Italian Institute for Environmental
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RaStEM: a tool to support planning and design of hydrogeological risk mitigation measures

The monitoring of hydrogeological risk mitigation measures, that ISPRA has been carrying out for more than twenty-five years on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), highlights that in many cases measures planning and design does not take into account adequately the typological characteristics of the hazards and the relationships between them and the elements exposed to risk in the area

Application of isotopic analysis for the proportioning of organic matter: study of an artificial reservoir

With the study of the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen it is possible to quantify the contribution to the total organic substance deriving either from the natural transformation of the biotic component or from anthropic sources such as, for example, urban and/or industrial waste. Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of such investigations in the identification and evaluation of contributions to organic matter deriving from multiple sources, in fact the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen show an isotopic composition characteristic of the source from which they originate.

Risk assessment criteria for priority setting of the remediation interventions

ISPRA, as required by the legislation (Art. 199 - paragraph 6, letter a) of Legislative Decree 152/06), has started the activities of developing risk assessment criteria as a national reference for the Regional Plans for the Remediation of Polluted Areas (PRBs). This report illustrates the activities conducted in the first phase (phase 1), in which national priority criteria are first identified, to apply to potentially contaminated sites, with the support of the Technical Table, set up with Regions and ARPA, starting with the reconnaissance of criteria available at national and international level.

Models of flow and transport of contaminants in groundwater

The implementation of numerical models of flow and transport of contaminants in groundwater is becoming increasingly important, either in the context of remediation procedures for contaminated sites with the purpose of defining and planning interventions for the safety and remediation of groundwater, and at the basin or sub-basin scale for the characterization and management of groundwater resources.  In this context, it is of primary importance that public administrations and control bodies, as auditors or reviewers of the models themselves, have a methodological reference that guides the implementation on the one hand, and the evaluation of numerical models on the other.