in
the tourist sector; communication pavilion; school
events; multimedia productions);
events (theatre productions; photo exhibitions;
musical events; competitions among schools).
Results and impact

Increased feeling of 'belonging' among local
authorities and population, and greater 'general
knowledge' of environmental problems.
A three-year programme agreement signed by 16
different municipalities to tap into local
environmental assets.
Introduction of new flexible methods for local
planning.
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LIFE96 ENV/DK/16
LIFE contribution: EUR 1 052 395.29
Beneficiary: ScanRail Consult A/S
Pilestraede 58
DK-1112 Copenhagen K
Contact: Lars Deigaard
Tel.: (45) 33 76 50 00
Fax: (45) 33 91 71 18
E-mail: lde@rdg.bane.dk
Duration: 1 May 1996 to 28 February 2000
Environmental
/economic evaluation and
optimal remediation of
contaminated sites
Contaminated sites present problems for their
owners, their users and society as a whole. The most
serious problem is the threat to human health and
the surrounding environment, including
groundwater. Contaminated land can damage
structures, pollute surface waters, affect adjacent land
and air and be an economic burden. Contaminants
move slowly in the ground and it may be decades
before the damage is noticed. The need to treat
contaminated land is urgent.
Introduction
The project, located in Copenhagen, Denmark,
dealt with the remediation of contaminated
sites. Its purpose was to devise a methodology
for selecting whichever remediation technique is
not only the most effective but also involves the
least financial and environmental cost for any
given site. The main aim was to remediate soil
and groundwater at sites contaminated by oil
and halogenated/chlorinated solvents from the
railway industry.
The purpose of remediation projects is to produce

environmental benefits, defined in relation to future
land use, groundwater resources and surface water
resources. These benefits usually consist of a
reduction of the toxicological effects on humans
from exposure to pollutants or their dispersion in
the ecosystem.
The project developed a decision-making model

and a calculation tool to determine the costs
and benefits connected with remediation
procedures.

Remediation of soil pollution used to be limited to
excavating the soil and then either cleansing or
disposing of it. Other techniques were subsequently
introduced in which only the mobile contaminants
were removed. Excavation with subsequent ex situ
soil treatment continues to be the most widely used
remediation technique.
Soil deterioration through contamination is an

important issue in central, western and northern
Europe. Twelve of the EU Member States are thought
to have as many as 1 500 000 potentially
contaminated sites between them, of which more
than 300 000 have been identified. In most cases, sites
are contaminated with oil or halogenated products.
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Technical solution
Results and impact

At the oil-polluted sites, the most effective clean-up
was achieved with excavation. Biosparging and
bioventing were less effective, but also less expensive,
than excavation. For all three techniques, the main
environmental benefit was reduced toxicity to
humans from groundwater.
A methodology was devised for including overall

environmental impact in the decision-making
parameters, along with the usual financial and
technical aspects. This methodology was tested in a
number of demonstration projects where several
remediation techniques were used, including
biosparging, bioventing, excavation with ex situ
biological soil cleansing, reactive wall and biological
wall treatments. The chosen techniques represent
likely future options for remediating sites which
contain contaminants typically produced by the
railway industry.
At the sites polluted with chlorinated solvents, both

the permeable walls were relatively expensive in
relation to the volume of treated groundwater. The
reactive wall proved technically efficient, apart from
some reduced permeability, possibly caused by
precipitations of calcium and other ions. Again, the
main environmental benefit of both permeable walls
consisted in reduced groundwater toxicity to
humans.
Remediation demonstrations were carried out on

soils and groundwater contaminated by oil and
chlorinated solvents. The testing of remediation
techniques took place over 18 months at the
following sites: Svendborg, contaminated by diesel
oil; Randers, contaminated by diesel oil; Vojens,
contaminated by diesel oil; Copenhagen freight yard,
contaminated by chlorinated solvents. At each site
the environmental costs and benefits were estimated
and compared. The ultimate goal was to reduce the
contamination level at each of the demonstration
sites.
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This study successfully demonstrated a methodology

for combining environmental assessment with
technical and economic parameters in the evaluation
and comparison of site remediation techniques.
The new methodology will be widely applicable in
the EU for selecting appropriate remediation
techniques for polluted sites. It can also be used to
analyse the environmental consequences of changes
related to a specific remediation technique.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/P/608
Beneficiary: Cmara Municipal de Elvas
Comisso Municipal de Turismo
Rua Isabel Mara Pico. Apartado 70
P-7351 Elvas
Contact: Dra. Elsa Grilo
Tel.: (351-268) 63 97 40
Fax: (351-268) 62 90 60
E-mail: cmelvas@mail.telepac.pt
Duration: 1 January 1997 to 31 March 1999
Restoring and
enhancing the
historical and archaeological
heritage of Elvas and
integrating it into the
environment: prospects for
tourism
tourist industry. The aim was to resolve priority

heritage and environmental problems within
the context of promoting tourism.
Introduction
The character of rural and urban Elvas, and in
particular the town's military configuration, has
been stamped by the local population's long
interaction with the local area and
environment, making its historical,
archaeological and environmental heritage an
emblem of the modern municipality and town.
The town council's wish to restore the vast, and
extremely rich, historical, archaeological and
environmental heritage of this northern
Alentejo municipality, and the potential for
tourism in the area, led to an agreement to plan
this project on a rational basis in such a way
that, with moderate expenditure, it would be
possible gradually to restore and enhance a
feature of great potential for the municipality.
Attention focused on three aspects of the
problem: enhancing the local heritage,
protecting the environment and developing the
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p r o j e c t s
Description of the
problem
Elvas' geographical position has
ensured it a military role of great
importance throughout the
centuries, culminating in its
becoming a stronghold during the
17th and 18th centuries,
surrounded by major fortifications
and forts such as those of So
Pedro, So Mamede, Piedade (or
So Domingos) and So Francisco.
These forts were in a state of
abandonment. Their external
appearance, some of them covered
with weeds, made it impossible to
imagine the grandeur of the
defensive structure they had
constituted. Illegal constructions
had been erected in some of them,
causing further deterioration. All of them had been
used to dump rubble and rubbish, preventing their
use as a typical regional resource.
Results and impact

The project's objectives were achieved with
considerable success.
Thus a resource with the potential to attract tourists,

especially from Spain, and of great value as part of
the economic development of a border town, was
going to waste.
It is worth stressing that the restoration of Elvas'

historic and archaeological heritage included
elements of environmental integration not previously
taken into consideration. Attention to this
dimension has resulted in genuine cultural tourism,
in line with what has been happening in other towns
in the Alentejo.
Technical solution
Even today, the forts are still fulfilling their original
vocation, in a sense, but whereas before they were
look-out posts, they now serve as points from which
to contemplate the surrounding countryside. Built
for defence, they now blend into Elvas' natural and
urban landscape.
This project focused on promoting a type of tourism

which sets out to publicise and spread knowledge of
Portuguese culture in the larger Iberian context, the
restored monuments having played a fundamental
role in the town's military history.
Tourism was developed in a harmonious and
balanced fashion, with the restoration of the
damaged historic and cultural buildings enhancing
the monuments themselves and embellishing the
environment, enriching people's lives and bringing
prosperity to the municipality of Elvas.
Restoration of the forts in their natural context

involved the following tasks:
cleaning up the sites and clearing them of
vegetation;
demolition of unstable structures;
consolidation/rebuilding of walled enclosures;
upgrading and paving of access paths;
installation of signposts and information panels;
environmental restoration and integration through
sowing and planting;
information and dissemination through public
information channels, publications, etc.
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The success of the initiative suggests that this

approach would be applicable to other geographical
areas, other areas of activity and even other types of
problem, provided a concerted effort is made to
inform local people and raise their awareness so as to
encourage attitudes and behaviour consonant with
the conservation of, and respect for, the resources
and potential assets which surround us.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/E/264
Beneficiary: Diputacin de Barcelona
C/ Londres, 55
E-08036 Barcelona
Contact: Enric Llarch i Poyo
Tel.: (34-93) 402 25 24
Fax: (34-93) 402 25 23
E-mail: montsenyda@diba.es
Web site: http://www.diba.es/parcagrari/
Duration: 1 July 1996 to 1 December 1999
Conservation,
improvement and
economic promotion of the
suburban agricultural area
around Barcelona
Part of the port of Barcelona is located along the

coastal strip. The only open areas are small marginal
plots temporarily given over to farming.
Introduction
The Baix Llobregat district is situated at the
heart of the Barcelona metropolitan region. To
the south of this region, in the inner
metropolitan fringe around Barcelona, lie the
flood plains of the delta and the lower stretches
of the River Llobregat.
The River Llobregat and its banks are under heavy

pressure from the roads running alongside them.
Riverside vegetation has virtually disappeared and the
artificial and generally degraded nature of the banks
prevents public use of them as a more or less natural
habitat.
This traditionally rich farmland stretches across

14 boroughs with a combined population of
730 000 out of the total of over 4 million in the
city.
Less than 50 % of the delta is covered by farmland

and natural habitats. In the lower valley, farmland
and rivers occupy approximately 70 % of the land,
alongside urban development, industry and
infrastructure.
In this region, farmland, the river and natural

or semi-natural sites must live side-by-side with
an urban sprawl, with all the concomitant
population pressure and environmental impact.
Agriculture in this region is semi-urban, shaped by a

series of effects the urban environment has on it.
These include: the breaking-up of farmland into
smaller plots; penetration by marginal activities
unconnected with agriculture; an increase in land
prices fuelled by expectations; pollution of the air,
water and soil; theft, destruction or deterioration of
agricultural infrastructure; difficult access to the
farming areas; constant expropriations for
infrastructure projects or services, with the
consequent break-up of holdings, etc.
Crops are grown on approximately 3 500 ha,

2 700 of which were designated as farmland in
the 1976 general metropolitan development plan.
The principal crops are fruit and vegetables.

The eastern delta is occupied by major industrial
areas, plus residential areas and service industries.
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p r o j e c t s
Technical solution
To solve this problem, a new instrument was needed
with which to conserve farmland and its
environmental assets and develop it further, since
farmland cannot be properly protected unless the
conditions are created to make farms economically
viable.
The first step was to publicise the objectives of the
programme amongst the various farming
associations and cooperatives in the region, the 14
local councils responsible for the area and the
regional government's departments of agriculture,
public works and town and country planning.
The project initially met with reticence on the part
of farmers, but this was overcome as the work
advanced. Today the agricultural park has signed
cooperation agreements with 90 % of the region's
cooperatives.
management and development plan and the special

urban development plan.
The management and development plan set the
priorities for action in the agricultural sector, in
terms both of agricultural infrastructure and of
sectoral projects.
For a full diagnosis of the area, 12 sectoral studies

and a survey of the farming sector were conducted to
identify priority areas for action and produce a
management and development plan and a special
urban development plan.
The special urban development plan set out the

broad lines of urban development to consolidate or
reform the infrastructure vital for developing
agriculture (roads, water mains, etc.).
Throughout the project's implementation,

demonstration projects and pilot tests were
conducted and grants were awarded, notably to
recover traditional farming practices, promote
integrated tomato growing, pay towards crates
bearing the logos of the LIFE programme and of the
agricultural park, create and promote the Producto
fresco del Parque Agrario del Baix Llobregat (Fresh
produce of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park)
mark, and promote and implement a rural watch
plan to improve the security of farmers and crops in
the area.
Results and impact

The agricultural park has been the key, decisive
factor in finding a way out of the severe crisis
afflicting semi-urban agriculture in the Baix
Llobregat region, where disenchantment had crept
into the industry in recent years as it faced a host of
problems day after day and its strength to resolve
them was sapped by the scale and diversity of the
difficulties.
The conclusions of the diagnosis (studies and

surveys) and the experience gained from the pilot
tests in the first phase formed the basis for the two
most important documents in the project: the
The excellent economic rents which this farmland

could command were not being fully achieved due to
competition from other land further away but with
lower production costs. At the same time, heavy
pressure from urban development was stifling any
future prospects.
With aid from the LIFE programme, the agricultural
park has restored the confidence of the vast majority
of farmers and generated impetus to deliver quality
produce at low environmental cost. New cooperatives
and the arrival of young farmers in the industry are
sure signs of the programme's success.
Society at large, in turn, has recovered a green belt
which was in danger of disappearing. This will be
preserved and will continue to fulfil its
environmental functions as long as they are needed.
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LIFE96 ENV/E/308
Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de Aranjuez
Pl. de la Constitucin, s/n
E-28300 Aranjuez (Madrid)
Contact: Jos Mara Cepeda
Tel.: (34-91) 809 03 63
Fax: (34-91) 892 32 57
E-mail: fundaranjueznatural@ctasa.es
Rehabilitation of
the urban environment and
biodiversity of Aranjuez
Introduction
extraordinary variety of fruit, vegetables and livestock,

perfectly adapted to the natural local conditions.
The programme covered Aranjuez, the

southernmost municipality of the Madrid
region, extending over more than 19 000 ha on
the frontier with La Mancha. Aranjuez has a
population of 41 000 and attracts over a million
visitors every year. It is in the middle of an area
of sparsely populated villages, most of them
growing dryland crops.
The decline in agricultural activity which began in

the late 1960s triggered a process of abandonment
and deterioration of Aranjuez as a whole. The
waning of agriculture not only damaged the local
economy but also hit with full force the immense
historical and natural heritage so closely linked to
activity in these water meadows. Dozens of
kilometres of avenues between centuries-old trees
were left to deteriorate through disuse and neglect.
The River Tagus is the backbone of the Aranjuez

region. In this part of the central Spanish
tableland, the waters of the Tagus have created
magnificent water meadows with a unique
enclave of palaces and historic gardens. In
addition to the immense, well-known
architectural heritage of Aranjuez, two
protected sites of great interest are located in
the municipality: the largest butterfly reserve in
Europe and Lake Ontgola, the reservoir created
in the 16th century to irrigate the royal gardens.
The social situation in the municipality was also

deteriorating sharply, with unemployment above the
regional average and astronomical in comparison
with the Community rate.

Over the centuries human intervention at this richlyendowed site formed a literal oasis of agricultural
productivity and biodiversity in the Castilian
tableland. Two major additions to this closelyintegrated complex are the royal gardens and the
extensive market gardens, which used to produce an
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p r o j e c t s
2. Reintroduction of the extraordinary biodiversity

which Aranjuez's natural environment supported
in the past, and could potentially support in
future. The project focused on reintroducing
widely-diversified fruit and vegetable farming in
the market gardens and on replanting and
renovating the groves. Another objective was to
create links between this agriculture and
consumers in order to promote traditional crops.
Finally, to close the cycle cleanly, the organic
waste would be composted and recycled.
Results and impact

The project successfully reversed the degradation and
deterioration of the biodiversity not only of
Aranjuez's natural systems but also of its agriculture.
This progress was achieved partly by taking specific
action and partly by instilling in the local population
and socioeconomic circles concerned a new way of
looking at, using and benefiting from their rich
natural heritage and providing new sources of jobs
based on local produce.
Despite this abandonment, the natural environment

in Aranjuez is exceptionally beautiful and the basic
natural resources on which this prodigious complex
was built have survived virtually intact. The basic
structures of the river, water meadows, groves and
gardens remain untouched, and this project set out
to use them as a springboard for recovery and
revitalisation.
It has brought Aranjuez closer to its water meadows.

This entailed combining action of various kinds:
rehabilitating the routes connecting the centre with
the meadows, generating new activities attracting
inhabitants and encouraging them to put down roots
in the town, and environmental education schemes
to raise public awareness of local resources and
produce.
Technical solution
The objective of this programme to restore the
biodiversity of Aranjuez was to reverse this
downward trend and implement a package of viable
measures, setting an example and tailored to local
conditions, as the first steps on the road to
rehabilitation of this richly-endowed site.
As regards the urban environment, the project

succeeded in defining an action programme setting
priorities for investment in, and rigorous
management of, the natural and urban heritage.
Another benefit of the programme was that it would

restore the agricultural landscape as a typical
characteristic complementing the urban environment
and natural habitats.
Action focused on two of Aranjuez's main features
the groves and the market gardens and on
restoration of the traditional links between them,
with the town itself and with its monuments.
Following this basic approach, the project had two
general objectives.
As regards agriculture, the objective was to encourage

a shift towards production of and demand for
traditional produce. Various measures were taken to
achieve this, including gradual conversion of farms
and the establishment of consumer networks
providing outlets making production of these crops
viable, all backed up by the newly created 'Aranjuez
natural' mark.
1. Rehabilitation of the urban environment, centred

on rehabilitation of the groves, the historical
avenues owned by the municipal and regional
authorities, recovering their biological, landscape,
historical and cultural value and harnessing their
potential for use by the local population and
tourists. This action will help provide training and
jobs for a good number of Aranjuez's inhabitants.
Another objective was to improve the nutrient cycle

by recovering and composting plant waste and
returning it to the soil. Restoration of this biological
cycle solves some of the current problems, for
example by providing an outlet for the enormous
volume of plant waste from the gardens, streets and
market gardens and improving the organic quality of
the currently severely depleted soil.
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LIFE97 ENV/E/304
Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de Fuendetodos
(Zaragoza)
C/ Zuloaga, n 24
E-50142 Fuendetodos (Zaragoza)
Contact: Joaqun Gimeno (Mayor)
Tel.: (34-976) 14 38 01
Fax: (34-976) 14 38 01
E-mail: fuendeto@encomix.es
Duration: 1 September 1997 to 31 December
1999.
Goya's 250th
anniversary:
nature in Fuendetodos
demonstration and promotion activities, along with

technical assistance to the local authorities, to
encourage integration of the environmental
dimension into land-use and urban planning.
Introduction
Fuendetodos, birthplace of the painter and
engraver Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), situated
44 km from Zaragoza, is a small village
endeavouring to tap into new resources from
cultural tourism in order to tackle the problems
it is facing, notably the decline of traditional
farming, and depopulation caused by a lack of
the services people require in today's society.
This involved the following:

the 'Goya trails' network of local paths (nine
routes covering 114 km), signposting and
restoration of educational paths, creation of
educational paths and restoration of vantage-point
structures as integral parts of the network of local
paths;
Fuendetodos enjoys a rich natural setting, its

biodiversity enhanced by various plant
communities. The village also boasts important
cultural sites: Goya's house, an engraving
museum housing original work by the artist, the
Ignacio Zuloaga exhibition hall and an
engraving workshop.
restoration and educational presentation of

structures belonging to the snow and stone
industries of the past;
rehabilitation of environmentally damaged areas
(slag heaps, roadsides, Parque de la Balsa), planting
of 4 000 native plants;
creation of a nature hostel;
setting-up of an educational nature hall, for use by
primary and secondary schools, specific groups of
visitors, etc., containing material on the local
fauna and flora and educational material teaching
respect for the environment;

To improve its economic and social situation,
Fuendetodos needed to take a series of steps to
enhance its natural and cultural heritage by making
environmentally-sound use of the natural resources
of its Mediterranean brush landscape and by
capitalising on the life and work of Goya.
project publicity (presentations and inaugurations,

seminars, attendance at shows, media, printing of
61 000 brochures, etc.).
Technical solution
Results and impact
The 'Goya's 250th anniversary: nature in

Fuendetodos' project comprised a series of
The project achieved its objective of integrating the

environmental dimension into local land-use planning.
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p r o j e c t s
The village managed to diversify its

economy by creating a sustainable
development model which organised its
various sectors of activity around the
development of new environmentrelated tourist activities to create new
jobs.
The area's natural heritage was
conserved thanks to a set of educational
and public information measures and
horizontal instruments. These helped
publicise its wealth while protecting it
against the growing number of visiting
tourists.
A network of local paths was
established, comprising nine routes
covering a total of 114 km. All the paths
were properly signposted and
provided with explanatory
panels.
Restoration work was carried out
on important heritage features
along the paths, such as the
medieval spring and the stone
and lime quarries, which form
complementary attractions in
the environmental setting.
Environmentally-damaged local
areas were rehabilitated by the
planting of 4 000 plants of native
species.
Green filtering was introduced
to treat waste water.
Visitor numbers to Fuendetodos
were maintained and even
increased over previous years
(30 000 visitors a year), which
will provide new jobs in the
management of nature activities
and in local development.
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LIFE97 ENV/UK/510
Beneficiary: Coastal Manager / Project Officer
Isle of Wight Centre for the Coastal
Environment
Directorate of Development
County Hall
Newport PO30 1UD
Isle of Wight
United Kingdom
Contact: Mr Robin McInnes / Miss Jenny
Jakeways
Tel.: (44-1983) 82 37 70
Fax: (44-1983) 82 37 07
E-mail: life2@iwight.gov.uk
Duration: 1 October 1997 to 1 October 2000
Coastal change,
climate and instability
to study the relationship between rainfall,

groundwater, erosion and ground movements,
which will assist in developing a more reliable
methodology for landslide forecasting and risk
assessments in developed coastal and
mountainous areas;
Introduction
The Isle of Wight Centre for the Coastal
Environment within the Isle of Wight Council,
UK, has been leading a three-year project
entitled 'Coastal change, climate and instability'
with the support of the European Commission's
LIFE environment programme. The project
brought together a team of international
partners from France, Italy and Ireland,
acknowledged experts in the fields of coastal,
geotechnical and archaeological studies, to
undertake research on three linked tasks in the
fields of coastal and climate change.
to develop risk assessment advice and a code of

practice for decision-makers and other groups
concerned with urban landslide areas.
The three tasks, and the hazards they are
quantifying, are closely linked with respect to longterm responses to rising sea level and predicted
short-term changes in climatic and weather patterns.
The aim of the project was therefore to examine how
predicted climate change may affect unstable coastal
and mountainous areas and to assist in preparing for
such changes.
Research has been undertaken on how palaeoenvironmental evidence can assist in providing
an improved understanding of coastal change
and how unstable ground can be managed, with
a view to the predicted impacts of climate
change on urban instability sites in both coastal
and mountainous locations throughout Europe.
Technical solution
For the archaeological task of the project, partners in
France, Ireland and the UK have revealed the
potential contribution of archaeological (palaeoenvironmental) evidence to assist in interpretation of
the nature, scale and pace of coastal change.

