Dipl. Ing. Ansonia Lillo Tor Dean University of Santo Tomás - Arica Chile

Dipl. Ing. Ansonia Lillo Tor Dean University of Santo Tomás - Arica Chile

In Chile, the environmental matters have been faced up intensely during the past years. Despite this, just in the last year it was implemented the Ministry of Environment.

www.mma.gob.cl This governmental entity is in charge of designing and implementing of policies, projects and programs in environmental subjects, as other related matters. Chilean foreign policy concerning environmental matters has been characterized by facing decidedly the present global challenges, developing and active participation in the worldwide agenda for the sustainable development. Within this frame, there have been subscribed a group of protocols and agreements including Climatic Change, Biodiversity, Ozone Layer Protection and Chemical Substances Control, among the most important ones.

Consequently, Chile has signed a number of international and commercial agreements, bilateral and multilateral, focused to reach the sustainable development and encourage the companies social responsibility. The Environmental Ministry manages the SINIA Website, National System of Environmental Information, and it is constituted for a set of data bases.

CHILE UST is a private institution with a strong national presence, accredited by the National Commission of Accreditation of the Chilean Ministry of Education.

From its beginning since 1988 has been consolidating because of its outstanding academic staff and facilities This allows us to promote the cooperation and interchange among academicians, researchers and students in more than 26 universities and 200 thousands students in the 5 continents.

UST offers different under degree programs, having an important Faculty of Science, which has developed project focused on Environmental Studies financed by different Government Funds

one of the most successful post degree program have been Environmental Management Magister

UST is also present at the Arica and Parinacota Region, in the most northern part of Chile, frontier with Peru and Bolivia. UST Arica has 2.000 students and offers careers of different field of knowledge. This year we inaugurated our new facilities with more than 8.000 square meters of modern infrastructure. UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS ARICA CHILE

Arica is the Capital of the Arica and Parinacota Region, and it is located at the very northern part of Chile. 180.000 inhabitants (1.24% Chile) 16.898 km2 (2.24% Chile) arica ARICA AND PARINACOTA REGION NORTH OF CHILE

13 28 latitud sur 70 20 longitud oeste Arica has a desert climate. The Region economic development has been rather slower than the rest of the country, causing this, higher unemployment and depopulation levels in the Region.

Its economic sources during the last years has been the agriculture, fishing and tourism. ARICA PARINACOTA REGION During the last two decades, the environmental matters have acquired a growing importance, much more nowadays when it is an aim to develop the great mining industry.

Why do environmental matters have acquired such importance in Arica? 1984 1989 PROMEL imported 21 tons of wasting minerals (with lead and arsenic) from the Sweden Canadian BOLIDEN METAL company. These wastes were placed on the Port, a Worshop and SITE F.

TASK Between the years 1989 and 1995 Citizens built basic houses adjacent to this area, known as Los Industriales and Cerro Chuño. The called Lead Conflict in Arica broke out with an unusual strength at the end of the 90, period where it was possible to verify the existence of contamination by poly metals

Once it was confirmed how dangerous were these wastes, people starts making several protests demanding the authorities to move those materials and cleaning of the area. The wastes were finally moved from that place in the year of 1998 to a near place named Quebrada Encantada, however, many persons used this material to fill their yards and also around their houses.

Likewise, to have these wastes so close along with the wrong management moved only to a few meters from villages without any type of adequate protection these wastes continued affecting people, mostly young people and children who have evident and serious health problems as the time goes by. So the problem far from having a solution was getting worse.

OFFICIAL REPORTS

Through different studies it was detected the existence of 8 points with environmental problems in the area. The pollution because of metallic wasting was the one which causes most interest among researchers, having as a result the starting of different actions to identify the content of the wasting and its consequence for health.

Distribution of lead In Arica City. Lead (mg/kg) 0 400 > 400 Based on documented information it has been possible to identify zones with strong exposures to poly metallics. The defined values as blanks represent the soil natural condition, i.e., correspond to points without anthropogenic intervention; therefore the international leading values adopted should be over these values The base levels provided by CONAMA studies are: Element Minimum Value mg/kg Maximum Value mg/kg Average Value mg/kg Lead 138 200 163 Arsenic 1 12 7

Distribution of Arsenic Arsenic (mg/kg) 0 20 > 20 Based on documented information it has been possible to identify zones with strong exposures to arsenic.

Zones contaminated Lead + Arsenic The final report year 2009 shows the following summary values for heavy metals: Element Minimum Value mg/kg Maximum Value mg/kg Average Value mg/kg Lead 138 200 163 Arsenic 1 12 7

Lead Concentration at the Zone F

Arsenic Concentration at the Zone F

The Regional Government has assigned important funds for the contaminated soil remediation at areas identified at the polygon zone. Integral Mitigation and Remediation program for intervening area is related to a Master Plan (2009 2015). It has to implement the priorities actions which allow reducing the associated risks to the poly metallic releases, so as to protect the human health and environment.

DANGER CONTAMINATED ZONE BY ARSENIC Mitigation Advances: In a surface of 16 hectares inside the polygon zone, it has been applied an agglomerate (acrylic polymer) so as to fix the particulate material and avoid its dispersion because of the wind.

What happen with the areas nearby the polygon zone? It does exist a group of small and medium size enterprises called FEMIPYME whom represent about 500 companies. They will build some industrial parks in zones adjacent to the ones identifies as highly contaminated and they are in the process of remediation.

The surface of these industrial parks corresponds to 62 hectares adjacent to the polygon zone and other the AGIMA with 6 hectares inside the polygon zone. It is not considered its characterization nor its eventual remediation. It is here where appears the possibility of the technological transference.

After the first contacts last November in Leipzig, in December in Santiago of Chile it was signed a Letter on Intent for cooperation between UST and TASK.

Characterization of the anthropogenic contamination by heavy metals in soils. Optimization of the preliminary exploration through magnetic measures MAGPROX

Within this frame, last March in Arica, it took place a meeting among the leaders of FEMIPYME, and Dr. Martin Bittens, TASK Director, to concrete a specifically project to implement the MAGPROX technology. The Association is interested in knowing the soils characterization where they will build their industrial parks. In June of this year it will start in Arica the Project which will allow transferring the German soils characterization by technology MAGPROX.

ARICA PARINACOTA REGION