The three project tasks were as follows:
to demonstrate the value of using archaeological
evidence to predict the nature, scale and pace of
coastal change;
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In the UK, research in the Solent estuary was

jointly undertaken by the Isle of Wight Council's
5 4
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

The project has produced a detailed report
of landslide risk and instability
management throughout each partner
country and across the EU, stressing the
importance of understanding the
implications of present and future coastal
and climatic change. This report includes
introductory information on instability and
archaeology and a review of the varying
legislative and administrative arrangements
in each of the partner countries, to provide
the reader with the background to draw
transferable 'lessons learnt' and valuable
experience from the project case-study areas
across Europe. In addition to the final
report and the layman's summary document, a 'Best
practice guide' and 'Preferred approach to instability
in urban areas' have been produced to disseminate
the project results to both non-technical and
technical audiences.
Archaeology and Historic Environment Service,

the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime
Archaeology and the University of Southampton's
School of Ocean and Earth Science.
In Ireland, the Shannon estuary, the lakeland
regions and the harbours of Dublin, Cork and
Waterford were investigated by the Discovery
programme.
In France, the University of Bordeaux studied sites
of long-term coastal change around the Gironde
estuary and along the North Medoc coast.
The 'Best practice guide for urban instability'

provides advice and information for a variety of user
groups affected by urban landslides, including
decision-makers (e.g. local authorities), homeowners,
builders and architects, insurance companies and
estate agents. The guide includes understandable and
accessible information on landslide risk and
management, and practical advice on reducing the
risks and impacts of instability.
For the two geotechnical tasks, teams from the UK,

France and Italy brought a range of experience and
particular areas of geotechnical expertise to the
project. Best practice advice in terms of instability
management is an output of their research.
The project outputs are being disseminated at local,

national and international levels. In addition, a series
of technical papers are being published and a high
profile occupied at international and national
conferences in the fields of instability, palaeoenvironmental archaeology and coastal change to
disseminate the project to practitioners and
researchers, including instability engineers, coastal
planners and managers, local authorities and field
leaders across Europe and internationally.
In the UK, the Isle of Wight Centre for the

Coastal Environment, and their consultants HighPoint Rendel, studied areas of coastal instability on
the Isle of Wight (the Ventnor undercliff, Afton
Down and Sandown Bay cliffs), as well as
instability sites at Lyme Regis in Dorset, Bartonon-Sea in Hampshire, Overstrand in Norfolk, and
Scarborough and Robin Hood's Bay in North
Yorkshire.
In Italy, IRPI (the National Research Council)
investigated coastal landslides at the village of
Sirolo and the town of Grottammare on the
Adriatic coast, illustrating instability arising from a
range of factors including seismicity.
In France, BRGM (based in Marseille) offered
their expertise in the form of national hazard
monitoring and management, with detailed
instability case-study sites at Roquevaire near
Marseille, Criel-sur-Mer near Dieppe, Salins-lesBains near Dijon, Laz near Geneva and
Schilienne near Grenoble.
l a n d
5 5
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/SWE/478
Beneficiary: National Board of Forestry
S-55182 Jnkping
Contact: Erik Sollander
Tel.: (46-36) 15 56 00
Fax: (46-36) 16 61 70
E-mail: erik.sollander@svo.se
Web site: http://www.svo.se/eng/life/
default.htm
Duration: 1 September 1998 to 31 December
2001
Demonstration
of methods of
monitoring sustainable
forestry
This is a common European challenge, but also an

opportunity to achieve voluntary coordination before
each country adopts its own exclusive system.
Introduction
This project has set out to enhance the
monitoring of sustainable forestry policies by
demonstrating practical and effective methods
of assessment. Special emphasis will be given to
the validity, accuracy and cost-effectiveness of
the methods used. The project is being carried
out by a partnership of forestry organisations in
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland and
France.
Technical solution
The project is a practical response from forestry and
environmental authorities to the call for
sustainability expressed in several pan-European
fora on sustainable forestry. It is a joint exercise
carried out by five EU countries and led by the
Swedish beneficiary, the Swedish National Board of
Forestry.
The project aims to support the individual

countries and the Commission in their work on
sustainable forestry.
In the first phase, the participants proposed

indicators, compared them and selected those
appropriate for their own national context. The
partners assessed 27 quantitative indicators. Various
criteria and indicators were adopted by the experts
for use within the pan-European process.

Almost every European country has found itself
having to deal with new circumstances when revising
its forestry policy in recent years. Some countries
have defined new indicators to gauge the
sustainability of their forestry stocks. However, some
of these indicators are not operational, and in several
instances further indicators are required. Some of
the indicators that are operational cannot be assessed
because data collection methods are still lacking or
because existing methods are too costly. The problem
is that countries need to act now to adapt their
monitoring methods to the new forestry policies.
l a n d
In the current execution phase, each country is

assessing the selected indicators in its demonstration
areas. Organisations including environmental and
agricultural authorities, forest owners' associations
and environmental NGOs have been invited to
participate in this process. Activities include the
implementation, adaptation and development of
monitoring methods to meet the requirements of
the revised forestry policies.
5 6
p r o j e c t s
The final phase will begin in the autumn of 2001. It

will include a workshop evaluation of the strengths
and weaknesses of the methods employed. This
workshop will take the results of the demonstrations
as the basis for a discussion on the degree of
sustainability achieved.
Results and impact

The forests in the five participating countries
represent more than 71 % of the total forest area of
the Community. Forests and the forestry industry
provide major services to the Community but
forestry may also cause environmental damage. This
project will provide tools to monitor such effects.
The project will deliver five different national

monitoring arrangements, along with gap analyses
identifying further development requirements, and
the national experiences will be compared. The
project will also stimulate discussion and
understanding of the subject in the relevant
European institutions, in the Member States and in
some neighbouring countries. This will lend support
to the Commission's work on a European forestry
strategy and will help it obtain forestry statistics that
are comparable throughout Europe.
l a n d
The project aims not only to enhance, coordinate

and complement a wide range of activities but also to
disseminate current monitoring methods and those
which will be validated in the near future between
the partner countries.
The project should lead to monitoring arrangements
which cover all aspects of sustainable forestry in the
regions concerned. A comparison of these
monitoring arrangements will improve our
understanding of what sustainable forestry means in
the European Union. The results will assist the
European Commission in its work on a strategy for
sustainable forestry.
5 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE99 ENV/A/396
Beneficiary: Amt der N Landersregierung
Abteilung RU4-Koordinierungsstelle
fr Umweltschutz
Landhausplatz 1
A-3109 St. Plten
Contact: Peter Santner
Tel.: (43-2742) 200 52 71
Fax: (43-2742) 200 52 80
E-mail: post.ru4@noel.gv.at
Web site: http://www.noel.gv.at/service/RU/
RU4/index.htm
Duration: 1 February 1999 to 1 August 2003
Nature in the garden

The aim of the 'Nature in the garden' environment
project is to promote the sustainable and ecological
development of green spaces in built-up areas in
Lower Austria: in private gardens as well as public
green spaces. The aim is to foster and develop the
trend towards gardens as natural recreational areas,
health-giving spaces and oases of nature
conservation.
Project partners are the coordinating office for

environmental protection, the regional agricultural
authorities and environmental consultants. In
implementing the project, there is close cooperation
with local authorities, firms, initiatives, schools,
nursery schools and the media.
Mix of measures and project team

The significance of the nature garden project stems
from the fact that in Lower Austria there are 326 000
gardens and two-thirds of the population use
gardens. The total area of green spaces and gardens is
15 000 ha. The project is being funded largely by the
LAND and the LIFE Environment programme and is
governed by the principles of Agenda 21 and
Community environment policy. The following
objectives are to be achieved over a total of five years:
The nature garden project is being run using the

multi-project management method with
development oriented planning by a core team of
around eight people, in which the main cooperation
and implementation partners are represented. The
coordination meetings are held every two to three
weeks, activities are summarised, future measures are
updated and questions relating to division of
responsibilities and funding are settled.
a 30 % reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides,

mineral fertilisers and peat products (based on
1999 figures of 3 000 tonnes of mineral fertilisers
per year, 5 000 tonnes of peat per year and 70 000
tonnes of active pesticide ingredients per year);
The mix of measures comprises eight fields:

1. bases and monitoring of performance (specialist
studies, surveys, etc.);
2. advice for private gardens (garden hotline, on-site
garden advice, talks for garden owners, nature
garden badge for natural gardens);
increased use of robust indigenous plants and

seeds;
a more environmentally-friendly range of garden
products in 'partner enterprises';
increased environmental awareness;
3. training, care and involvement of garden experts

(vocational schools, training of specialists,
specialist symposia);
upgrading of garden/green areas as leisure

spaces.
4. public information (pictures and articles in mass

media, newspapers and radio);
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5 8
p r o j e c t s
5. events (garden bus, garden programmes at around

10 fairs each year, festivals, award ceremonies);
radishes and salad rockets and thyme cuttings and

herb seasoning are being given out.
6. own media (garden guide with six information

leaflets on specific topics every year, action folder,
nature garden book, posters, etc.);
The following written information has appeared so

far:
garden guides (binder with complementary
subscription) with information leaflets on the
topics of nature gardening, Christmas trees and
candle scents, list of partner firms, vegetables,
herbs, compost heaps;
further information leaflets planned on garden
planning, layout and care (summer) as well as on
shrubs, trees and hedges (autumn);
the book Naturgarten der sanfte Weg zum
Gartenglck (Nature Garden The gentle way to
gardening pleasure) by Werner Gamerith;
posters, project folders, project advertisements, etc.
7. model municipalities and show gardens (creation

of a network);
8. market and partners: promotion and advertising of
the nature garden range of garden suppliers.
Project phases
The five-year project begins with a test phase, in
which initial experiences are collected and expanded
on in the three-year implementation phase. The final
evaluation and dissemination of results is scheduled
from the fifth year.
In model municipalities (such as Baden, Eschenau

and Amstetten), there are demonstrations of how
contributions can be made to natural gardening even
at municipal level. The first show gardens have been
opened in the Sparkassenpark St Plten, in the
Propstei Eisgarn im Waldviertel and in Randegg im
Mostviertel ('Kruterlebnis Hochperwarth'). The
network is to be expanded as the project proceeds
and publicised through garden guides and garden
excursions.
Interim results (June 2000)

This year the action is being further expanded
because of the great interest (68 % want more
information) and positive feedback (73 % find the
action generally very good or good), with the accent
now on herbs and vegetables 'Delicious: crunchy
vegetables and fresh herbs' (in 1999 the slogan was
'Now your meadow is full of flowers').
The project is also enlivened by the many garden

festivals held everywhere in Lower Austria, including
Eschenau, Bad Fischau and the 'Noah's Ark' show
garden in Schiltern. Also very popular are the
entertaining tips given in the course of fairs, games
of chance or information days by the garden bus
which tours the whole of Lower Austria.
Even in the first season (April-September 1999) the

N (Lower Austria) garden line had to deal with
2 400 enquiries. The number of on-the-spot
consultations given by environmental consultants
and the local agricultural authorities is increasing all
the time: while it was 670 in the 1999
season, this year the record level of 530
consultations was reached as early as
the end of April. As part of this
scheme, 320 private gardens were
awarded the coveted nature garden
badge for ecological and natural
gardening.
Moreover, it has so far been possible to
recruit 28 market gardens as partner
firms (list on request) and they offer
environmentally-friendly gardening
aids, suitable plants and seeds. The
organic seed packets given out free of
charge as part of the action are very
popular with garden owners. Last year
12 000 meadow flower mixtures were
distributed, this year seeds for spinach,
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5 9
p r o j e c t s
urban
LIFE95 ENV/B/184
Total budget: EUR 1 679 851.35
Beneficiary: Econet
Felix Roggemanskaai 8
B-1501 Halle
Contact: Johan De Beule
Tel.: (32-2) 356 56 56
Fax: (32-2) 356 38 39
E-mail: econet@unicall.be
Duration: 1 April 1995 to 1 April 1997
Promotion
of a regional
landscape in the shadow of
the capital of Europe
creating or reinforcing emotional attachments to

the locality;
Despite the fact that nature conservation,

landscape care and sustainable regional
development are generally accepted as
important social themes, they are seldom
integrated in the policies of local authorities.
establishing structural cooperative links between

the authorities and the players to guarantee the
results of the project into the future;
demonstration projects as a concrete means of
showing how the abstract objectives can be put
into practice.
Socially, there is a great need to create

meaningful employment for semi- and unskilled
workers.
The open spaces in the sphere of influence of
Brussels, the capital of Europe, are under
constant heavy pressure from urbanisation.
In our economic order ideas like sustainability
continue to take second place behind tendencies
towards dedicated land use and purely financial
considerations of capital gain.
Methodology applied and project

objectives
The LIFE project has paid heed to the problems of
urbanisation. In the methodology applied, much
weight has been given to:
informing and sensitising the political and social
players concerned;
developing activities which will make the open
spaces more economically viable as a
counterweight to urbanisation;
u r b a n
6 2
p r o j e c t s
This has been translated into a number of specific

project objectives:
setting up a regional landscape association
providing a structure for all nature conservation
groups, most agricultural and tourist organisations
and at least 10 local authorities to cooperate on
sustainable regional development;
establishing landscape as the foundation for
sustainable regional development by drawing up
municipal nature development plans for at least
three municipal authorities; substantially
increasing the budgets for nature
development/landscape care in the municipal
budgets in the region; preparing and carrying out
plans on a regional scale for rehabilitating sunken
paths and creating a network of watering ponds
for livestock;
developing tourism in a sustainable,
environmentally friendly and socially acceptable
way by promoting:
regular tourist trips on the Brussels-Charleroi
canal
cycle touring;
In the Velotheek non-profit-making association a

system has been developed in which bicycles are
made available to tourism operators under a
maintenance contract in order to rent them to
tourists. Various route-linked recreation projects (for
cyclists, ramblers, horseriders, mountain-bikers) are
being developed or carried out.
developing implementation plans for achieving

other objectives.
Lasting results two years after

the end of the project
Very many projects are being implemented to boost

the landscape. As regards the project objectives,
nature development plans have been drawn up in all
municipalities in the region (and now they are being
carried out year by year). This is increasing the share
of landscape care/nature development annually in
the various budgets. The promoter has put in about
80 pools and a new environment-friendly procedure
has been developed for stabilising sunken paths.
Some 30 km of sunken paths have already been
restored in this way.
The promoter's philosophy for achieving lasting

results was to set up partnerships with specialist
bodies for tackling the project objectives and to
organise 'spin-offs' able to carry on under their own
steam after the end of the project itself.
At the moment, two years after the end of the
project, the Zenne, Zuun and Zonin Regional
Landscape Association is a separate legal structure
recognised by the Flemish Government with, as
members, all the social players concerned plus the
Flemish Brabant provincial authority and 13
municipalities. The recognition of the regional
landscape association guarantees structural annual
financing of around EUR 175 000 and there are
currently three members of staff employed.
One of the most important results of the LIFE

project is the creation of jobs for semi- and unskilled
workers. At the moment, the promoter together with
a number of local authorities is employing about 30
semi- and unskilled workers full-time in intermunicipality nature and landscape teams and a social
workplace. Fifty or sixty unemployed people a year
are being trained to be all-round environmental
workers and taken to work. About 15 people are
employed full-time on the management side or as
landscape architects for the preparation of nature
development projects.
Canal tourism is organised in the non-profit-making

associations Kanaaltochten Brabant and Brussels by
Water, in which the provincial government and
various municipal authorities are participating. Some
20 000 tourists now visit the regional landscape in an
eco-friendly way every year on the boat trips.
u r b a n
6 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/NL/308
Beneficiary: IBC weg 2
Postbus 7
5680 AA Best
Netherlands
Contact: L. van de Ven
Tel.: (31-499) 36 85 07
Fax: (31-499) 36 85 07
E-mail: VenLvd@ibc.nl
Duration: 1 January 1996 to 1 April 1999
The Respecthouse: respecting

man and the environment
Reuse of construction and demolition waste

should be promoted (use of materials).
Reuse of construction materials and components
should be promoted (reuse of products).
Construction materials, components and
techniques should be used in such a way that the
house can be dismantled and the materials reused.

This project set out to demonstrate that it is
perfectly possible to build a house using
secondary raw materials. The aim was to show
the parties involved, their connections and
contacts that it is possible, using selected
materials and techniques, to build quality homes
at a reasonable cost and geared specifically
towards eventual dismantling and reuse. In
addition to winning the acceptance of the parties
involved, a secondary objective was to win over
(potential) purchasers and to gather broader
support from society in general, including
standardisation bodies and credit institutions.
The use of environmentally-unfriendly materials

and substances should be avoided.
Technical solution
The systems employed are as indicated below.
The main project criterion was to address all

aspects of sustainable construction, but with a
particular focus on integral chain management
of materials. As for the other aspects of
sustainable construction, the basic principle was
that the Respect-houses would have to comply
with the Eco ambition level of the National
House-Building Regulations (Nationale Pakket
Woningbouw). At this particular ambition level,
all fixed measures and 25 % of the variable
measures of the National House-Building
Regulations have to be implemented.
1. A system designed especially for the Respect-house

separates load-bearing elements and fixtures.
Known as the 'Bestcon flex system', it comprises:
the Bestcon system for floors and walls this is
a prefabricated concrete shell which can be
dismantled and reused;
flexible panel walls on the first floor, allowing
the space to be divided up easily;
adherence to the requirement of 'separation of
load-bearing elements and fixtures'.
Internal repartitioning and the relocation of
pipes and wires is possible without damaging
the floor.
The TIARA connection in the kitchen, giving
greater flexibility in the connection of kitchen
appliances.
The WISA water-saving toilet system, enabling
the toilet to be flushed with small quantities of
water and ensuring effective discharge into the
sewer system.
Principles
The focus on integral chain management translated
into five working principles.
Construction of the Respect-houses should not
involve the generation of construction or
demolition waste (prevention).
u r b a n
6 4
p r o j e c t s
Other solutions are:

2. Straightforward reuse of
construction components
(reuse of products):
framework made of
reclaimed wood,
roof construction: flat
roof made of reclaimed
rafters.
3. Construction materials
which contain recycled
material and can be
usefully re-employed when the house reaches the
end of its life:
Duration
Ten houses were built as Respect-houses in the
municipality of Tilburg (as part of a larger 40-house
project). Work proceeded according to the following
schedule:
window/door frames made of reclaimed wood,

cellulose insulation, made of recycled paper,
chipboard with low formaldehyde content, for
internal walls,
concrete with the highest possible percentage of
concrete granulate,
concrete with the gravel replaced by Lytag (fly
ash aggregate),
aerated concrete, with sand replaced as much as
possible by recycled aerated concrete,
PVC waste pipes with a centre layer of recycled
PVC,
PVC guttering with a centre layer of recycled
PVC,
concrete slabs with a particular granulate
percentage,
brick mortar with more lime than usual, so that
the bricks may be reused.
preparation
planning
construction
demonstration
January 1996 to September

1996
October 1996 to March 1997
September 1997 to April 1998
April 1998 to October 1998
Conclusion
The Respect-houses provided an opportunity to carry
out an exemplary building project. Despite a number
of practical sticking points during the construction
phase, it proved that reuse of building materials is a
practical option. We expect the notion of the Respecthouse to catch on and be more widely applied in
future. Provided a number of preconditions are met,
there appears to be considerable scope for limiting
the production of waste by using secondary raw
materials in construction.
4. Durable materials which have low environmental

impact and can be usefully re-employed when the
house reaches the end of its life, and have a
positive effect on the indoor environment:
It also proved possible to build houses without going

against the wishes and requirements of purchasers.
Respect for the environment can thus easily go hand
in hand with people's personal preferences.
PPC for internal waste pipes,

the truss of the dome-shaped roof is made of
durable wood,
the wall coating is ready for papering,
internal doors are filled with cardboard,
untreated Western Red Cedar is used as an
external wall cladding on the first floor.
An anhydrite screed is used. This is made from
FGD gypsum, a waste product deriving from the
desulphurisation of flue gas in power stations.
Anhydrite cannot be reused. To ensure that the
concrete floor beneath the anhydrite remains
recyclable, the two are kept apart by a separating
layer.
u r b a n
6 5
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/E/284
Beneficiary: Institut Catal de Tecnologia. CEIA
C/ Ciutat de Granada, 131
E-08018 Barcelona
Contact: Joana Diaz i Pont
Tel.: (34-93) 485 85 85/90
Fax: (34-93) 485 85 88
E-mail: jdiaz@ictnet.es
Web site: http://www.ictnet.es/terrabit/
castella/ciutat/pcgims.html
Duration: 1 November 1996 to 20 March 1999
Creation of an
information
platform for urban and
environmental planning and
management in municipalities,
open to media participation
Introduction

There is currently no way of ensuring that the
information available in a municipality reaches its
users and is used to plan and carry out action
leading to sustainability. The PCG was designed to
remedy that situation.
The PCG or Plataforma Ciudad Global (Global

City Platform) is an interactive information
system for compiling data on the current
situation and functioning of a municipality
(environmental, urban, social and economic
data, and data on the rural and natural
environment), presenting those data by
territorial unit and facilitating their analysis.
The basis of this project was a new communication

model which seeks to make good the deficiencies of
the current model, which has proved manifestly
inadequate.
The PCG uses the latest technologies

(geographical information systems and the
Internet) as a support for presenting
information in an attractive and innovative
fashion and for facilitating access, consultation
and analysis. This will encourage stakeholders to
take part in compiling, interpreting and
forwarding such information.
The PCG is a tool for small and medium-sized
municipalities to help them develop and apply
Agenda 21 policies locally, and generally to
devise and implement policies aimed at
sustainability.
u r b a n
6 6
p r o j e c t s
The platform was designed essentially as a tool for

urban management and planning, offering municipal
technicians and decision-makers an overall picture of
the situation they are dealing with and enabling them
to perform joint analyses on data from different fields
(social, urbanistic, environmental, economic, etc.). Such
global analysis is of great importance when studying
the possible causes of environmental problems or the
effects of measures taken, and when devising
municipal policies geared towards sustainability.
The PCG has been designed with two types of user
in mind: the municipal team responsible for policy
and decision-making, and citizens.
Apart from the platform, which is the main address,

the 'Find out' block contains other sections such as:
'Manlleu in figures' (a calculator of overall figures for
Manlleu, enabling users to calculate their own ratios
and indices); documents relating to sustainability,
green calculators (links to tools to calculate water
consumption, CO2 emissions, etc.) and other
interesting links.
Two versions of the application have been designed

with a view to satisfying the practical needs of these
two user groups: the local version and the Internet
version.
Technical solution
The local version of the PCG (PCG-L) is installed on
the local network of the town hall and access is
restricted to municipal staff. It was first installed as a
pilot scheme in the town hall of Manlleu.
Results and impact

The policy-makers and technical employees of the
municipality now have access to an updatable system
which provides them with structured information on
the various elements which determine the way a
town operates: its economy, society, the urban
environment, the environmental situation and the
rural and natural environment.
The PCG-L was designed to take account of its users'

needs in terms both of the information it contains
and of the way the tool functions, by incorporating,
for example:
versatility of content: the information
requirements of a town hall will vary according to
the measures and projects it is implementing; the
tool therefore allows the information it contains
to be easily altered and expanded;
adaptation to the way the team works: a major
effort was made to adapt the procedures for
introducing and maintaining the information
contained in the PCG-L to the work routines used
in the town hall, by integrating the PCG-L to a
large extent into existing office automation
systems;
user-friendliness: using the tool does not require
intensive training.
This is a highly useful tool for both daily

management and longer-term planning. The system
gathers data on the situation and trends in the
municipality and enables political and technical
strategies to be drawn up to correct negative trends
and to improve still further the results of positive
trends.
In addition, the possibility which the platform offers
of superposing and interrelating data makes it
possible to pinpoint causal links which without this
capacity to integrate information would be
apprehended only with difficulty.
The Global City Platform is basically a tool for

representing, analysing and disseminating the actual
situation of a municipality, while at the same time
gathering the various interpretations and opinions of
its citizens on that situation.
For students and technicians of the urban system,

the platform provides up-to-date and detailed
information for their work and makes it possible to
assess and draw conclusions about the way the
municipality is operating and improvements which
could be made.
The Internet version is organised in two major

blocks: 'Find out' and 'Give your views'. The first
contains all the addresses which PCG users may
access to obtain information about their
municipality; the second offers interactive tools for
opinion and debate (discussion forum and electronic
mail with the town hall).
The platform's concentration and computerised

organisation of data greatly facilitates the task of
information gathering for this user group. The
information can be copied and processed, and taken
by users to produce analyses and maps for their own
requirements.
u r b a n
6 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/DK/344
Beneficiary: District Council of Inner Nrrebro
Postboks 2238
Sjllandgade 38
DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Contact: Nathalie Marstrand
Tel.: (45) 35 30 66 34
Fax: (45) 35 30 66 99
E-mail: nathalie.marstrand.inor@ipost.kk.dk
Web site: http://www.ecocity.dk
Duration: 1 February 1997 to 31 January 2000
Building the
eco-city: an
environmentally-sound
approach to local
administration through
cooperation between the local
authorities and the local
community
Introduction
The aim of the project was to implement

environmental policies in local urban planning
by developing methods which create
environmentally-sound local administration and
government.
Until recently, only smaller municipalities and

communities tended to adopt sustainable
development policies. By contrast, large urban
administrations have been less geared towards
implementing policies that demand a bottom-up
strategy and the active participation of local players.
The main task was to demonstrate a series of

measures supporting sustainable development
in an area (30 000 inhabitants) of central
Copenhagen, Denmark, through cooperation
between the local district council and grassroots organisations. The project delivered a
manual, which can be used to disseminate
practical results and experience with recycling
and reuse.
u r b a n
Most of Europe's population live in urban areas,

which account for the lion's share of resource
consumption, pollution and waste. It is essential, then,
that sustainable development becomes a concern of
urban government. A step in this direction was taken
in the 1990s, when experiments involving local
administration of large urban areas were carried out
all over Europe. The strength of local administration is
that the units are smaller, more efficient, less
bureaucratic and closer to local residents.
6 8
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

The steps taken by the eco-city project should make
it more attractive to stay in the city. The project
supported many environmentally-positive projects,
which make the demonstration district greener than
before. A number of visible, practical results were
achieved, which can be divided into two main areas:
1. The development of a model of cooperation
between NGOs, citizens, and the district council,
in which all parties have the opportunity to use
their resources optimally in working for a
sustainable district.
2. Devising and implementing concrete
demonstration projects, which provide much
experience and can be used as tools in future
comprehensive developments of sustainable urban
districts in accordance with the new objectives.
Technical solution
The ECO-city 9799 project was a demonstration
model for the development of an environmental
urban district. The project consisted of several ecoimprovement actions and was based on new forms of
cooperation between grass-roots organisations and
the district council, increased involvement of the
local community and a change in social behaviour.
The goal was increased environmental awareness and
shared responsibility for sustainable development in
densely populated urban areas. The project involved
collaboration between two local urban districts:
Indre Nrrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark, and
Lundby, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Practical work on the project improved the dialogue

between the district's citizens and institutions. Close
and constructive cooperation was established
between the district, the NGOs and the people,
which is a tool for achieving more effective
environmental planning.
The eco-city project demonstrated the
environmentally-friendly establishment of natureplaygrounds/outdoor areas, gave an overview of
institutional resource consumption and enabled
several institutions to achieve real savings.
The eco-city project supported a wide variety of

projects contributing to the environment and the
quality of life in the district. For example,
preparatory work and a number of pilot projects
eventually led to the creation of recycling centres
throughout the district. The district kept green
accounts, and this concept found its way into
institutions and housing associations. Environmental
nature-playgrounds, an environmentally-friendly
timber business, green jobs and many more
environmentally-sound elements were established.
The project also tested ways of integrating
environmental parameters into local planning and
administration, and supporting the development of
local environmentally-friendly production and
activities.
The waste project proved that it is possible to

increase waste sorting and recycling considerably.
Waste production was reduced by 40 %, in line with
the original target. The project also delivered a
practical framework for increasing the amount of
construction waste that is recycled.
Green training/education programmes and new jobs
and businesses were created under the project. This
shows new scope for a green approach to production
and business.
Project results, innovations and resulting new

knowledge have been summarised and synthesised in
a green manual as a guide to building an eco-city.
The green manual has been made available to the
public on the Internet, and at the same time
functions as a link between the project, local users
and the outside world.
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6 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/D/447
Beneficiary: Umweltreferat der Stadt Regensburg
D-Martin-Luther-Strae 1
D-93047 Regensburg
Contact: Hans-Joachim Hoffman
Tel.: (49-941) 507 10 07
Fax: (49-941) 507 20 07
Duration: 1 September 1997 to 30 August 2000
Development,
introduction and
implementation of an
environmental management
system in medium-sized
municipalities in Europe
Introduction
Technical solution
Recent experience has shown that the

proliferation of laws and regulations has created
more and more bureaucracy without any
commensurate improvement in environmental
protection. By contrast, the current EU action
programme places greater emphasis on
cooperation, with all groups of society sharing
responsibility for taking environmental
protection into account in all business,
administrative and domestic activities. This is a
precondition for sustainable development in
line with Agenda 21.
The objective of this project was to develop a

methodology for local authorities and to
demonstrate it in three towns in Europe. This system
should put local authorities in a position to comply
with the relevant environmental regulations and put
environmental policy into practice.
Among other things, this will also ensure continuous
implementation of measures to improve the
environment.
This project further developed the existing EC ecoaudit scheme tailored to the needs of industrial
firms in order to adapt it to local authorities. In this
context, the environmental management system is
not yet another rulebook but an instrument fitting
into existing structures to make sure that local
authorities take account of the environmental
dimension.

Towns and municipalities play a major role in this
connection because of their high consumption of
resources and emissions of pollutants. Town-dwellers
are both polluters and victims of pollution in equal
measure. Local authorities have to set an example of
environmental protection for their citizens to follow.
They should practise exemplary environmental
behaviour to keep pollution to a minimum. One
effective means of attaining these objectives is the
environmental management system provided for in
the EC eco-audit regulation.
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The project was conducted simultaneously in three

European towns: Regensburg (Germany), Wels
(Austria) and Karditsa (Greece).
It was coordinated and headed by Dr Hoffmann,
Head of the Department of the Environment in
Regensburg, and ran from 1 September 1997 to 30
August 2000.
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p r o j e c t s
Environmental programme
Results and impact
An environmental programme containing specific

measures for the next three years was compiled for
each pilot department in the three towns. Measure
by measure, the members of staff responsible were
designated and the resources available and schedule
were laid down.
Results
Selection of pilot departments

Three branches of the administration were chosen:
the parks and gardens department, the vehicle fleet
and the schools department.
Environmental management handbook

Environmental management handbooks were
compiled and presented to the departments and the
municipal authorities. Each consists of a general
section, identical for all three towns, followed by
specific sections tailored to the different conditions
and organisational arrangements in each town.
Motivation and information

The key to successful development and
implementation of the environmental management
systems in the pilot departments was to keep the
staff fully informed. Working parties were formed,
briefing sessions were organised and the work was
carried out in close cooperation with the staff
concerned.
Environment policy (environmental guidelines)

The environment policy for each town was
formulated, taking account of past decisions by the
municipal authorities on environmental matters. A
common environment policy was adopted by all
three towns involved.
Organisational structure
The existing organisational structures dealing
specifically with the environment in the three towns
had some points in common but there were also big
differences between them. For example, unlike
Regensburg and Wels, Karditsa had no Department
of the Environment when the project started,
although it has since set one up. The new bodies
organising the environmental management system
were successfully dovetailed with the existing
structures.
Impact
(a) The profile of the environment was raised
considerably in all three towns, since this project:
considerably raised the awareness of staff and
intensified their activities on environmental
issues;
made it possible to gain recognition, with the
aid of proposals to reduce consumption of
materials and fuel or to change processes;
cut costs for energy and other purchases;
set targets leading to a process of continuous
improvement (Kaizen).
Environment policy (environmental guidelines)

All three towns developed a common environment
policy (environmental guidelines) which was
approved by the municipal authorities responsible.
Environmental assessment
(b) The project led to the opening of a Department
for the Environment in Karditsa.
The environmental assessment was based on

checklists, materials balances and energy audits
compiled specially for each pilot department.
(c) The Regensburg Parks and Gardens Department

has already been validated. Preparations are now
being made to introduce the system in the other
pilot departments.
This included:
inventory
environmental analysis of jobs
site inspections
on-the-spot interviews.
(d) Preparations are being made to transfer the

results to the other municipal departments.
(e) The project generated an intensive exchange of
experience between the three towns, extending
beyond the subject of the project itself. For
example, Regensburg and Karditsa exchanged
refuse collection vehicles.
The data collected from the inventory were evaluated

by the ZREU (Centre for Rational Use of Energy and
Environment) together with local authority staff,
focusing, in particular, on identifying room for
improvement and ways of achieving it. These studies
laid the foundation for drafting the environmental
programme and the environmental management
handbook.
u r b a n
(f) Language was a formidable barrier, particularly

with staff on the spot. This made coordination of
the project as a whole and on each site
particularly important.
7 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/NL/183
Total eligible cost: EUR 2.1 million (including PV panels)
Beneficiary: De Groene Leguaan VOF (The Green
Iguana)
Middelweg 51
8715 EV Stavoren
Netherlands
Contact: Hendrik Gommer
Tel.: (31-514) 68 24 52
Fax: (31-514) 68 24 58
E-mail: Leguaan@leguaan.com
Web site: www.leguaan.com
www.leguaan.nl/pv
www.megapv.nl/mega
Duration: 1 February 1998 to 31 July 2000
The Iguana
project
demonstrates
affordable bio-ecological
houses constructed with a
fully-environmental approach
sources of supply that are being used up.

Consumers, building contractors, project developers
and authorities are insufficiently convinced of the
feasibility and the advantages of bio-ecological
houses. The aim of the Iguana project is to publicise
the advantages of bio-ecological construction.
Introduction
The Iguana project consists of eight show homes
with one company house and presentation space.
The original initiative came from Hendrik
Gommer and Elsa Visser. When looking for an
environmentally-friendly house in 1997 they kept
drawing a blank. 'Eco-friendly building' did not
mean much more than putting in a bit more
insulation and a water-saving showerhead.
Technical solution
There is less environmental pollution from the use of
renewable and/or recycled materials, while shape is
important as well (e.g. orientation to the sun).
Iguana homes, like the iguana, look to the sun

for their energy.
A balance was sought by using solutions both

cheaper and more expensive than traditional
building methods. The result was a medium-budget
home. Cheaper than normal was the wooden frame
construction and the use of EPDM as the roofing
material and larch as the facade coping. More
expensive was, in particular, the use of cellulose,
loam insulating walls and a solar greenhouse.

Present-day housebuilding has too great an impact
on the environment. This impact makes itself felt
throughout the whole lifetime of the building
materials. The main problems lie in the area of
environmentally-unfriendly materials, excessive
energy consumption during construction and
occupation of the house, large amounts of building
waste during construction and demolition, and
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This mode of construction, with 'breathing' walls

and vapour control/thermal buffer materials, can be
7 2
p r o j e c t s
said to produce a pleasant interior climate. Iguana

houses also save a lot of energy by being oriented to
the sun: plenty of glass on the south side and a solar
greenhouse. Through the use of natural materials the
houses are healthy as well.
systems being installed on Iguana houses, making

the Iguana project a testing area for PV systems in
existing structures. So much experience has been
gathered that the Green Iguana can now be said to
be an authority on photovoltaics in existing
buildings. This in turn has led to the involvement of
the MegaPV design office in the Iguana project,
which in the coming years is going to carry out a
practical experiment on the 'large-scale introduction
of PV' in cooperation with Novem, Essent and the
city councils of Leeuwaarden, Groningen and Assen
(www.megapv.nl/mega). One of the aims is to bring
in environmentally-neutral construction in the wake
of the introduction of PV.
Iguana houses are extremely suitable for heat pumps

and PV (photovoltaic) systems, so every Iguana house
can eventually become an energy-neutral home. This
is demonstrated in Stavoren.
Conclusion: results and impact

The Iguana project has received considerable
attention in the media. Just about every trade
journal has carried an article on it. Three films have
been made, including one by the EC. The Iguana
houses have above all been a source of inspiration.
But not many have been built so far. The technical
solution did not turn out to be the main problem in
the short term. Creating a bio-ecological house is a
complex business, too complex to be solved with a
single project. The client, the architect, the estate
agent, the provincial council, the town council, the
project developer, the contractor, the subcontractor
and the building worker all have to be advised and
convinced. The construction of a bio-ecological
house demands a great deal of know-how and the
parties involved do not have enough. Accumulating
know-how takes time and money and project
developers want to invest too little. Every time a new
contractor is brought in the same mistakes are made.
Lessons are learned only by practical experience.
Many model houses will therefore have
to be built before really sustainable
building becomes the norm.
In the Netherlands and even in other parts of

Europe the Green Iguana has more or less grown to
become a symbol of environmentally-neutral
construction. It will therefore focus attention for
years on the need for environmentally-neutral
construction. Thanks to the contributions of LIFE,
IPR, Novem, Friesland Province and SEV it will now
be able to stand on its own two feet and develop new
initiatives.
Nevertheless, the Iguana project can be

called a success. This has helped and is
helping to shake up the building world.
A new Iguana house is now being built
(July 2000) in Deventer. The Iguana
project is still being studied (SBR, SEV,
TNO-hout, NOVEM) and reports on
the Green Iguana still appear very
regularly in newspapers and/or trade
journals. An Internet publication
(www.leguaan.nl) and a subsequent
article have ensured extra attention for
sustainable building in Friesland.
The typical shape of the house points
to the need to orient new houses to
the sun. Building solar-oriented houses
led to as many as 16 different PV
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE99 ENV/A/394
Beneficiary: Magistrat der Stadt Wien
Magistratsabteilung 22
Umweltschutz
Ebendorferstrasse 4
A-1082 Wien
Contact: Ing. Wolfgang Khutter
Tel.: (43-1) 4000 99 88 211
Fax: (43-1) 4000 99 88 215
E-mail: khw@m22.magwien.gv.at
Web site: http://www.sylvie.at
Sylvie 'systematic
improvements to
inner-city residential areas'
assessments and conventional noise-abatement

planning have, as a rule, achieved too little.
Introduction
The Sylvie project has set out to examine the
scope for improving the noise situation in innercity residential areas and to identify ways of
reducing not only objective noise pollution but
also subjective noise nuisances. An area of Vienna
has already been selected in which to implement
the project. The practical results of the project
are to be turned into 'best practice' for use in
other parts of Vienna and in other EU cities.
Technical solution
The Sylvie project will do things differently. A
cooperative noise abatement procedure will be
developed in accordance with the principles of Local
Agenda 21 with a view to reducing noise levels in the
selected residential area. Sylvie has been designed to
produce action, which requires not only a dialectical
approach to the advantages and drawbacks of urban
society but also a methodical approach to
implementing the project. The project team will work
together with the residents of the selected area to
identify the most important noise problems and
develop ways of cutting noise levels. This will be
translated into action via pilot projects. Publicity will
play an important part in the Sylvie project. An
online noise information system will be set up as
part of the project, and a Sylvie web site
(http://www.sylvie.at), that will form part of this
information system, will describe the project for the
public. The cooperative noise abatement procedure
began in the autumn of 2000.

Noise is one of the most immediate environmental
problems affecting the European public. Noise
pollution in the densely-populated areas of European
cities usually exceeds both limit and guidance values,
while the subjective noise nuisance perceived by the
public continues to increase. According to estimates,
roughly 20 % of the European Union's population,
i.e. some 80 million people, are exposed to noise
levels considered intolerable by scientists and
medical experts (1996 European Commission Green
Paper). Noise abatement is thus an essential part of
municipal environment policy. In contrast to other
areas of environment policy, however, very little has
been achieved so far in terms of noise abatement
because of the ways in which noise operates and the
physical laws applying to it, and also because those
involved are too reluctant to take action. Expert
u r b a n
Results and impact

The following results are expected from Sylvie:
noise abatement in the selected noise-abatement
area in the wake of successful pilot projects;
7 4
p r o j e c t s
a modular online noise information system to be

set up as a communication and planning tool for
the City of Vienna;
improved communication and cooperation among
those involved (public, experts, politicians,
administration).
Work began on the project in October 1999. The
project will be completed within three years. A
workshop for international experts will be organised
during the second half of the project in order to
exchange results and experience.
u r b a n
7 5
p r o j e c t s
waste
LIFE95 ENV/GR/1057
Beneficiary: Municipality of Makednon
Town of Dispilio
Kastoria
GR-52100
Contact: Mr V. Tsaparas
Tel.: (30-467) 834 41/834 42
Fax: (30-467) 834 42
E-mail: ankas@otenet.gr
Duration: 1 January 1996 to 31 October 1999
Rehabilitation
management
and protection of the
biological reserve at the
neolithical lake settlement of
Lake Kastoria
The settlement was discovered in 1937, after a severe

drought, which caused a substantial decrease of the
lake water level. However, the excavations and studies
of the findings did not start right away. A group of
archeologists from the University of Thessaloniki,
under the leadership of Professor Hourmouziadis,
began the excavations four years ago. Since then,
there have been many important findings including
many clay vessels of various shapes and uses (for
cooking, storage), stone tools such as axes, knives,
stones for the rubbing of the cereals, stone bullets,
hooks, weights, animal and fish bones and petrified
seeds from the Neolithic Age. Three musical
instruments made out of different bones, some
statuettes, one petrified boat and some traces of
writing have also been found.
Introduction
This LIFE project concerns the rehabilitation
and management of the biological
environmental reserve of Lake Kastoria located
next to the paleo-environmental findings in the
area. The aim was to preserve and increase the
biological variety of the lake and to ensure the
coexistence of human-oriented actions and
natural environment.
The project involves a quite innovative and
demonstrative subject that promotes a not-sowell-known part of archaeology in Greece,
coupled with a sustainable tourist activity for
the area of Kastoria.
In that part of the lake there is no housing and no

human activities take place. There is rich aquatic, as
well as shore vegetation and a great number of birds,
which visit the area.
In the area of Dispilio, located next to the Kastoria

Lake, there are remnants of a Neolithic settlement
that dates back to 6500 BC.
Taking into consideration the above facts, there was a

need to look for possibilities of developing all the
abovementioned wealth from a recreational point of
w a s t e
7 8
p r o j e c t s
Special emphasis has been given in the information

and awareness-raising of children that have started
arriving from all over Greece. The scientific
community was also informed
through scientific articles and
announcements and a final
conference organised by the
beneficiary. It is noteworthy,
that the President of Greece,
Mr Stephanopoulos,
inaugurated the reconstructed
Neolithic settlement.
view, as well as protecting
the environment in
conjunction with pertinent
education and awareness
raising of the residents and
visitors.
Conclusion: results
and impact
The project consisted of the representation of the
Neolithic Lake settlement (wooden cabins, platforms,
utensils, tools, fenced fields, ovens, sheepfolds, dugout canoes in the lake and other auxiliary facilities)
and the Neolithic forest. It also included
construction of a visitor's centre and various
dissemination material and activities.
Technical solution
The implementation of this project began essentially
with the excavations in the settlement area. The
archeological analysis of the findings conducted by
the University team determined the design of the
representations (cabins, etc.) of the lake settlement.
The project has been placed among the tourist

attractions of the municipality and it has already
started receiving many visitors.
Conclusions regarding the arrangement, size, shape

and materials used for the original cabins were very
useful for the construction of the replica units. In
addition, the tools and utensils found during the
excavations were used as models for the
representations.
Currently, the beneficiary is formulating the plan for

the best projection of the project throughout Greece.
Special emphasis will be given to the visits of schools
which will have an educational purpose. Through the
representation of the lake settlement the visitor will
have the opportunity to come in contact with the
flora and fauna of the lake and will be able to fully
understand that the socioeconomic activities of
people can coexist harmoniously with nature.
Regarding flora and fauna, the excavation findings

revealed information about the species of animals
that lived in the area, as well as about the plants and
trees growing then in the area.
The latter information was also
used for selecting the trees and
shrubs that were planted in the
context of the project, thus
creating a representation of the
Neolithic forest.
Regarding the dissemination of
the project works and results, the
local residents as well as the
citizens of the Prefecture of
Kastoria were informed
constantly via press releases, TV
reports, town meetings, etc.
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7 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/DK/18
Total eligible cost: EUR 1 268 454
Beneficiary: Demex Consulting Engineers
Hejrevej 26
DK-2400 Copenhagen
Contact: Steen Hjelm Madsen
Tel.: (45) 38 10 89 70
Fax: (45) 38 33 13 17
E-mail: sl@demex.dk, el@demex.dk,
ce@demex.dk
Web site: http://www.demex.dk
Duration: 15 March 1997 to 15 March 2000
Research and
development of
technologies for the safe and
environmentally-optimal
recovery and disposal of
explosive waste
Ammunition and explosive waste has traditionally

been disposed of by open burning and open
detonation, which is unacceptable from an
environmental point of view. In recent years, much
attention has been paid to the problems of explosive
waste disposal, yet lack of technologies and facilities,
and failure to enforce the EU's waste legislation, has
meant that most European countries are still using
open burning or open detonation to dispose of
explosive waste in accordance with national
legislation and waivers.
Introduction
This project set out to research and develop
methods and technologies for recovering and
disposing of explosive waste. This included
hazardous industrial waste containing
explosives, and waste reacting explosively.
The beneficiary of this Danish project was
Demex Consulting Engineers A/S.
Demilitarisation processes are subject to a lengthy

list of regulations at various administrative levels.
Storage and transportation of military ammunition
and explosives are already covered by military
legislation such as NATO legislation, whereas civil
and military legislation on the management of
materials and waste still requires harmonisation.

With the end of the Cold War, and the new political
situation in Europe, huge amounts of ammunition
and explosive waste, including waste substances
containing explosives or reacting explosively, are
being decommissioned every year in the EU Member
States and other countries.
Technical solution
Unpublished NATO studies indicate that millions of

tonnes of decommissioned ammunition is currently
being stockpiled in Europe, including Eastern
Europe. The total amount has not been assessed.
w a s t e
The ultimate goal of the project was to seek

emerging and available demilitarisation technologies.
8 0
p r o j e c t s
Picture of the experiment setup for the UN-GAP test.

The test was applied on a nonexplosive shurry containing a
large percentage of
Nitrocellulose (NC).
The research and development work was carried out

in six phases comprising 12 tasks. The project studied
the sources, management, recovery and disposal of
explosive waste in Europe. It also surveyed and
analysed the best available technologies for recovery
and disposal.
The test phase involved researching and developing
selected methods for handling and disposing of
explosive waste safely. First to be tested was the
explosive behaviour of a slurry consisting of
trinitrotoluene and water. Disposal tests also
included mobile demilitarisation technologies and
closed detonation in chambers. With closed
detonation it was possible to treat whole devices or
ammunition parts. In addition, incineration trials
were conducted in a fluidised bed oven, in the
laboratory and finally at full scale.
In the last phase, the results were gathered, and
recommendations made for the management and
recovery of explosive waste.
Sren Larsen, from

Demex Consulting
Engineers Als with
part of the UN-test
equipment.
Results and impact

The fluidised bed oven tests
with trinitrotoluene proved that
it is possible to demilitarise
explosives in a safe, economical
and environmentally-acceptable
manner. The tests performed in
a closed detonation chamber
showed this method to be safe
and environmentally sound, but
very time-consuming.
Preliminary, unfinished safety
tests of slurry containing the
explosive nitrocellulose revealed
that it is safe to incinerate the
slurry in an existing nonspecialised full-scale incinerator.
The findings of this project
resulted in 10 recommendations
concerning legislation,
demilitarisation activities, costeffectiveness studies of the
disposal of explosive waste,
information and education on
demilitarisation actions,
research into explosive waste,
manufacturers' responsibility
for disposal of munitions, etc.
Removal from storage
Transportation and
intermediate storage
Preparation and
pre-treatment
Downsizing
Recycling
Treatment
Paper,
rubber,
plastic
Serap
metal
Waste handing
Disposal
in the
environment
Figure 2. Illustration of typical demilitarisation sequences.
w a s t e
8 1
p r o j e c t s
Cleaning
of waste
stream
L I F E 9 6 E N V / F / 37 0
Beneficiary: SIVOM du Pays de Born
Place du Gnral de Gaulle
BP 33
F-40161 Parentis-en-Born
Contact: Mrs Caroline Jarry
Tel.: (33-5) 58 78 56 00
Fax: (33-5) 58 78 91 36
Duration: 1 August 1996 to 31 August 1998
Pontex-les-Forges
household waste
processing plant: seasonal
peak-shaving by temporary
storage of bales of household
refuse and the like
possible to shave the waste production peaks by

processing the waste so that it could be stored for
subsequent energy recovery in the new incineration
plant that was being built at the same time.
Introduction
The project run by the intercommunal
association SIVOM du Pays de Born deals with
the management of household refuse
production peaks in areas where there are very
wide annual variations in population, with a
view to minimising the extra annual investment
and operating costs associated with this seasonal
trend.
With storage it would be unnecessary to design an

over-large incineration plant to cope with the
summer population influx and the incinerator's
turbine-alternator could be kept supplied over the
winter months with a view to selling the electricity
produced during this high-demand period.
The population of the Canton of Born (in the

south of the Bassin d'Arcachon, close to the
Atlantic Ocean) jumps from 33 000 to 100 000
during the summer months because it is a very
popular tourist region in the south-west of
France.
Technical solution
The household-waste production peaks were shaved
by two complementary technical means: a baling
press and bale storage boxes.
The 500 kg bales are stored for six months in 16

covered boxes (each of 500 m3), giving a storage
capacity of 6 800 tonnes. Each box is fitted with a
biofiltration system which neutralises the odours.
The waste can be stored in optimum safety
conditions thanks to a fire protection system with
permanent monitoring of the temperature inside the
boxes. The juices produced by the action of the
The project's purpose was to set up a technology and

an infrastructure for absorbing as cheaply as possible
an output of household waste which follows the
same pattern as the population trend. The local
communities in the SIVOM association wanted to
find a non-polluting solution which would make it
w a s t e
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p r o j e c t s
In addition it offers important guarantees as regards

environmental management (containment of
rainwater coming into contact with the bales) and
management of fire risk (partitioning of boxes).
Since the plant went into operation it has been
possible to close five municipal landfills and the
intercommunal landfill.
Eleven new jobs have been created in the framework
of this project.
As regards publicity, SIVOM du Pays de Born and its
industrial partner have produced a leaflet and a
model of the site which has been shown at a number
of events and shows. Talks have been given at schools
in the towns and villages of the cantons concerned
to show the children how the Pontex-les-Forges
incineration plant works and what benefits it will
bring.
baling press and the rainwater that may be brought

in during handling of the bales are collected and
treated in an aerated lagoon.
Cyclergie has several contacts on French territory for

developing units of the same type as that receiving
LIFE aid.
The industrial partner in this project is the firm

Cyclergie in the EDF (Electricit de France) group,
which designed, built and now operates the
household waste incineration plant.
ADEME, the Agency for the Environment and
Energy Management, has provided technical and
financial assistance for the project.
The Pontex-les-Forges plant has the capacity to treat
40 000 tonnes of waste per year and can deliver
24 MW of power for 7 500 hours per year (i.e. the
consumption of 2 000 families).

This project is very innovative in its concept and in
the simple techniques applied.
It is reproducible in numerous situations where the
production of household waste is subject to strong
seasonal variation (tourist areas, temporary events).
SIVOM du Pays de Born's project has shown that it is
possible to minimise overall investment by
optimising the size of the installation (saving
FRF 42 million), optimise heat recovery by
incinerating the waste during the period when the
energy can be sold to the national grid at the most
expensive rate (in the first months of operation
revenue was found to have increased due to storage of
the waste by some FRF 600 000) and stop the dumping
of untreated waste at peak production times and
during annual shutdowns for maintenance.
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/IRL/410
Beneficiary: Anjou Recherche
1, Place de Turenne
F-94417 Saint-Maurice Cedex
Contacts: Mrs Catherine Savart and
Mr Christophe Renner
Tel.: (33-1) 49 76 52 57/49 76 52 58
Fax: (33-1) 49 76 52 79
E-mail: catherine.savart@generale-deseaux.net
Duration: 2 September 1996 to 2 March 1999
Guaranteeing
the quality of
sewage sludge for agricultural
use by start-to-finish
management of the sewerage
system
Introduction
Recycling of the sludge from waste treatment

plants in agriculture is essential not only
because it provides an outlet for 2.5 million
tonnes of dry matter today and will do so for
three times that amount in 2005, but also
because of the value of this sludge as fertiliser
and the relatively low cost of this procedure.
Anjou Recherche, a water and waste-water research

centre in the Vivendi Group, and its industrial
partners ORVAL, SEDE and SFDE have proposed a
LIFE project aimed at guaranteeing the quality of
sewage sludge in order to ensure the sustainability of
the agricultural recycling method; some methods
To avoid the agricultural use of waste treatment

by-products becoming a method of 'horizontal
landfill', it is necessary to guarantee the
physical, chemical and biological quality of
sludge. The limitations of this method lie for
one thing in the risks of contamination by
organic and metallic micropollutants contained
in the industrial effluent entering the system,
and for another in the risks of contamination
of the environment due to the presence of
pathogenic germs in the sludge.
w a s t e
8 4
p r o j e c t s
have already had to be abandoned on account of

excessive micropollutants in the sludge.
To this end it was necessary to seek out and identify
the weak points in this disposal method and then to
secure complete management of the disposal cycle
from collecting the effluent from sewerage systems
to incorporating the sludge in agricultural soils, via
the treatment and conditioning of the sludge in the
pollution control plant.
Technical solution
The demonstration programme was in three phases:
evaluating areas of potential deterioration in
sludge quality throughout the production process;
hazard analysis using AMDEC and HAZOP
software, accompanied by analysis of the
agronomic value of the sludge;
As regards agricultural use, it became apparent that

the way to ensure the sustainability of the method
was by increasing the frequency of monitoring
records and making them easier to keep track of, and
by improving management, in particular by storing
sludge in batches and applying alarm thresholds to
the analysis results. Agronomic analysis of the
fertilising and improving value (organic and calcic) of
the sludge confirmed that spreading would be
beneficial.
establishing action to be taken in the whole area

of sewage disposal and agricultural use of sewage
once the levels of guarantees provided to sludge
users had been fixed;
working out procedures for carrying out the
above, validating them and carrying out a financial
evaluation.
Anjou Recherche's LIFE project has made it possible

to bring together all the players in the water cycle
(industrialists, operators, local authorities and
farmers) in a constructive and original effort, to
validate an innovative methodology which is
reproducible in most sewerage systems producing
sludge for agricultural use and to guarantee an
ecological solution for the long term (by taking into
account all the quality parameters chemical,
physical and biological of the sludge) in order to
meet the challenge of the ever-increasing volumes of
sludge produced.
The project was carried out on the Saint-Thibault-lesVignes site in the department of Seine et Marne, this
municipality's sewerage system collecting a good
proportion of household and industrial effluent; its
location in a highly urbanised zone and the
complete management of the treatment process
(water and sludge) by the partners on the same site
made it an ideal demonstration site.

The project made it possible to prepare a software
tool for evaluating pollution hazards in the
collection network. Called Actipol, this tool makes it
possible to know and hierarchise the hazards from
the discharge of pollutants connected with the
economic activities carried out in the area of the
sewerage system.
A real 'network policing' tool, Actipol can be used for
preparing an exhaustive list of non-domestic activities
present in a sewerage system, finding the emitters of
a particular pollutant, establishing a plan for drawing
up special discharge agreements and knowing which
pollutants are likely to be emitted by a particular
undertaking.
w a s t e
8 5
p r o j e c t s
L I F E 9 6 E N V / I T / 14 2
Beneficiary: Contento Trade Srl
Via Zorutti, 843
I-3030 Campoformido Udine
Contact: Mr Flavio Cioffi
Tel.: (39-0432) 66 25 55
Fax: (39-0432) 66 28 89
E-mail: contento@ud.nettuno.it
New process for

the extraction of
terpenes and other products
with high added-value from
the residues of citrus fruits
Introduction
In modern industrial plants, a tonne of oranges

yields about 400 kg of juice and over 600 kg of
residues. These residues are usually disposed of
as waste or require such expensive recycling
treatments (i.e. traditional dehydration
treatments) that they are regarded by producers
as a major problem.
Traditional citrus fruit treatments do not make it

possible to derive economic benefits from
production wastes, both on account of the
technology used and the low profit from the whole
process, which is not economically competitive.
There is, however, great economic potential in the
substances contained in citrus fruit.
Disposal of the waste in the form of landfill

causes both environmental and economic
damage to the ground where it is buried.
The LIFE terpene project tested a technology on a

pilot scale to exploit the organic residues of citrus
squeezing which are called 'citrus fruit pulp' and
which include rind, seeds, and residues, to obtain
marketable products such as essential oils, terpene
the natural solvent in citrus fruit pectin, pigments,
thermal-insulation granules with features similar to
those of cork, flour for animal feedingstuffs,
combustible material and filler for the production of
ecological paper.
The LIFE terpene project analysed the whole

citrus fruit production line, from cultivation to
juice production. This analysis comprised:
environmental and economic evaluation of
the processes used in the citrus line,
identification of critical points in the
processing,
study of innovative applications for
production residues,
determination of the mean characteristics of
citrus fruit residues,
development of recycling processes in the
laboratory,
experiments using the most promising
recycling techniques from the laboratory with
the pilot plant,
evaluation of the potential market for the
recycled products obtained.
w a s t e
Technical solution
Two different innovative treatment techniques were
combined. The first is a thermo-mechanical
treatment, recently patented under the name of
'PIDIC', that is used to extract essential oils and
terpenes from the utricles of citrus peel.
With this treatment, citrus fruit pulp undergoes a
sudden shift from high temperature and pressure
8 6
p r o j e c t s
conditions to a state of vacuum. This shift makes the

utricles explode and the terpene is expelled in
volatile form. The terpenic mixture is collected and
its ingredients are separated into essential oils and
terpenes by means of a condensation system which
lasts for about two minutes but which can operate
continuously, thanks to a dynamic supply system.
Citrus fruit pulp treated with the PIDIC system
generates micro-bubbles in the vegetal structure,
clearly increasing the surface exposed to the air; the
effect produced is called 'texturisation'. Texturisation
reduces the energy consumption of the subsequent
processes needed to dehydrate the deterpenated
citrus fruit pulp.
The second process Vomm turbo-drying involves
the feeding of thin strata of material into a
cylindrical tank where it is subjected to intensive
turbulence and heat by convection from the hot
airstream and by conduction from the heated tank
wall, with great thermal efficiency. The material is
thus dried rapidly, uniformly and without risk of
burning. The turbo-dried citrus fruit pulp can be
processed to produce a determined size of granule;
the granule size chosen depends on the final product
to be obtained.
fillers for paper, replacing the traditionally used

mineral fillers,
combustible material with a high calorific value,
flour for animal feedingstuffs (very wholesome
and with excellent nutritional characteristics),
thermal-insulation granules with similar features
to cork.
The flour for animal feedingstuffs is obtainable at
costs which compare with those of vegetable
foodstuffs with similar nutritional characteristics (e.g.
barley). For instance, a PIDIC plant capable of
treating 15 000 tonnes/year of citrus fruit pulp costs
about EUR 750 000 and has a 71-tonne/year output of
99 % pure terpene; a Vomm turbo-drying plant costs
about EUR 1 500 000 and yields 3 384 000 tonnes/year
of flour for animal feedingstuffs.
Results and impact

Using the two processes described in combination, it
is possible to obtain different products from citrus
fruit pulp with high environmental compatibility and
at low cost.
Some innovative products based on the by-products

of citrus fruit pulp were obtained, such as:
Using only the PIDIC process, it is possible to obtain:

deterpenated essential oils, usable in the food
industry, with a very low oxidised terpene content
(which causes allergies) and terpenic wax content
(which causes instability in the product);
terpene (d-limonene), a
natural solvent which can be
substituted for highly
polluting chlorinated organic
solvents such as
trichloroethane,
trichloroethylene and
perchloroethylene in many
industrial applications.
Using the PIDIC process
combined with the turbo-drying
process it is possible to obtain,
at competitive costs:
pectin, usable in the food
industry,
pigments for colouring,
ecological 'citrus paper'

paints for wood and metal
impregnating agents for wood and stone
ecological paint for walls.
The extraction process is very efficient and allows

essential oils of very good quality to be obtained
using little energy, as reported in the table below:
Efficiency
of process
(= % of essential
oils extracted)
Essential
oil quality
(content
of aldehydes
expressed in
% of citral)
Energy
consumption in
extraction phase
(for each kg
of extracted
essential oil)
Thermal
treatment
duration
New PIDIC process
9496 %
1.2 %
1.4 kWh
2m
Solvent extraction
98100 %
1.0 %
250 kWh
4h
Extraction using steam
98100 %
0.8 %
130 kWh
1h
Supercritical CO2 extraction
98100 %
1.3 %
100 kWh
1h
Manual squeezing
(excluding centrifugation)
4550 %
1.3 %
1.0 kWh
Process
w a s t e
8 7
p r o j e c t s
L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 313
Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de Villarrobledo
Pza. Ramn y Cajal, 1
E-02600 Villarrobledo (Albacete)
Contact: Francisco Segovia Solana (Mayor)
Tel.: (34) 967 14 50 79/967 14 70 71
Fax: (34) 967 14 51 82
E-mail: avdoadl@arrakis.es
Web site: http://www.arrakis.es/~avdoadl/
life.htm
Duration: 1 October 1996 to 7 January 1999
Recycling old
car tyres (LIFE-ruenuv)
and to emit noxious vapours. Secondly, a pile of tyres

harbours a large quantity of cavities in which water,
dirt and animals can accumulate. All this leads to a
high level of pollution and makes the storage and
destruction of tyres a matter of serious concern.
Introduction
Villarrobledo, a town of some 23 000 inhabitants
in the province of Albacete (Castile-La Mancha),
is a road transport hub of major importance for
communications in Spain.
Proper management of such waste ought to involve

recycling it and using the recovered materials as a
source of energy or raw materials in order to help
conserve natural resources and use them rationally.
Though there are problems with each stage in the
management of scrap tyres, criteria can nevertheless
be applied to minimise them, with very positive
results. New technologies make it possible to recover
almost the entire outer cover of a tyre.
This fact has made it home to a large-scale

transport industry, which has gradually
specialised in the transportation of hazardous
goods.

Spain produces an estimated 250 000 tonnes of scrap
tyres every year. The size and shape of tyres make
them an awkward waste product and a special
challenge for disposal and reutilization. One of the
main objectives these days is to reduce the serious
environmental impact which the uncontrolled or
even controlled storage of such waste can produce.
Options for disposal advocated up to now have

ranged from retreading, for subsequent reuse, to
burial and incineration, the latter two constituting a
substantial source of environmental damage.
The way to avoid harming the environment is to
promote retreading, and appropriate reuse of the
various components of tyres once they are scrapped.
When the project started, the autonomous

community of Castile-La Mancha had already
accumulated around 36 000 tonnes of disused tyres,
to which a further 9 000 tonnes were being added
each year. This meant that 1.5 million tyres were
being discarded in the region every year.
From the economic point of view, the costs

associated with recycling processes are high, and
there is little legislative support for the recovery of
this kind of material.
Technical solution
The disposal or destruction of such materials is one of

the main problems confronting authorities concerned
with preserving the environment. Firstly, direct
exposure to the sun causes the materials to deteriorate
w a s t e
The Town Council of Villarrobledo, leader of the

project, secured the cooperation of the Higher
8 8
p r o j e c t s
use by both traditional and innovatory industries

of the material obtained from scrap tyres.
These techniques can compete with alternative
techniques which are not significantly more efficient
than separation techniques (pyrolysis and cryogenic
processing). At the same time, they are a much better
option than techniques such as incineration without
energy recovery or the controlled or uncontrolled
dumping of scrap tyres, with the environmental
damage which that causes.
The LIFE ruenuv project has devised a local solution
which is nonetheless compatible with any centralised
solutions that might be adopted.
Technical School for Industrial Engineers, the

Faculty of Chemical Sciences and the Institute for
Regional Development of Castile-La Mancha
University, together with other companies and
institutions. The aim of the participants' research was
to find satisfactory solutions to the problem of the
uncontrolled storage of scrap tyres. Their efforts
focused on taking traditional techniques for
disposing of used tyres and adapting them to
produce a cost-effective way of turning the tyres into
rubber powder.
What has been developed is a technology which can

be applied industrially to solve the problem of
storing tyres in the open air, transforming them
instead into consumer products and so contributing
to the sustainable development of the region's
manufacturing industries.
The project delivered a pilot plant which

demonstrated that the environmental problem
caused by the accumulation of scrap tyres can be
resolved in an entirely environmentally-friendly way
while making use of the main components of tyres,
namely rubber and steel, to produce
the following articles:
noise barriers on roadways

footwear products
handles for cutlery and tools
street furniture.
Results and impact

The technical solution makes it
possible to use tyre components
(rubber, fabric and steel) to produce
other consumer products and in this
way also contributes to the sustainable
development of the recycling industry.
This initiative has shown that the
technical problem of disposing of and
recovering tyres can be solved by
employing solutions effective at local
level, without having to use major
processing plants around the country.
This project is championing the real
w a s t e
8 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/FIN/326
Beneficiary: Solid Waste Management of West
Uusimaa Ltd.
Lohjanharjuntie 480
FIN-08100 Lohja
Contact: Stig Lnnqvist
Tel.: (358-19) 357 55 55
Fax: (358-19) 357 55 57
E-mail: stig.lonnqvist@rosknroll.fi
Duration: 1 June 1997 to 31 December 1998
Development of
a method for the
controlled closure and
after-care of landfills, using
waste materials from energy
production and industry
In line with the principle of sustainable

development, waste and landfill regulations now
require that waste be reduced and waste materials
utilised wherever possible. Landfill regulations also
specify the characteristics of landfill structures, and
countries are finding it financially difficult to
modernise all their landfills to meet the new legal
requirements, so that for several sites the only option
is closure and after-care.
Introduction
This project set out to create a new method of
economical and environmentally sound landfill
closure. The aim was to reduce the amount of
natural material used in landfills and to
promote the reuse of industrial by-products and
prevent their uncontrolled dumping.
As a pilot case, the Koivissilta landfill site at
Vihti, Finland, was closed and underwent aftercare over the period 1997-98. The building
materials used were fibre sludge from the forest
industry and fly and bottom ash from power
plants.
Use of non-renewable natural soil material causes

substantial changes to the landscape, the
environment and the ecosystem. Moreover, it is often
difficult to find suitable natural materials, which
means synthetic materials have to be used, and
because these products are industrial they tend to be
fairly expensive.
Technical solution
When old landfills are closed, they have to be buried

beneath a 2-m-deep layered structure. The large
amounts of suitable natural material this requires
cannot be used without enormous environmental
impact.
Closure and after-care were implemented at the

Koivissilta landfill at Vihti, Finland. The method
included instructions for the materials studies and
preliminary landfill surveys as well as for structural
planning and construction. Environmental impact
w a s t e
9 0
p r o j e c t s
assessment and monitoring were also a vital project

component.
lorry loads. In Finland alone hundreds of landfills

will be closed and given after-care in the near future.
The use of natural earth has an enormous impact on
the environment, the landscape and the ecosystem.
It is hard to find sufficient masses of earth, making
it necessary to use artificial materials and to
transport materials long distances. This causes extra
expense and damages the environment.
The first step was to study the conditions prevailing

at the pilot site landfill in order to determine where
technical measures were required. The landfill
posed a potential risk as hazardous waste had been
dumped in it. Field investigations were carried out in
autumn 1997.
The method developed here is suitable for local

construction. Raw materials can often be obtained
from nearby paper mills and power plants (practically
100 % of paper-mill waste can be utilised), and waste
disposal costs are reduced. Overall landfill
construction costs are far lower than when
traditional materials are used.
The geotechnical and environmental characteristics

of the waste materials were studied, and the results
compared with the maximum permitted levels of
toxic substances in construction materials used in
earthworks and with other current guidelines.
The environmental risks posed by the landfill were
also estimated, and existing information on
prevailing conditions and environmental impact was
studied carefully. Measurement technology and
equipment had to be developed and customised for
the materials studies. The homogenisation of paper
sludge was tested in the laboratory. The compactness
of materials was determined using a whole range of
dynamic compaction workloads. Tests were also
made of how the varying water content of materials
affected compaction.
SURFACE STRUCTURE
1.0 m
COVER/VEGETATION
LAYER
0.5 m
0.5 m
A monitoring programme was devised for the

Koivissilta landfill test site and for landfill closure in
general. Monitoring was performed to check the
technical quality of the construction work and to
minimise the environmental risk.
GAS VENTING WELL
Results and impact

Figure 1. When the old landfills are closed, a 2 m structure of covering
layers is required. The use of this amount of suitable natural soil
materials is not possible without enormous changes in the environment.
This project demonstrated that the landfill structures

could be built almost entirely using waste materials.
Large-scale use of natural materials in landfill
protection structures proved to be unnecessary.
Building costs can thus be greatly reduced. Similar
cost savings can be made in industrial waste
management. Demonstrated materials with potential
were: fibre sludge from the forest industry, fly ash
and bottom ash from power plants and composted
sewage sludge.
Use of waste materials promotes sustainable
development by reducing the amount of waste
disposed of and the amount of natural soil needed
for construction purposes. It also provides new
options for industrial waste management, which is
otherwise becoming increasingly expensive. Landfill
closure requires huge amounts of earth: one hectare
of protective surface covering requires about 3 000
w a s t e
9 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/F/191
Beneficiary: Valoref SA
Zone Industrielle la Croisire
F-84500 Bollne
Contact: Marc Faverjon
Tel.: (33-4) 90 40 50 00
Fax: (33-4) 90 40 13 42
E-mail: valorefolivierortega@
compuserve.com
Duration: 1 May 1997 to 30 April 2000
Implementing a
refractory waste
management and recycling
process
Introduction
which are used in the manufacture of special glasses,

or by deposits left behind by the fuels used.
Set up in 1987, the firm of Valoref specialises in

the selective demolition of glass kilns and the
recycling of refractory waste after sorting and
processing. At the end of its life a glass kiln
produces more than 40 different kinds of
refractory waste.
Valoref's LIFE project aims to double the waste

recycling rate by setting up a specialised and
comprehensive procedure incorporating aspects of
rationalisation of methods of sorting and better
characterisation of the sorting residues.
Valoref manufactures a wide range of reusable

materials and secondary raw materials (powders,
grains, refractory shapes, etc.); each of these
products meets precise specifications and is
covered by a factsheet. The raw materials are
marketed under registered trademarks.
Technical solution
The project consists in the industrial validation of
certain techniques and know-how developed by
Valoref on a new industrial site (Bollne river port)
and the startup of an installation specialising in the
general treatment of refractory waste.
In 1996 Valoref was treating 8 000 tonnes of

waste per year with a recycle rate of 60 %. It is
the only firm of its kind in Europe.

Glassmakers have to demolish and rebuild their kilns
every five to eight years. They alone therefore
produce more than a quarter of the 250 000 tonnes
of refractory waste created every year in Europe.
Apart from that containing chromium, the refractory
waste in itself does not pose a threat to the
environment, the problem is that it may be
contaminated by certain heavy metals, such as lead,
w a s t e
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p r o j e c t s
The proposed treatment comprises the following

stages: studying the kiln, optimising the selective
demolition of the kiln, receiving and analysing the
waste, setting up a mobile selective sorting line
permitting on-site sorting of the demolition residues,
sorting by categories and destinations, crushing and
additional cleaning treatments, inspecting and
conditioning the secondary raw materials, treating
and managing the non-recyclable fraction before
disposal.
This project is monitored and supported financially
by ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy
Management).

The equipment produced at the new site of Bollne
river port permits optimised management of the
waste. Fifty per cent of the waste treated is recovered
in the form of secondary raw materials and 40 % as
granulate. Only 10 % goes to a final storage centre.
Certain waste (siliceous refractories, waste containing
chromium, electro-cast refractories of the AZS type)
will from now on be completely recycled.
The average cost of treatment is FRF 325 per tonne
treated ex waste production site. Taking into account
the development of European and French legislation
this treatment cost, coupled with efforts to recover
recycled materials, makes it possible to achieve a
suitable level of profitability for products which on
the face of it have low intrinsic value.
The closeness of the industrial site, with the river
link, will favour the less polluting transport of the
waste by barge (62.50 % of the waste being brought
by this means).
The mobile sorting line will reduce the amount of
waste transported because a large proportion of it
(chiefly granulates) can be treated and recovered in
the kiln demolition zones.
The project has made it possible to create around 10
new jobs and considerably improve the workers'
working conditions. The methods and techniques
put to work have already allowed Valoref to develop
its activity in other industrial sectors using kilns,
such as steelmaking and metallurgy, and at the
national level.
A leaflet and reports in the specialised press and at
conferences and shows have made it possible to
disseminate the environmental improvements
brought by this LIFE project very widely.
w a s t e
9 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/E/225
LIFE contribution: EUR 374 074 (17.59 %)
Beneficiary: S.A. Reverte
C/Afueras, s/n Castellet i La Gornal
E-08720 Barcelona
Contact: Modesto Revert
Tel.: (34) 93 85 20 52/977 168103
Fax: (34) 93 85 22 52/977 168112
E-mail: modestr@sa-reverte.com
Duration: 1 January 1997 to 1 November 1999
Development
and installation
of a pilot unit to recover solid
waste and sludge from the
marble industry
Introduction
and dust sludge containing approximately 20 % of

solid elements.
The area encompassing the municipality of

Albox and its neighbouring municipalities in
the Province of Almera (Andalusia) has a long
tradition, dating back to the fifth century, of
quarrying and working white marble. This
activity is still in full swing today, and directly
or indirectly it employs a large proportion of
the local population.
Both the solid waste and the sludge constitute a

specific problem with severe environmental
repercussions in that they are disposed of in
controlled tips, from which the sludge contaminates
the water table, affecting neighbouring districts.
Up to now, two types of action have been taken to
minimise the environmental problem: disposal of the
solid waste and sludge has been concentrated in
semi-controlled tips, and containment dykes have
been built at the ends of these tips to prevent
adjacent areas being affected, but this has not
prevented a high degree of pollution in the
environment and in the water table.
The last decade has seen a notable increase in

the number of companies dealing with marble,
the extraction and commercialisation of which
reached a peak in 1991, when approximately
1 million tonnes was quarried and marketed.
Technical solution
The Reverte company has sufficient knowhow as a

manufacturer of CaCo3 to develop and run the
demonstration facility, which is capable of absorbing
this waste production. The new unit uses a dry
grinding method developed by S.A. Reverte to
process the solid waste and produce carbonates of
great whiteness, low grading and high quality, which
can be used in a number of industries.
No more than 30 % of the white marble extracted

from quarries and worked can be used for
construction purposes, which means a large volume
of waste is also produced: this comprises quarried
stone which cannot be used for construction on
account of its size or fragmentation, and cuttings
produced in the workshop which consist of a water
w a s t e
9 4
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

The LIFE-financed part of this project
(milling section) is the first such
experiment in Europe to take solid
and liquid marble waste and
transform it into calcium carbonate,
for which there is considerable
industrial demand. At the same time,
the environmental impact caused by
storing this kind of waste in quarries
and ponds is reduced.
The development of a pilot facility
capable of recovering waste from the
marble industry has produced
significant benefits, both
technological and environmental,
including:
recovery of approximately 280 000
tonnes of solid waste per year;
transformation of that waste using dry
micronising into calcium carbonates of different
gradings for applications in the painting, plastics,
rubber, ceramics, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
industries;
recovery of approximately 64 000 tonnes of white
marble sludge from cutting and polishing
workshops in the area around the facility; this type
of waste has been causing serious pollution of
both the soil and the water table;
transformation of this sludge into wet-process
ultramicronised calcium carbonate slurries so that
it can be used by the paper industry to
manufacture paper and coating slips.
Essentially, then, the project consisted in designing a

pilot unit to recover waste generated by the marble
industry, such waste products being easily classified
according to their state, i.e. solids produced when
the marble is quarried or is cut in the workshop, and
water/marble sludges produced in the cutting and
polishing workshops.
The facility, which is located close to the existing
landfills, has five basic processing operations:
secondary grinding and drying

dry micronising
wet ultramicronising
removal and loading into tanks
bagging, palleting and loading into big bags.
This demonstration project is

potentially reproducible throughout
the calcium carbonate sector,
especially in those areas with intensive
exploitation of white marble deposits.
w a s t e
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p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/SWE/311
Beneficiary: ScanArc Plasma Technologies AB
PO Box 41
S-813 21 Hofors
Contact: Sven Santn
Tel.: (46-290) 230 50
Fax: (46-290) 200 75
E-mail: mail@scanarc.se
Web site: http://www.scanarc.se
Duration: 1 August 1997 to 31 December 1998
Pilot-plant tests
and development
of the PyroArc process
Introduction
Technical solution
The PyroArc process was established to treat all

types of waste and transform it into energy, nonleaching slag and recyclable metals. The main
objective of this LIFE project was to produce the
data needed to build the first commercial
PyroArc plant. Such a plant could form part of
an overall waste-handling system for municipal,
industrial and hazardous waste in a community
numbering 40 00050 000 inhabitants.
PyroArc is a waste gasification process that converts

almost all types of waste material into a clean fuel
gas and an inert amorphous slag usable as a
construction material.
Organic material is converted into a fuel gas, which is
used to generate electricity and produce steam and
hot water. Inorganic components in the waste are
recovered as a non-leaching slag and as a metal alloy.
The slag can be used for construction purposes,
while the metal bullion can be sent to a refinery for
the recovery of valuable metals. Volatile metals are
recovered in the gas-cleaning system as oxides, and
supplied to a metal producer for metal recovery.

There is keen demand throughout the world for a
more environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient
way of handling waste materials. As its only end
products are energy, reusable slag and recyclable
metals, the PyroArc process is an attractive option.
Energy can be recovered from the process as hot

water, steam and power. The bulk of the energy is in
the produced fuel gas, which can be used in a gas
engine to generate power or simply be combusted to
produce steam or hot water. The other large energy
flow from the process is the sensible heat of the
produced gas, which with a dry gas-cleaning system is
cooled in a boiler where steam and/or hot water can
be produced.
The PyroArc process had already been developed on

a small pilot-plant scale, and short tests had shown
excellent decomposition of organic hazardous
material and the ability to produce a leachingresistant homogeneous slag from the inorganic part
of the waste. Discussions with potential customers
had made it clear that further tests on a larger scale
and of longer duration were required before the
process could be brought into commercial use. This
LIFE project was thus set up to transfer the whole
process to a larger scale, i.e. to increase the capacity
of the pilot plant and the duration of the tests.
w a s t e
The areas studied in the project were process

parameters, material and energy balances and
optimisation of thermal efficiency. Optimising the
design for the entire process, including materials
handling and gas cleaning, was one of the main
activities. The environmental dimension was taken
into account by measuring the effluents for different
9 6
p r o j e c t s
waste materials. Slag composition was optimised for

good leaching properties and metal recovery.
halogenated compounds such as freons. Thus one of

the first commercial applications of the process will
probably be for the destruction of freons, where the
process is very effective and the investment costs
relatively small.
The waste materials used in the pilot-plant tests were

selected to reflect the types of waste generated in a
community, i.e. sorted municipal waste, car
shredding waste, tannery waste, electronic scrap and
even hazardous waste.
The upgrading of the pilot plant was successful. The

i ncreased capacity and the possibility of performing
longer tests made the approximation to commercial
operation more reliable.
The main difference between the gas produced in the

PyroArc process and gas from a conventional waste
incinerator is that the PyroArc gas is a combustible
fuel gas. Gas from conventional waste incinerators is
already fully combusted due to the presence of excess
oxygen. For the same type of waste, the PyroArc
process produces about half the amount of gas
produced by an incinerator. The advantage of this is
that the size of the gas-cleaning equipment is
reduced, making for lower investment costs.
The process has many advantages over waste

incineration. It minimises the amount of effluent
that needs to be disposed of, and completes the
decomposition of dioxins. The dioxin content of the
produced fuel gas is well below limit values even
before the gas is cleaned. In comparison, many waste
incinerators produce gas with a dioxin content 2050
times the limit value, which is then removed in the
gas cleaning along with the fly ash. The PyroArc
process can also deliver complete destruction of
Tests with different waste materials demonstrated

that virtually all types of waste could be treated in
the process with good results. The main limits are
the heat value and carbon content of the waste.
Where the waste contains a large amount of valuable
metal, this is tapped from the gasifier as molten
metal. The best example is electronic scrap, where a
copper alloy is produced which contains all the
noble metals found in such waste before it is
processed.
Results and impact
w a s t e
9 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/FIN/566
Beneficiary: Kemira Chemicals Oy
PO Box 20
FIN-71801 Siilinjrvi
Contact: Asko Srkk
Tel.: (358-10) 86 12 15
Fax: (358-10) 862 60 00
E-mail: asko.sarkka@kemira.com
Duration: 1 September 1998 to 30 June 2001
Disposal
management
system for utilisation of
industrial phosphogypsum
and fly ash
The environmental benefits from utilising industrial

by-products in soil construction are diverse. If these
materials like phosphogypsum could be applied in a
controlled and environmentally-safe way in
construction, the need for waste handling decreases
and rock and gravel are less needed. Thus the
landscape could stay virgin and untouched.
Introduction
This project, locating in Siilinjrvi, Finland,
deals with phosphogypsum, which is a byproduct of phosphoric acid plants, and with fly
ash, which is a by product of energy plants. The
aim is to demonstrate a new management
system to increase the utilisation of
phosphogypsum and fly ash as soil construction
materials in an environmentally-safe way.
Technical solution
The new management system is being tested in

two construction sites, i.e. in renovation of frostdamaged roads and in covering a municipal
landfill.
The increased utilisation of these by-products

contributes to the sustainable development by saving
significant quantities of natural soil materials, by
protecting ground waters and natural landscape, and
by reducing the amount of industrial wastes as well
as the need for landfills. The material management
system is a very new way to set aside the problems in
connection with the disposal of phosphogypsum and
fly ash. The system is based on seven distinct
innovations the integration of which ensures that the
project objectives are met.

In Europe (including Russia) there are over 30
phosphoric acid plants producing phosphogypsum as
a by-product. The total annual production of the
phosphogypsum is more than 21 million tonnes. Only
a small amount of this material can be utilised. Many
other branches of industry are also having similar
problems with their by-products. For example, the
power plants in the EU are producing 42 tonnes of fly
ash per year, for which they are constantly searching
new recycling and utilisation methods.
w a s t e
The project is carried out as two pilot structures

based on the extensive use of phosphogypsum:
renovation of a frost damaged gravel road in
Maaninka municipality;
9 8
p r o j e c t s
closing of a municipal landfill in Siilinjrvi

municipality.
The technical and environmental properties of the
materials will be tested and evaluated before, during
and after the constructions.
The demonstrative project for the utilisation of
phosphogypsum and fly ash will be carried out in a
plant scale. There are three management tasks:
laboratory tests for phosphogypsum and fly ash,
construction of two demonstration pilot sites/roads,
and technical and environmental impact assessment.
The project started in 1998 and will take three years.
In summer 2000, the project is in mid-phase having
finalised the pilot road constructions. The detailed
follow-up measurements and evaluation of results are
going on. The laboratory tests on phosphogypsum's
and fly ash's applicability as a structural material for
landfills are proceeding. The landfill covering will
start in early summer 2000.

The project is going to have a significant impact on
the environment of the phosphoric acid industry
and the power plants. With the system developed the
need for landfills or disposal sites for industrial
wastes decreases, the quality of land use improves
and the former waste material substitutes for the
traditional construction materials from natural
sources.
The concrete environmental benefits can already be
seen. In the pilot road approximately 3 200 tonnes of
by-product material containing mainly
phosphogypsum and fly ash have been used. If the
construction were done using conventional materials,
some 8 000 tonnes of gravel and crushed stone would
have been needed.
w a s t e
9 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/FIN/577
Beneficiary: Tampere University Hospital
PO Box 2000
FIN-33251 Tampere
Contact: Kari Sorola
Tel.: (358-3) 2475 352
Fax: (358-3) 2475 548
E-mail: ksorola@tays.fi
Web site: www.tays.fi
Duration: 1 September 1998 to 31 August 2001
Reclamation of
plastic waste from hospitals
Introduction
This Finnish project is aiming to produce a

model set of actions for utilising the mixed
plastic waste produced in hospitals. It involves
experts from the plastics and other industries.
Logistics and pre-treatment procedures will be
developed which take into account the special
features of hospital waste. The reclamation
model will allow plastics to be reused as raw
material for industry.
The amount of plastic used in medical applications

continues to rise. A large proportion of the resulting
waste is disposed of in landfills along with ordinary
municipal waste, while part of it is incinerated in
hazardous waste disposal plants. The fact that the
plastic waste generated in hospitals is dirty and
unsightly makes people reluctant to use it, despite
there being a demand for such high-quality plastic
waste materials. Reuse is being prevented by the lack
of action models, so what is needed is a utilisation
route specially adapted to plastic materials.
This is a three-year project involving the

Tampere University Hospital and three partner
hospitals. It began in 1998.
Technical solution
As a first step, the hospitals involved in the project
quantified the volume of plastic waste they produce,
breaking it down by type of plastic and type of
product. Preliminary results indicate that the
hospitals use hundreds of different plastic products
made of widely varying chemical compounds. Once
every hospital has audited its current plastic waste
situation, collection and processing will get under
way, organisation of which will include introducing
guidelines and providing separation and collection
equipment.
The fractions suitable for landfill, incineration and
reuse need to be separated as early as possible. The
requirements for transporting plastic waste, and for
any after-treatment, burning and dumping at
landfills, are being studied. Options for reusing the
products and/or recycling the plastic substances into
w a s t e
1 0 0
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

Environmental benefits could be obtained by
improving and changing all the stages of hospital
plastic waste handling. It will also be beneficial if the
procurement of materials can be changed and the
volume of plastics initially entering hospitals
reduced.
In the mid-phase of the project it was already clear
that plastics suppliers were not giving enough
consideration to the life cycle of their products.
Those responsible for collection and sorting of
plastic waste require information on the chemical
characteristics of the materials they are handling, i.e.
which may call for special training.
products seem to depend on the purity and
homogeneity of the plastic products and fraction
collected. The innovative part of the project relates to
the finding of products suitable for recycling.
Potential reusers are small and medium-sized plastics
companies.
One subtask is to resolve the problems connected
with the sorting and temporary storage of the
plastics and their transportation to the end user.
Research is examining whether it is advantageous to
transport different plastics collected in different
hospitals to one and the same reuser.
w a s t e
1 0 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/IRL/487
Beneficiary: Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd
Ringaskiddy
Co. Cork
Ireland
Contact: T. Lee
Tel.: (352-21) 86 20 00
Fax: (352-21) 86 23 58
E-mail: Ted.Lee@pharma.novartis.com
Duration: 25 August 1998 to 2 November 1999
Demonstrating
the feasibility of
recovering and reusing
complex waste solvent streams
Introduction
Chemical synthesis plant
Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd, a company registered

in Cork, Ireland, was incorporated in 1989. It
produces bulk drug substances. The company
was registered under the European Union's ecomanagement and audit scheme (EMAS) in 1996,
and was re-registered in 1998.
Liquids
Headtanks
Solids charging
Leaf filters
Crystallisers
Solvent
for recovery
Reactors
Pumps
Centrifuges
A general process-flow diagram for

manufacturing bulk drug substances at Novartis
Ringaskiddy is given in Figure 1. Used solvent
streams from production can be large, complex
and multiphase, and are currently disposed of
by incineration. A study was undertaken to
investigate the potential for reducing the
volume of solvent and for recovering and
reusing the used solvents from one process. This
approach is in line with the hierarchy of
preferred options for handling waste set out in
the European Union's fifth action programme
(Figure 2).
Solids
Separators
Dryers
Products
Dryer unloading
Raw
materials
Figure 1: Typical process flow for chemical synthesis.
AVOID
REDUCE
Processes were developed at laboratory scale to

separate and purify the complex used solvent
streams into their original components for
reuse.
RECYCLE
A key element in the site

master plan was the
integration of modern
environmental
management principles
CONTAIN
TREAT
Figure 2: Hierarchy of preferred options for handling waste.
w a s t e
1 0 2
p r o j e c t s
column, which is used to dewater the organic light

phase. The third column is a rectification column in
which decane is separated from THF/ethylacetate.
The fourth column is a rectification column in
which THF and ethylacetate are separated at the top
and bottom respectively.

This project set out to demonstrate the feasibility of
developing processes and installing a recovery plant to
separate multiphase used solvent streams deriving
from the production of an active drug substance into
their original components and purify them for reuse.
This would result in fewer solvents having to be
produced, transported and destroyed, and would lead
to a saving of resources, a reduction in environmental
impact and reduced risk of an adverse incident.
PROCESS 2: Recovery of Ethylacetate (ESTP)
Organic purge
Aqueous phase
Technical solution
Recovered Ethylacetate
Waste
material
The project involved the completion of the design,

installation, and operational and process
qualification of a new large-scale plant to separate
used solvent streams using three laboratorydeveloped processes. It involved operating the new
recovery unit with the complex used solvent streams
as feed material to demonstrate that tetrahydrofuran
and ethylacetate can be purified to the desired
quality, throughput and yield. The three new
laboratory processes are as follows:
Elimination of high
boiling imputities
Figure 4. Process flow diagram for Process 2.
Process 3
Process 3 (see Figure 5) uses two continuous
rectification units to recover ethylacetate from
tetrahydrofuran, heptane, ethanol, acetic acid, water
and high boiling impurities in a third stream. The
first column is a dewatering column for ethylacetate
which forms a two-phase azeotrope with water. An
additional rectification column is added to eliminate
high boilers.
Process 1
Process 1 (see Figure 3) uses a continuous countercurrent liquid extraction unit and two continuous
vacuum pressure rectification units to recover
tetrahydrofuran (THF) from hexane, heptane,
isopropylalcohol, water and high boiling impurities
in one used solvent stream. A small counter-current
extraction column is used to extract THF from the
non-polar impurities (hexane and heptane) in the
aqueous phase. A two-pressure rectification system is
used to separate water from THF.
PROCESS 2: Recovery of Ethylacetate / Tetrahydrofuran (THF)

Purge of non polar impurities
Water
Waste material
PROCESS 1: Recovery of tetrahydrofuran (THF)
Water
Recovered
THF
X
X
X
X
X
Decane
Recycle of aqueous tetrahydrofuran

Non polar
components
Aqueous waste
Extraction
of polars
X
X
X
X
X
Stripping of water and

non polar volatiles
Recovered Ethylacetate
Recovery of
Decene
Separation of THF
and Ethylacetate
Recycle of Decane
Figure 5. Process Flow diagram for Process 3.

Recovered
THF
Waste
material
FEED
Extraction of non
polar impurities
Low-pressure
rectification
Results and impact
High-pressure
rectification
Aqueous
waste
The demonstration achieved the aims of the project.

This new plant results in fewer solvents having to be
produced, transported and destroyed and so brings a
saving of resources, a reduction in environmental
impact and reduced risk of an adverse incident. At
maximum throughput this project eliminates the
need to transport five 20 m3 tanks of fresh solvent
per week and six 20 m3 tanks of spent solvent per
week to and from Ireland.
Figure 3. Process flow diagram for Process 1.
Process 2
Process 2 (see Figure 4) uses a continuous countercurrent liquid extraction unit, a continuous
extractive rectification unit and two vacuum
rectification units to recover tetrahydrofuran and
ethylacetate from methanol, ethanol, acetic acid,
methylacetate, water and high boiling impurities in
another used solvent stream from the process. The
polar components such as methanol, ethanol and
acetic acid are separated in the counter-current
extraction column. The next step is a stripping
w a s t e
The new processes support the full and realistic

achievement of sustainable development in industrial
activities and demonstrate an integrated approach to
the environment and industry. This is in line with the
hierarchy of preferred options for handling waste set
out in the European Union's fifth action programme
and that required by participation in EMAS.
1 0 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/E/365
Beneficiary: Aluminio Cataln SA (Alcasa)
Polgono Industrial 'Pla de Llerona'
E-08520 Les Franqueses del Valls
(Barcelona)
Contact: Miguel Oller
Tel.: (34) 938 49 12 33
Fax: (34) 938 49 18 56
Minimising
waste production
in the aluminium slag
recovery process
Introduction
Technical solution
Alcasa was set up in 1981 as an aluminium

refinery. From the beginning, its activity
consisted in refining aluminium scrap and slag
by melting it down and transforming it into
ingots and/or baths of varying compositions
(alloys) for subsequent use in smelting plants,
generally for the manufacture of parts for the
automobile industry and related sectors.
Essentially, the solution involves primary grinding of

the slag using a bar impact mill without grates and
with deflecting plates, at the exit of which a selection
process removes any fragments larger than 100 mm.
These are then conveyed directly to fusion. A
selection unit separates fragments measuring
between 100 and 40 mm, and those between 40 and
12 mm, continuously recirculating them between the
grinding unit and the selection unit. The final
product resulting from this selection process is
conveyed directly to fusion.
Aluminium is recovered in order to obtain

aluminium alloys with which to produce
castings. Any material with enough aluminium
metal content to make the process worthwhile
may be used as a raw material.
Fragments measuring between 0 and 12 mm undergo

secondary grinding in a bar mill until the optimum
fusion calibre of between 12 and 0.6 mm is obtained.
Fragments between 0 and 0.6 mm are separated out
for disposal via a modern filtering system.
Recovery of aluminium is of importance in both

environmental and energy terms since it
prevents the generation of waste and at the
same time reduces the need to obtain
aluminium by primary smelting, the cost of
which is extremely high.
Results and impact

This process broke new ground in the aluminium
slag recovery sector in Spain. Elimination of most of
the impurities from the waste before starting the
fusion process allows considerably less flux to be
used and, as a result, far less waste is generated
through the fusion process and the amount of
hazardous waste is also much reduced.

Alcasa's aluminium slag recovery process used to
generate a total volume of 20 926 tonnes of waste per
year (potassium chloride, aluminium, fines and other
minority elements), the annual disposal cost of
which was EUR 880 000.
w a s t e
The project brought about a considerable reduction

in the weight of toxic waste the company was
1 0 4
p r o j e c t s
producing and so cut the cost of waste management.

A saving of 11 million tonnes of waste per year has
been achieved, disposal of which would have cost
EUR 400 000.
The project has contributed to the recycling goals set
in the national waste plan.
This project could be reproduced throughout the
secondary fusion aluminium recovery sector, not
only in the European Union, but also in Eastern
Europe, Asia and Latin America, where major
production centres are facing similar environmental
problems.
w a s t e
1 0 5
p r o j e c t s
water
LIFE ENV/GR/4518
Beneficiary: Municipalities of Volos and N. Ionia
(DemekavDemka)
The Town Hall,
Riga Fereou 50
GR-38001 Volos
Contact: C. Bessas
Tel.: (30-421) 336 39
Fax: (30-421) 359 44
Duration: 1 October 1993 to 30 June 1996
'The Krasfidon
vision':
integration of the Riverbed
Krasfidon into a sensitive
urban environment
Volos was recognised, having previously been

discounted or greatly underestimated.
Introduction
This LIFE project, located in the region of
Thessaly, focused on the development of the
River Krasfidon area, which connects Volos with
Mount Pelion and at the same time forms a
unique linear park in the urban area of Volos.
The aim was to preserve the natural
environment bordering the river and to further
develop it into an area of social activity and
interaction. The River Krasfidon divides two
municipalities (Volos and Nea Ionia).
The 12 km-long River Krasfidon connecting Mount

Pelion with the Pagasitic Gulf rises in the village of
Makrinitsa and passes through the town of Volos. It
forms the boundary between the boroughs of Volos
and Nea Ionia, two places with different historical
and cultural backgrounds. However, both
communities expressed the desire to preserve the
river and not to transform it into a road.
A way had to be found not only to protect this
natural area, but also to create a more pleasant sight
for the inhabitants and to reduce pollution within
the town.
The goal was to protect an area that would

otherwise be environmentally burdened, and at
the same time upgrade it aesthetically and
generate new uses of the area and activities
within it.
Thus, the river project was a catalyst for social

interaction leading to the transformation of a
polluted and rundown disused area into an area of
renewed social activity.

Technical solution
The increasing awareness of the importance of the

environment in the area was evident from the way
local residents reacted against the proposal to turn
the Krasfidon riverbed into a major road. Similarly,
the importance of open spaces within the town of
w a t e r
The project to upgrade the surrounding area was

implemented in a number of phases and in different
seasons, taking into account different requirements.
1 0 8
p r o j e c t s
increased local awareness of environmental

matters,
better cooperation between two municipalities on
matters concerning the environment,
integration of Nea Ionia, which had been isolated,
into the larger urban area through the linking of
the two municipalities,
development of the area into a place of social
activity and commerce with the opening of new
shops,
new and improved uses for the buildings located
at the sides of the river.
The proposal was innovative in that it represented an
opportunity for cooperation between the public and
private sectors, achieved a balance between the
traditional and the modern and advocated a new
method of development. It introduced a planning
strategy which, while not disregarding historical
features, minimised the negative effects of urban life
and enhanced the contemporary city.
The first phase comprised the construction of the

necessary infrastructure networks in the riverbed
itself.
These included the formation of a stone canal along
the riverbed, under which sewage pipes were placed,
the construction of a water and sewage system along
the entire length of the riverbed, and electrification
works for the placement of lamp-posts along the
river.
The second phase aimed at upgrading the urban area
next to the riverbed. Activities included the
construction of paths for pedestrians and cycle
tracks, bridges to link the two sides of the river and
parking places. Roads for limited traffic were also
opened at the riverside
and existing recreational
areas were transformed.
Results and
impact
The project promoted the
use of alternative means of
transport by creating cycle
tracks and building
bridges. Pedestrian
precincts made the area
accessible to people with
special needs. Action was
also taken to enrich the
natural environment by extensive planting of trees,
shrubs and flowering plants.
The results of the project were:
protection of the River Krasfidon and its natural
environment through various interventions,
w a t e r
1 0 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE93 ENV/UK/3046
Total elegible cost: EUR 1 505 310.53
Beneficiary: Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Council
Civic Centre
Y Ganolfan Ddinesig
Neath SA11 3QZ
Castell-nedd
United Kingdom
Contact: Ms Cath Ranson
Tel.: (44-1639) 76 42 93
Fax: (44-1639) 76 41 29
Restoration of
the River Pelenna:
a constructed wetland
treatment system for the
rehabilitation of sites
contaminated by mine-water
discharges
levels associated with the working and subsequent

closure of collieries. While the mines in the area
were being worked, the water table was lowered by
pumping, exposing iron pyrites to air and enabling
the creation of soluble compounds of iron.
Following closure of the mines and cessation of
pumping, the water table recovered and the iron
compounds were washed into solution as
groundwater levels rose and the mines became
flooded. Eventually the contaminated water emerged
and found its way to local watercourses.
Introduction
This LIFE project, based in the Tonmawr area of
West Glamorgan, Wales, involved the treatment
of mine-water discharges to tributaries of the
River Pelenna, which in turn is a tributary of the
River Afan. The scheme was intended to restore
the quality of the River Pelenna to support fish
and other wildlife and remove unsightly
discoloration caused by the mine water.
At the outset this project was the first attempt
in Britain to restore river water quality by using
only passive (biological) techniques.
The characteristic orange-yellow staining and

blanketing of the gravel substrates in the Pelenna
catchment was due to the precipitation and settling
out of the iron compounds or ochres that occur
when the ferruginous mine water drained into a
receiving watercourse.
The pollution to be combated resulted directly from

successive and long-term changes to groundwater
Not only were these mine-water discharges directly

toxic to aquatic life due to the elevated
w a t e r
1 1 0
p r o j e c t s
concentrations of dissolved iron in the receiving

watercourses, the blanketing of the substrata also
caused more chronic effects on invertebrate habitats
and fish spawning gravels.
demonstrated the effectiveness of the water

purification, which restored river water quality to levels
capable of supporting salmonid fish life. Iron removal
is currently estimated at 90 %. The improvement in the
visual appearance is taking longer as the iron
deposition and staining, which has accumulated over
many years, is washed away only gradually.
Technical solution
Results show that operational costs are low when

compared to alternative systems and capital costs are
also comparatively low, with the systems providing
additional environmental benefits such as diversified
wildlife habitat.
In order to rehabilitate the area, it was decided to

create a large-scale wetland treatment system to treat
the discharges by using natural biological processes,
without the use of machinery, pumping or chemical
treatment, to reduce the amount of iron discharged to
the Nant Gwenffrwd by 95 % and to the Blaenpelenna
by 50 % and ultimately to make the watercourses
suitable for recolonisation by salmonid fish.
The project was influential in the establishment of

computer modelling systems for the concept design
of wetland treatment systems. A major contribution
was made to understanding iron removal processes,
sampling and analysis methodology and
development design details.
After site investigations and surveys, wetland cells

were constructed from concrete, or concrete and
brick, and lined with an impermeable membrane or
with clay, with a peat-free compost substrate
thickness of 700 mm and a maximum standing water
level of 300 mm.
The project also played a significant role in the

educational field as an environmental education and
science resource.
To help treat some of the more acidic discharges, since

a minimum level of alkalinity is required for the
system to work effectively, it was necessary to have a
separate treatment prior to the wetland using buried
drains filled with limestone (anoxic limestone drains).
The project achieved a high profile in Britain, Europe

and elsewhere as a demonstration of sustainable
passive methods for the removal of iron from mine
water, of the detailed processes taking place within
these systems, of engineering construction and of
dissemination methodology. Thus it made a
significant contribution to the European knowledge
base on mine-water treatment and was able to
demonstrate the effectiveness of new treatment
techniques and their potential for affected
watercourses throughout the European Union.
During later phases of the project, other features

were introduced, including aeration cascades, ochre
accretion terraces and successive alkalinity producing
systems. An attenuation lagoon and settlement
lagoons were constructed at certain points to buffer
flow variations and pretreat water. Mushroom
compost (with less than 1 % peat content) was used
as a substrate vegetation derived from reed mace,
bulrush, yellow flag or common reed. Groundwater
and surface run-off was controlled by land drains.
A number of demonstration features were
incorporated, including surface-flow wetlands (which
encourage aerobic iron removal processes), sub-surfaceflow wetlands (which favour anaerobic processes, such
as bacterially-mediated sulphate reduction), different
types of substrate (mushroom compost and wood bark
mulch) and differing plant types (nursery grown Typha
and the locally occurring Juneus).
Conclusion: results and impacts

Significant success was achieved in the identification
and implementation of a sustainable long-term
demonstration system. Monitoring and evaluation has
w a t e r
1 1 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/DK/110
Beneficiary: National Environment Research
Institute (NERI)
PO Box 325
Vejlsvej 25
DK-8600 Silkeborg
Contact: Peter Bondo Christensen
Tel.: (45-89) 20 14 00
Fax: (45-89) 20 14 14
E-mail: msh@dmu.dk, dkj@dmu.dk
Web site: http://www.dmu.dk/rescoman
A remote-sensing
system for
coastal zone management
method to the mapping of submerged coastal

vegetation would provide a useful means of assessing
the environmental quality of coastal waters as a tool
for coastal zone management.
Introduction
This Danish LIFE project set out to develop a
robust, operational and cost-effective remotesensing system to map submerged vegetation as
a means of assessing the environmental quality
of coastal waters.
Technical solution
Remote sensing has proved effective in mapping

terrestrial vegetation, but the method was not
suitable for mapping submerged coastal
vegetation until this project took up the
challenge. The remote-sensing system presented
here allows maps to be compiled which give an
optimal overview of the distribution of
vegetation types over large coastal areas.
Coastal zone management is an important element

of EU environment policy, and improved means of
assessing the environmental quality of coastal waters
would make it easier to implement, manage and
evaluate EU measures to protect the marine
environment.
Technical work got under way with the selection of

study areas and the gathering of background
information (e.g. depth limits, sediments, light and
salinity requirements) on different vegetation types.
Areas in the Bay of Aarhus, the resund and
Norsminde Fjord were selected as study sites as they
contained a wide range of vegetation types.
Calibration data were collected here, in parallel with
the acquisition of remote-sensing data, in 1996 and
1997. The database structure and database tools were
designed over a two-year period from 1996 to 1998.
The image analyser was designed and programmed,
and modules developed for pre-processing the image
data, at the same time as the database was designed.
Development of the decision-support system took
one year. Validation was carried out during 1998. The
final step was to demonstrate and implement the
system, and this took place at the end of 1998.
Although submerged vegetation plays a key role in

coastal ecosystems and acts as an indicator of their
environmental quality, adequate methods for
surveying and quantifying it on a large scale have
been lacking. Remote sensing has proved effective in
mapping terrestrial vegetation, and adaptation of the
Essentially, the work involved preparing and

conducting field and image-acquisition campaigns,
followed by the development tasks necessary for
analysis of the data. The new system combines
remotely-sensed data with data sets from the
geographic information system GIS (e.g. water depth)
w a t e r
1 1 2
p r o j e c t s
using aerial photographs, airborne scanner data

and/or satellite images.
The environmental benefit is that it has become
easier to use remote sensing for monitoring
submerged vegetation in coastal zone management.
The project developed the options for using the area
distribution of benthic vegetation as a large-scale
monitoring tool to describe spatial and temporal
gradients in water quality. This tool has several
possible applications for coastal zone management.
The experience gained from the project has already
been incorporated into benthic vegetation
monitoring programmes.
The primary advantage of aerial photography is its
high spatial resolution, which is useful both for
studies of vegetation dynamics and for detailed
mapping of sea grasses. The major constraints are
'noise' from surface-reflected light and the limited
capacity to distinguish vegetation close to the lower
depth limit.
Figure 1. The complexity of the remote-sensing system used in mapping
submerged vegetation. The mapping of bottom features in the optical
region relies on information on those features showing up as variations
in the radiance directed towards the sensor. However, the signal the
sensor receives is made up of contributions from a variety of sources, of
which bottom-reflected radiance is not necessarily the largest
component.
The remote-sensing system can be applied to

different geographical areas by adjusting the
background information.
Image gro-correction process

and background knowledge of vegetation
characteristics, thereby considerably enhancing the
interpretation of submerged vegetation data obtained
by remote sensing. The remote-sensing system can be
applied to different geographical areas by adjusting
the background information. It can also be applied
to the mapping of other sedentary coastal water
biota, e.g. mussel beds.
Identify groundcontrol points

in map and master images
Is coverage sufficient?
The remote-sensing system was accompanied by an

on-line guide which explained how input data and
analysis methods can be selected to tailor the system
to the assessment of environmental quality in
different coastal waters and for different
environmental management purposes. The guide was
available as a hypertext document.
No
Model new GCps
Yes
Calculate densified
network of TIN tie points
Results and impact

Resample image to map
The main product delivered by the project was an

operational and widely applicable remote-sensing
system for assessing the environmental quality of
coastal water, based on the optimal detection and
mapping of submerged vegetation in coastal waters
w a t e r
Evaluate resulting image
1 1 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE95 ENV/IT/303
LIFE contribution: EUR 1 566 145.5 (28.68 %)
Beneficiary: Legnochimica spA
Via Riviera, 197
I-12087 Pamparato(Cuneo)
Contact: Pierluigi Vieno
Tel.: (39-0174) 22 02 41
Fax: (39-0174) 22 03 85
E-mail: silvatec@silvagroup.com
Web site: http://www.silvagroup.com
Duration: 1 April 1995 to 1 July 1997
Wood-based
fibreboards:
production process and
environmental issues
like HB and MDF. It is completely free of

synthetically-based glues and produced by a dry
technology with a very low environmental impact. It
is obtained by using a dry environmentally friendly
technique.
Introduction
With the intention of overcoming principal
environmental problems as well as certain
technical difficulties regarding the production
of wood-based fibreboard, Silva, with the LIFE
financial support, have started working on a
project to develop a new environmentallyfriendly wood panel.
The new production process is similar in various

respects to that of MDF. It differs mainly in the
thermo-mechanical treatment the wood goes
through during the fibre preparation process.
As the production of wood-based panels is still

susceptible of causing some environmental
problems, the aims of the project are to
combine the advantages of the wet hardboard
with the advantages of the dry production
process.
During this production phase, which is carried out

in specific conditions of pressure and temperature, a
controlled hydrolysis of the hemicellulose and of the
lignina natural wooden based constituents is
obtained with the consequent formation of
substances with adhesive properties.
The product consists of a pure wood fibreboard

called Ecorex, which can adequately replace
other products at this time in the market.
Indeed, The project combines ecology and
production quality, respecting the environment
and assuring maximum protection for public
health and maximum safety in the workplace.
The substances obtained, called bioresins, can

completely substitue the synthetic glues which are of
fundamental importance in the MDF production.
Features of the different production processes of
wood-based fibreboards can be seen in the figures
below.
Description
With this method it is possible to eliminate the

tempering and to considerably reduce the press cycle
compared to the wet process.
The project developed is a type of fibreboard

designed to overcome principal environmental
problems and certain technical limits connected with
the production process of other types of fibreboards
w a t e r
Having reduced the need to remove excess water

during the pressing stage, this product also
1 1 4
p r o j e c t s
eliminates the need of the drainage meshes, which in

hardboard cause the roughness, that is always
acceptable, on one side of the hardboard.
Conclusions
Density, resistance and flexibility: The density of
the standard version of the new fibreboard is
approximately 900 kg/m3, bending strength above
300 kg/cm2 and internal bond of 20 kg/cm2.
As with MDF it is possible to easily modify the

width of the fibreboard produced and consequently
reduce the quantity of offcuts and wastage, taking
less time and obtaining a higher productivity rate.
The production of medium and high thickness
fibreboard is also possible.
Thickness: The thickness range of the boards

produced goes from 210 mm.
Usage: The fields where the fibreboard can be
used are multiple: fruit packaging, doors, car
industry, children's toys, laminated floors, etc.
Thanks to the complete absence of formaldehyde
based resins, this product is particularly suitable
for indoor use, fruit and vegetable packaging and
in cars.
A distinguishing feature of Ecorex, in respect to

other fibreboards, is the fact that there is no
'precuring' or drainage meshes, meaning that both
sides of the board are perfectly smooth. This makes
it a better product and eliminates the need of costly
sanding.
A bio-mass power station is being built in the same

production site at present. The raw material for the
fibreboard is mainly made up of waste material from
sawmills, recuperated wood or wooden discards not
otherwise usable.
Depending on the technical characteristics required,

the density of the panel can be designed accordingly.
With values such as 850900 kg/m3 it is possible to
achieve a result which is equal to the HB or the best
MDF. This means a saving of 100150 kg of wood or
130150 kg of glue per cubic metre of panel
produced. The higher the density, the more the
mechanical characteristics improve, creating possible
new uses of the product. In addition, for the same
density, the Ecorex fibreboard uses less wood than
the HB, where a significant amount of the processed
material is lost or dissolved in the process water.
w a t e r
Finally, the wooden wastes from panel production

are then sent to the boiler for the production of
energy. This integrated system means that we can use
a natural resource as important as wood, efficiently
and completely, giving an economic significance to
activities, such as the cleaning and maintenance of
green areas, which are essential for the preservation
of our forests.
1 1 5
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/FIN/63
Life Lestijoki:
management of
acid sulphate soils

Beneficiary: Regional Council of Central
Ostrobothnia
Rantakatu 14
FIN-67100 Kokkola
Contact: Marja-Leena Mikkonen-Karikko
Tel.: (358-6) 860 57 07
Fax: (358-6) 868 03 08
E-mail: marja-leena.mikkonenkarikko@keski-pohjanmaa.fi
Duration: 1 August 1996 to 31 October 1998
On the coast, where land uplift is taking place,

acidification is a permanent phenomenon. Acidity
released from such soils tends to cause
environmental problems in the affected farmland.
Acid sulphate soils have to be continuously and
massively limed in order to produce good
agricultural crops.
Introduction
The principal aim of the LIFE Lestijoki project
was to determine how suitable a drainage
method based on lime filter drains would be for
reducing the loading from acid sulphate soils.
The demonstration was carried out at
catchment area level so that the results could be
collated and computed into an integrated action
model for renovating acid watercourses flowing
through sulphate soils. The demonstration area,
the River Lestijoki, is on the west coast of
Finland.
Acid sulphate soils are the main cause of riverwater

acidification on the west coast of Finland.
Acidification of riverwater stunts growth, increases
mortality, impoverishes species and upsets the whole
ecosystem. The most disturbing effects can be seen
in fish stocks.
Technical solution
There are around 13 million ha worldwide of

naturally acid sulphate soils. While this represents
only around 1 % of the world's field area, such soils
can create serious problems for both agriculture and
the environment at a regional level. Acid sulphate
soils cover considerable parts of the coastal plains of
western Finland, representing about 16 % of the
country's overall cultivated field area.
The first project stage consisted of soil surveys to

locate the best area for the demonstration. In the
second stage, lime filter drainage was provided in the
selected subcatchment area. The third stage involved
run-off and water-quality monitoring, while the last
phase focused on information and evaluation.
The soil screening method (profile drilling) was used
to locate the acid loading areas and determine their
potential acidity within the River Lestijoki catchment
area. Drilling revealed the most extensive areas of
acid sulphate soils to be located along the lower
course of the river. Over half the fields here were on
Acid sulphate soils need to be drained effectively in

order to be farmed. During drainage the soils quickly
become acid, and vast amounts of acid metals are
released into the groundwater and drainage systems.
w a t e r
1 1 6
p r o j e c t s
acid sulphate soils, and most were found to be

exposed to significant and long-term acidification.
Water-quality monitoring in the Kinarehenoja

tributary showed the water to be acid despite the
lime filter drains. This was mainly because the
treated area was small: although the area with lime
filters covered over 80 % of the fields in the
subcatchment area, this area accounted for only a
small fraction of the catchment area as a whole. If
drainage had been provided using a conventional
system, acidification would have almost doubled.
Lime filter drainage systems can thus neutralise the
additional acidification caused by new drainage.
It was decided that the best place for providing lime

filter drainage was the Kinarehenoja subcatchment
area on the lower course of the river, where most of
the fields were very acid, the lowest measured pH
being less than 3 (neutral = 7). A specially designed
machine was used to lay 32 km of lime filter drains,
and over 100 ha of fields were drained.
In addition to soil screening and water and discharge
studies, a mathematical model was needed in order
to estimate the impact of lime filter drains on the
river.
In acid sulphate soils, lime filter drains significantly

reduce regional acidification caused by drainage.
Drainage systems should be extensive in order to
improve water quality.
1. Cultivated top soil

2. Transition zone,
acid sulphate soil
3. Anaerobic soil
4. Quick lime +
acid sulphate soil
5. Ground water level
5
6. Gravel bed
7. Pipe drain
Figure 1. Structure of a lime filter drain.
Results and impact

12
Follow-up studies indicated lime filter draining to be

a technological success. The mixture of lime and
refilled soil was homogeneous and the fields retained
their original appearance. In summer 1998, the drains
worked well despite rainy weather. A few farms
experienced drainage problems, but this was due to
inadequate district drains. Half the farmers reported
better crops than before.
Old trains
Lime filter drains
acidity, mmol/l
10
8
6
4
2
Water acidity in the lime filter drains stabilised at a

fairly neutral level. Water quality differed sharply
between the old drains and the lime filter drains, the
calculated mean pH being 4.1 in the former and 6.7
in the latter.
w a t e r
0
7.5.98
6.6.98
20.8.98
19.10.98
Figure 2. Mean acidity values in discharge water. Results of subsurface

drain run-off monitoring in the Kinarehenoja subcatchment area in
1998.
1 1 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/IT/103
Beneficiary: AMAV (Azienda Multiservizi
Ambientali Veneziana)
Cannaregio 996
IT-30121 Venice
Phone: (39-041) 521 70 11
Fax: (39-041) 521 78 73
E-mail: progetto.waters@flashnet.it
Web site: www.amav.it
Waters: water
data acquisition
in real time for coastal ecosystems research and services
Introduction
Description
The essential aim of the Waters project was to

come up with an innovative methodology for
monitoring water quality in all types of water
body (coasts, lakes, river basins, lagoons, deltas
and estuaries).
The partners
The two-year project was conceived and directed by
AMAV (Venetian Environmental Multiservice
Company), whose partners were the Venice City
Council, two research institutes (ISDGM Institute
for the Study of Large Mass Dynamics, and IBM
Marine Biology Institute) belonging to the CNR
(National Research Council) for the scientific side,
and Archimedes Logica srl, a Rome-based company,
for the technical and industrial side.
Waters set out to break through the current

scientific and technological frontier of water
monitoring, which is based solely on the
installation of static units. Such units provide a
relatively limited amount of data, which is then
processed using mathematical simulation
models, employing probabilistic methods to
identify the sources, dissemination and
transport of pollutants.
The location
The technology for 'dynamic monitoring in real time'
was tested in the coastal area of Venice's lagoon using
ten mobile collection stations installed on AMAV
vessels which ply the lagoon basin constantly for the
purpose of waste collection.
By contrast, the Waters project explored a

technology for 'dynamic monitoring in real
time' using mobile units. These are installed on
boats and are used to measure data as the boats
move around in the course of their normal
functions (transport of goods and passengers,
refuse collection, etc.). This method makes it
possible to collect dynamic data; it also
minimises the use of simulation models while at
the same time increasing the quantity of data
collected.
w a t e r
The technology
The units were inserted into a small electromechanical lift, the 'Eco-lift', built entirely of
stainless steel and comprising two sliding
components, one fitting inside the other like a
telescope, and placed inside a shaft in the bottom of
the refuse collection boats. The structure, which can
drop 2 m below the waterline, houses a
multiparameter probe capable of measuring basic
1 1 8
p r o j e c t s
chemical-physical parameters (temperature, salinity,

acidity, percentage of dissolved oxygen, redox
potential, turbidity, etc.) and performing other useful
functions as the boats follow their routes, including
water sampling, bathymetric measurements, and
visual inspections using fibre-optic cameras.
both to plan the overall system and to test the

prototype.
In terms of procedure, the main innovative feature
of the Waters project is the dynamic monitoring,
with 540 000 readings being taken per year as
opposed to around 1 000 readings in samplemeasurement exercises carried out in previous years
using static systems. Despite this huge increase in the
amount of data, the cost of installing the system and
making it operational is less than half that of
conventional static monitoring. Similarly,
maintenance, inspection, supply and replacement
costs are around one tenth of those usually incurred
in such monitoring.
One highly innovative aspect is the data

management: the data are given a precise space-time
reference, obtained using the differential global
positioning system, and transmitted by radio to the
Waters control centre at 2 second intervals. The radio
cover is wide enough for data to be transmitted
within a 20 km radius of the historic centre.
In this way, it is possible to pinpoint the dynamic
dispersion of the monitored elements in the water,
and to verify the precise contribution of the
individual components (pollutants, water velocity,
relationship between point sources of pollution and
diffuse substances, etc.).
This saving is due to a number of factors.

The units are installed on existing vessels whose
function takes them constantly around the lagoon.
This reduces the expenditure on vessel
management and maintenance.
The information is collected by an information

system in the Waters control centre, which is able to
share the data in real time with the partner CNR
institutes. Staff in the control centre are then
responsible for building up the environmental
databases, overall assessment of the state of the
lagoon ecosystem, and the mapping of risk levels. All
the gathered information can be accessed in real
time, even as the measurements are being taken.
The technology employed in the lifts which house

the units allows the equipment to be removed for
the purpose of repair or replacement, ensuring
both flexibility in the system over time, and lower
maintenance costs.
For areas not covered by the AMAV vessels,

environmental pollution data are furnished by the
observation of animal species, which are used as
biological indicators interlinked with the chemicalphysical data. Analytical samples are taken by a
floating laboratory (LIFE-lab) created thanks to the
LIFE instrument. This vessel was designed to
supplement the standard dynamic measurements
with integrated monitoring exercises, either seasonal
or targeted at specific areas of the lagoon at
particular risk.
The technology developed and tested in Venice has

been sought by cities such as Genoa, Rome (which
recently undertook a pilot experiment for the Tiber
Basin and the bathing areas adjacent to the river
mouth), Ancona, Hamburg, Monte Carlo, Aqaba
(Jordan) and Rio de Janeiro, which has begun
monitoring the Baia di Guanabara, Sepetiba and Ilha
Grande, as well as the lagoons of the Rio municipal
area itself.
To perform static monitoring comparable to that

carried out in the Waters project would require
around 100 units, as opposed to the 10 used in the
LIFE project in Venice.
Results
The project delivered both products and procedures,
and came up with findings which are clearly
quantifiable in cost-benefit terms, and therefore
reproducible in other situations, too.
All the elements of the monitoring system (units,
Eco-lift, data production and management software,
data geo-referencing system, etc.) were developed
under the LIFE project, and this made it possible
w a t e r
1 1 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/E/509
Beneficiary: Fundacin Ecologa y Desarrollo
Plaza San Bruno, 9, 1
E-50001 Zaragoza (Aragn)
Contact: Victor Viuales
Tel.: (34-976) 298 282
Fax: (34-976) 203 092
E-mail: ecodes@ecodes.org
Web site: http://www.ahorra@agua.ecodes.org
Duration: 1 October 1996 to 1 February 1999
Zaragoza: a city
saving water.
Small steps. Major solutions
Introduction
Technical solution
The water shortage in Spain, affecting millions

of people, is due partly to low rainfall but more
generally to Spain's water-wasting culture. In
recent years, despite a 10 % decrease in rainfall,
water consumption has increased by 20 %.
The project set out to foster a new 'water culture', so

that this limited natural resource essential to life
might be managed rationally. Its concrete objective
was that households in the city of Zaragoza should
save a total of 1 000 million litres of water in the
space of one year. Certain steps were deemed
essential for achieving this goal: consumers had to be
encouraged to demand water-saving technology, the
market in such technology had to be stimulated, and
people needed to be educated and informed.
In 1995, 11 million Spaniards were exposed to

daily water restrictions. That period also saw
demonstrations and clashes between Spain's
regions. The cause of the dispute: water. The
debate at that time was about how to build
more reservoirs, where to divert water from,
where to find the huge sums needed to finance
the work, etc. On top of this there was a triple
paradox: Spain had the world's third highest
rate of water consumption per inhabitant, yet
water was in short supply and it was cheap.
Before the campaign began, a gap was found to exist

between the technology available on the market and
that found in people's homes: while the technology
people had at home was wasteful, the market was
offering a wide range of water-saving products and
devices for which there was no demand. The
industry said there was no particular demand for
water-saving products, while users were unfamiliar
with them.
To bring about the desired shift, the existence of

water-saving products was publicised, and their use
encouraged by means of information and awarenessraising activities.
This water-wasting culture was perpetuated in a

vicious circle: there were no regulations to encourage
saving, institutional policy was based on increased
supply, people were unaware that water-saving
technology could allow more efficient household use
of water (a survey carried out in Zaragoza before the
campaign began showed that 60 % of people had
forgotten or did not know ways of saving water in
the home), the population placed little value on
water and so was wasteful in its daily use of this
resource.
w a t e r
Six strategies were put forward to achieve the goal of

saving 1 000 million litres:
acquisition of new water-saving sanitaryware
(toilets, taps, showers, etc.);
installation of water-saving devices in old
equipment;
1 2 0
p r o j e c t s
Results and impact

During its lifetime, the campaign resulted in a saving
of 1 176 million litres of water compared with the
amount consumed during the same months the
previous year.
Cooperation agreements were reached with 150
different bodies in Zaragoza; 183 schools, 474 teachers
and 70 000 pupils took part.
The Zaragoza City Council decided to produce a
water-saving plan for the city.
More than 140 establishments in the city are selling
water-saving products. In all 65 % of businesses
selling sanitaryware, taps or household appliances or
fitting meters played an active part in the project.
Sales of water-saving appliances rose by 15 %. The
number of individual meters rose four-fold, and that
of water-saving taps six-fold.
acquisition of water-saving domestic appliances

(washing machines and dishwashers);
Before the campaign began, one in every three

households saved water in some way. By the end of
the campaign, two in three households were saving
water.
introduction of individual domestic hot-water

meters;
any other measures, devices or equipment
designed to save water (repairing of leaks, reuse of
domestic water, etc.);
3 990 homes in the city introduced some form of

water-saving device during the year of the project.
change in water consumption habits.
That same year, 300 000 people (half the city's

inhabitants) adopted a water-saving habit in their
home.
Also, since part of the task was to involve all those

who 'created' the water culture, various target publics
were identified: water-industry professionals, major
consumers, children and young people and the
general public.
Before the campaign began, 60 % of the city's

inhabitants were unaware of any way of saving water.
By the end, this figure had fallen to 28 %.
The project has been widely publicised, both in
Spain and internationally. It has led to many
presentations, seminars, exhibitions, appearances at
shows and in the media, etc.
The project encompassed two distinct phases:

February 1997 saw the beginning of the preparatory
phase, during which the participatory structure was
decided (partners and companies to provide backing
and sponsorship, and other bodies providing initial
cooperation). Special emphasis was placed at this
stage on water industry professionals, to secure their
collaboration and participation in the campaign.
The project has won various international prizes.
October 1997 saw the beginning of the

implementation phase, with specific action aimed at
the various target publics. Campaign material began
to be distributed, and for one month the campaign
was given multimedia exposure (television, radio,
press, displays in shops, leaflets, stickers, posters,
hoardings, etc.).
The campaign concluded on 25 January 1999 with an
international meeting on water-efficiency in cities.
w a t e r
1 2 1
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/DK/347
Beneficiary: The Municipality of Aalborg
PO Box 462
Rantzausgade 6
DK-9100 Aalborg
Contact: Stig Berg Norsk
Tel.: (45-99) 31 31 31
Fax: (45-99) 31 31 32
E-mail: sbn-borgm@aalbkom.dk
Web site: http://www.aalborgkom.dk/drastrup
Duration: 1 October 1997 to 30 September
2001
Sustainable
land use in
groundwater catchment areas
knowledge about the causes of pollution, its rate of

spread and how the problem can be prevented.
Introduction
This project's ambitious aim is to safeguard the
quality of groundwater in the City of Aalborg,
in North Jutland, Denmark. Efforts are focusing
on a few groundwater catchment areas located
in built-up zones not far from the city centre.
The main tasks are to promote sustainable land
use in selected groundwater catchment areas,
replace conventional farming with forests and
environmentally-friendly farming, neutralise
immediate sources of pollution and provide
public information.
Technical solution
The goal is to safeguard the quality of groundwater
in two specific areas by means of municipal land
purchases, changes in land use and increased public
awareness of pollution problems. Traditional
solutions to prevent groundwater pollution have
proved ineffective, so highly innovative concepts had
to be developed.
Water consumption is increasing and clean water
resources are being depleted. New solutions are
needed quickly, but the availability of water must
also be safeguarded in the long run. Efforts are
focusing on two groundwater catchment areas in the
Drastrup area and Aalborg southeast, the largest such
areas for Aalborg. Both are extremely vulnerable,
with little or no natural protection against pollution.

Most of the EU's population is dependent on
groundwater, yet groundwater pollution is a
widespread and growing problem: it figures
prominently in the EU's fifth environmental action
programme, and the water framework directive
places special emphasis on it.
A plan to promote sustainable land-use and an action

plan for water are being drawn up for the catchment
areas. Conventional agriculture in these areas is to
give way to forest, common land or environmentallyfriendly agriculture. Land consolidation was chosen
as the method of acquisition, a method not
previously used to purchase land in groundwater
catchment areas. Areas designated as forests are being
planted with foliate trees with due consideration of
the terrain, soil conditions and the local climate.
Groundwater is the only realistic source of drinking

water in Aalborg. Regular quality monitoring
indicates that all formal water-quality criteria are met,
but that the water quality is deteriorating, and recent
quality checks have shown newly formed
groundwater to contain pesticides and unacceptable
levels of nitrates. However, there is a lack of
w a t e r
1 2 2
p r o j e c t s
Parking places, paths and information boards will be

provided and former quarries will be landscaped.
Information campaigns and community involvement
will be organised throughout the project period, but
especially in the spring months. A key element is
monitoring, which includes measurement of the
initial situation and first measurements of the
effects.
The project got under way in October 1997 and will
be completed in September 2001.
Results and impact

If land use in the groundwater catchment area can
be converted as planned, the groundwater will be
protected permanently. The project is thus of great
importance to the local community. The upward
trend in nitrate and pesticide levels should be
arrested and soon go into reverse, and the
expectation is that the quality criteria will be met in
the long run, so that permanent, artificial
purification measures can be avoided. Eventually, at
least 50 % of the residential zones within the project
areas will declare themselves pesticide-free.
Figure 1. New recreational paths are being established.
mg nitrate per litre
Clean groundwater will improve the quality of

surface water, and of biodiversity in the aquatic
environment. Wild flora and fauna are also expected
to thrive. Sustainable land use will improve
biodiversity generally, and additional recreational
opportunities will be created.
Threshold value
for nitrate in dirnking water
50
0
1978
traditional
farming
1998
permanent
grass
2018
Figure 2. The nitrate and pesticide content of the groundwater needs to

fall below the threshold values in the long term so that permanent
treatment can be avoided.
Figure 3. Groundwater station monitors.
w a t e r
1 2 3
p r o j e c t s
LIFE97 ENV/SWE/31 2
Beneficiary: Wash & Circulation of Scandinavia
AB
Mossvgen 3
S-17540 Jrflla
Contact: Anna-Karin Or
Tel.: (46-8)-58 02 55 19
Fax: (46-8)-58 02 55 24
E-mail: Info@macserien.com
Web site: http://www.macserien.com
Duration: 1 February 1997 to 31 January 2000
The wash &

circulation
system: cost-effective cleaning
with integrated purification
and recycling of water
This Swedish LIFE project developed a washing
system incorporating integrated purification
and recycling of water, designed to reduce the
consumption both of water and of cleaning
products. The project was implemented in 10
demonstration installations in food, printing
and vehicle maintenance businesses located
mainly in southern and central Sweden.
Conventional vehicle-washing facilities use a straight

flow system, i.e. fresh water is taken in, chemicals are
added and the mixture is used as required. The used
liquid is collected in an oil separator with a direct
outlet to the sewage system. As each new quantity of
fresh water is added the corresponding amount of
waste water flows to the sewer. This common type of
system makes free use of water and chemicals and
produces significant amounts of contaminated waste
water.
Technical solution
Washing processes for various types of vehicles;

cleaning processes in the food industry, printing
works, workshops and the metal industry; various
surface treatments, etc., all produce waste water
containing very large amounts of organic material,
which hampers biological purification in
conventional waste-water systems. If the water
contains heavy metals, toxic substances or
biologically resistant, polluting organic material, the
problems are even greater. Such pollutants will also
compromise the use of sludge from municipal
sewage plants as fertiliser.
The solution is a system which purifies and recycles

the water. The system creates a loop in which at least
80 % of the water that would otherwise have flowed
to the sewer is returned to the intake end to be used
for new washes. To avoid overloading the return
water with dirt that would make it unsuitable for
new washes, the loop includes features which clean
the water to the degree needed for efficient washing.
Introduction
w a t e r
Construction of prototype and demonstration plants

began in late 1997 and the first demonstration plant
was ready for start-up early in 1998. Other plants
followed during 1998 and 1999. After planning and
construction, the results were documented and
1 2 4
p r o j e c t s
follow-up studies were made. The final stage was

evaluation of the results.
Results and impact

The system can reduce waste water contamination
from oils and heavy metals by 94-99 %. At the same
time, water and chemical consumption is reduced by
70-90 %. The reduced water consumption does not
affect the performance of the washing operations.
The system uses known, reliable separation methods,

such as sedimentation and sand filtration, and lowcost, well-known chemicals, such as sodium
orthophosphate and calcium chloride, which have no
particular negative environmental impact.
Were this system to be introduced for private cars,

the potential fresh water saving for the EU as a
whole would be equivalent to the domestic water
consumption of about 1.5 million people. The
potential saving would be at least as great should the
Wash & Circulation system be used throughout
Europe for heavy-vehicle cleaning. These savings
would also constitute an environmental benefit in
the area of waste water treatment.
The project comprised 10 subprojects, such as: the

washing of heavy vehicles; the cleaning of trucks,
including washing the interiors of tanks on trucks;
the washing of small cars, and the washing/cleaning
of machinery and equipment at printing works, and
in the food and metal-working industries. The
subprojects were located in different climate zones
and involved different washing techniques.
The new system reduces the contamination of waste
water by a factor of at least 10 and makes it possible
to reduce tap water and chemical consumption by 80
% or more.
The costs incurred by environmentally friendly

production techniques tend to drive many small and
medium-sized companies out of business, as such
techniques primarily involve high technology and
costly installations. Wash & Circulation has
deliberately refrained from adopting this approach
and has concentrated its efforts on using old, wellknown techniques, low-cost equipment and simple
and cheap well-known chemicals.
Reduction %
Chemical and water reduction

100.0
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
Water consumption
reduction %
Waste water reduction %
1
Chemical consumtion
reduction %
Percentage
Oil reduction %
100.00
99.50
90.0
99.00
98.50
Oil reduction %
Subproject
Reduction of heavy metals
Percentage
100.0
Pb+Cr+Ni reduction
Cr+Ni reduction %
Cd reduction %
Zn reduction %
95.0
90.0
85.0
80.0
1
Subproject
FIGURES 1 to 3. Results from the different installations. Reductions in the use of chemicals and water, reduction of heavy metals and reduction of oil.
w a t e r
1 2 5
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/P/562
Beneficiary: Quimigal SA
Quinta da Indstria Apartado 40
P-3861 Estarreja (Portugal)
Contact: Eng Carla Morgado
Tel.: (351-234) 81 03 00 ext. 342
Fax: (351-234) 84 13 03
E-mail: carla.morgado@quimigal.pt
Duration: 1 February 1998 to 1 August 2000
Integrated
environmental
management system in the
chemical industry
was a highly efficient means of removing aromatic

compounds, despite problems with cyclical
clogging/declogging due to the high solid salt
concentration in the effluent.
Introduction
Quimigal, Quimica de Portugal, SA is a private
company producing nitric acid, nitrobenzene
and aniline. The process involves adiabatic
nitration of benzene in a mixture of nitric and
sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid is recovered
by means of concentration. The nitrous vapours
also channelled into the concentrator are
removed by adding caustic soda to produce a
solution with high concentrations of
nitrogenated salts at the outlet (2 000 ppm
N:NO2, 1 000 ppm N:NO3) together with residues
of aromatic compounds and sulphates.
The simple technology originally applied required a

large surface area entailing heavy inherent investment
costs. Since the process proved highly efficient, the
plan was to keep the same basic technology to create
a settling bed with a higher hydraulic loading
capacity without any loss of efficiency. The objective
was to treat approximately 10 m3/h in one third of
the area previously required.
Technical solution
The top priority, in line with pre-established

environment policy, was to introduce clean
technology into the production process. To this
end, the sulphuric acid concentrator operating
in an alkaline medium was replaced by a similar
unit operating in an acid medium. This measure
cuts pollution by nitrogen by around 50 %, with
the rest recovered as a raw material (nitric acid),
and curbs consumption of sodium hydroxide.
The first step in the project was to construct two

parallel pre-industrial macrophyte beds, each with a
surface area of 1 500 m2, using expanded clay
aggregates as the settling matrix. The construction
programme took the following form:
Topographical survey: a topographical survey on a
1/200 scale was conducted on the site of the new
beds.
Site preparation and earth-moving: levelling of the
site and excavation to the proposed depth,
flattening and compacting of slopes to allow
installation of a geomembrane.
Waterproofing: a 300 g/m2 layer of geotextile was
applied, to which a high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) membrane 1.5 mm thick was extrusion-

Originally, the aromatic compounds were removed in
macrophyte beds, but these require a large effective
surface area of 10 000 m2 for every 10 m3/h of
effluent. This method was developed in LIFE project
Reciclam 93/PA.13/P101, which demonstrated that it
w a t e r
1 2 6
p r o j e c t s
and fusion-welded and fixed along the perimeter

of the beds.
Effluent distribution and drainage system: to
supply the beds horizontally, a 50 x 0.5 x 0.6 m
effluent distribution box was constructed in gravel
(815 cm), on which a PVC (DN 250) discharge
tube was placed. The drainage system consisted of
an HDPE (DN 250) perforated tube placed
longitudinally along the bottom of the bed.
Filler: a layer of 4050 mm pebbles was placed on
top of the drainage tube to form a jacket
approximately 0.4 m in radius around the entire
length of the tube. Two layers of light expanded
clay aggregates (LECA) were also laid, the lower
layer 0.4 m thick and consisting of grains of
between 3 and 8 mm, the upper layer 0.2 m thick
with grains of between 2 and 4 mm. In all, a total
of 1 780 m3 of LECA were used.
Planting: rhizomes of Phagmites sp., a plant native
to the Aveiro region, were collected. From these,
fragments with two nodes were singled out and
put in water immediately to conserve the rhizome
fragment until planting. They were then rooted in
humus and left to germinate in a glasshouse. After
three to five weeks, they were planted at a spacing
of five plants/m2.
Acclimatisation: first, the beds were flooded to
allow the seedlings and microbial population to
develop. Next, a start was made with supplying
both beds with effluent.
Monitoring and analysis: once the system had
stabilised, the effluent was monitored and
analysed at the inlet and at the outlet to test the
purification capacity and efficiency of the
macrophyte beds in removing aromatic
compounds.
Results and impact

The few available references to the use of LECA in
macrophyte beds concern the removal of
phosphorus from domestic effluent. This specially
designed system made it possible to conduct a
project on a semi-industrial scale using a medium
with a high specific surface area to increase the
quantity of biomass immobilised and, consequently,
the organic load applied to the system.
The project developed a method for denitrification
of effluents with nitrate levels over 800 ppm, based
on a biological process controlled by microbial cells,
free and/or immobilised in a rigid, porous matrix
with a high specific surface area.
So far the denitrification process used has
demonstrated an efficiency of over 85 %, producing
liquid effluent of good enough quality for re-use in
the industrial process.
In addition to this application to effluent from
Quimigal SA, the technology developed could be
suitable for a wide range of applications in the
fertiliser industry, a major potential source of
pollution.
w a t e r
1 2 7
p r o j e c t s
LIFE98 ENV/SWE/477
Beneficiary: Municipality of Nykvarn
Centrumvgen 24
S-15580 Nykvarn
Contact: Ronald Bergman
Phone: (46-8) 550 930 60
Fax: (46-8) 550 930 60
E-mail: kemsta@telia.com
Web site: http://www.nykvarn.se
Duration: 1 February 1998 to 31 March 2003
Lake Turingen
remedial project:
isolation of mercurycontaminated sediments
addition, the ongoing releases pose a threat to the

exchange of aquatic species between Lake Mlaren
and the nationally unique Lake Yngern upstream of
Lake Turingen. If nothing is done, the situation even
implies a threat to the nearby areas of Lake Mlaren,
which is the third largest lake in Sweden.
Introduction
This project in the municipality of Nykvarn,
Sweden, aims to isolate mercury-contaminated
sediments in Lake Turingen and River Turingen
from the aquatic environment. Bottom
sediments in the Lake Turingen are
contaminated with mercury, which was released
from a paper mill located upriver.
Technical solution
The project intends to reach this objective

through a series of remedial actions whose
primary goals are to stop the resuspension of
mercury-contaminated sediments, which occurs
in Lake and River Turingen. Durable barriers
between the mercury-contaminated sediments
and the waters of the lake and river will be
constructed and provide a new, healthy lake
bottom that can be rapidly colonised by bottom
fauna.
The project tends to isolate the harmful mercury

contaminated sediments and thus reduce mercury
concentrations in fish to a level which does not
inhibit human consumption. In addition, the
transportation of contaminants from Lake Turingen,
which threaten water quality in Lake Mlaren, is
being hindered. The remedial actions will permit a
more natural exchange of genetic material between
Lake Yngern and Lake Mlaren and allow greater
freedom to use Lake Turingen for recreational
purposes
The concrete acts in the project are divided into two

parts. In the first stage, the contaminated sediments
from the final reaches of the river channel and from
a section of the lake just outside the mouth of the
river are dredged up. In addition, several shallow
areas of the lake near the mouth of the river,
including those, which are overgrown with reeds, are
also cleaned. Spoils from these operations are
redeposited underwater in the southern part of the
lake. Capping of non-dredged areas of the lake near
Bottom sediments in Lake Turingen are

contaminated with mercury released between 1946
and 1966 from a paper mill. Although use of mercury
was discontinued in 1966, secondary releases still
occur from the 350400 kg of mercury, which had
accumulated in lake and river sediments. This causes
dislocations in the ecosystem of the lake and has
rendered fish unfit for human consumption. In
w a t e r
1 2 8
p r o j e c t s
the mouth of the river, including the redisposal site,

is done with a geotextile and suitable clean
technological materials. The first stage includes also
auxiliary activities such as construction of access
roads, a temporary harbour and support and storage
areas, as well as installation and decommissioning of
protective facilities (e.g. silt screens) around the
dredging and disposal areas.
In the second stage, the remaining accumulation in
the lake bottoms will be capped with artificial gel.
Supervision and evaluation of all activities are being
made with an extensive environmental monitoring
programme.

The mercury contamination is a serious concern
causing severe consequences. In succeeding, the
project has gained enormous environmental benefits
in the area of Lake Turingen and lakes in contact
with Lake Turingen.
With remediation acts, transportation of
contaminants to other lakes can be hindered. The
ecosystem in the Lake Turingen can recover and a
new web of life can be created. After the
remediation, humans are able to eat the fish again
and enjoy Lake Turingen for recreational purposes.
The benefits are thus immense to the area of Lake
Turingen.
w a t e r
1 2 9
p r o j e c t s
LIFE96 ENV/FIN/68
Beneficiary: South-West Finland Regional
Environment Centre
PO Box 47
FIN-20801 Turku
Contact: Teija Kirkkala
Tel.: (358-2) 83 80 639
Fax: (358-2) 83 80 660
E-mail: Teija.Kirkkala@vyh.fi
Web site: www.vyh.fi/ympsuo/maametsa/los/
pyh_2.htm
Duration: 16 July 1996 to 31 October 2000
Lake Pyhjrvi
restoration
project: mathematical tool
development
rural population, summer cottages and forestry

constitute the other sources of the external load.
Introduction
Lake Pyhjrvi is actively used as a water source
and has outstanding recreational and economic
value. The main aim of this project was to
prevent eutrophication of the lake, the biggest
in south-west Finland, by reducing the annual
phosphorus load flowing into it by some 40 %.
Technical solution
The project set out to develop, test and apply
innovative water protection methods in order to
prevent nutrient loads entering the lake from the
catchment area.
The project developed, tested and implemented

innovative and effective water-protection
methods. It set out to increase the efficiency of
known methods, to promote the measures which
need to be applied and to monitor activities. In
addition, mathematical tools for water
protection were designed.
Village plans have been devised as a new land-use

planning tool and as a way to influence official landuse planning. Village inhabitants were encouraged to
reflect on land use and environmental protection
and to seek opportunities to develop activities in
their own villages.
In the Pyhjrvi LIFE project, lime and a material

called Fosfilt were used in different types of filters to
remove nutrients from run-off waters from arable
land. The project also tried to apportion the various
measures employed in an optimal way. Different
types of sedimentation ponds and wetlands were
tried out and developed.
Lake Pyhjrvi is one of the most widely studied

lakes in Finland. Eutrophication of the lake has
progressed at a rapid pace over the last few years. The
greatest threat is the nutrient load, which exceeds the
lake's tolerance limit. The phosphorus load should
be reduced to half the present level in order to stop
eutrophication and gradually improve water quality.
Arable farming and animal husbandry are the
principal sources of the phosphorus and nitrogen
load entering the lake. Atmospheric deposition, the
w a t e r
The nutrient load, the effects of each water

protection measure and the water quality of the lake
are monitored regularly. Biological monitoring has
been carried out with fish and crayfish inventories.
1 3 0
p r o j e c t s
A two-dimensional water-flow and water-quality

model of Lake Pyhjrvi has been developed in order
to assess how the changes in external nutrient loads
affect water quality in the lake.
Results and impact

The project consisted of several practical actions
which targeted somewhat immediate and visible
water-quality improvements. The project has already
influenced agri-environmental planning in Finland.
It also aims at amending the legislation governing
wastewater treatment in rural areas. By the end of
the project, it was possible to recommend new
regulatory methods for most river basins in southern
Finland, on the western coast of Finland and in
Scandinavia.
The concrete environmental benefits will depend
largely on the effects of the measures that have been
taken. So far, some measures seem quite effective,
but the long-term results are not yet discernible.
According to preliminary water-quality monitoring,
the efficiency of sediment ponds and wetlands varies
considerably.
w a t e r
1 3 1
p r o j e c t s
European Commission
LIFE Environment in action 56 new success stories for Europes environment
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
2001 131 pp. 21 x 29.7 cm
ISBN 92-894-0272-5

EU LIFE Environment in Action

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14

LIFE - Environment in action

OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS

See our publications catalogue at:

56 new success stories for Europes environment

LIFE - Environment in action

56 new success stories for Europes environment

Substitution of cadmium-based pigments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Rehabilitation of the urban environment and biodiversity of Aranjuez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Promotion of a regional landscape in the shadow of the capital of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Commissioner Margot Wallstrm

The New LIFE regulation LIFE-Environment III

The AIM (air

responsibilities and duties that were

Description of the problem

Air quality management initiatives are an

London's air pollution derives from a whole range of

This LIFE project, based in London, involved

This was an extremely ambitious project, as

An air-quality management toolkit was proposed and

The Monnet system provided comprehensive

1. the system needs to be dynamic and not static,

Monnet e-mail and the Monnet web site were used

The pollutants considered included: carbon

Results and impact

As the dominant source of emissions in London,

The air-quality management process is still

The initial priorities for the project ensured that

The monitoring of air quality is a significant

transport and large-scale industrial sources,

water underwent full biological treatment prior to

WNI identified the potential for applying a single

At the time of project conception, WNI operated

The idea was to utilise the untreated dairy waste

WNI also generated approximately 115 million

Results and impact

results in pH-correction of the waste water prior to

The first stage of heat recovery then takes place in

Chemical use savings

The dairy waste water is circulated continuously over

Six European towns and cities were chosen to host

At the same time, fifty volunteers and their homes

Description of the problem

All monitoring was carried out using the "radiello"

The experimental database contains 6 205

The Macbeth (Monitoring of Atmospheric

benzene concentration for each of the cities,

exposure may be estimated to be about twice that

The low cost of the operation is also of great interest.

The average pollution level in the home turned out

Results and impact

2) On average, European citizens are exposed to

The different geographical, climatic, economic and

The experimental data suggest an explanation of this

Macbeths innovative methodological approach is

Radiello shown in the vertical

further options for cost-effective application of

This project was carried out between 1997 and

Description of the problem

The main aim was to develop and apply data,

The detrimental effects of atmospheric pollution

Essentially, the work involved the further

Assessment of the acid rain problem currently

used for policy support were harmonised, integrated