Il Cr(VI) nelle acque sotterranee della provincia di Torino: origine, distribuzione e interventi

Chromium is an important industrial mineral used for over a century making alloys in metallurgy, manufacture of paints and varnishes, in tanning leather, in the creation of refractories, in the production of chemical reagents and chromium plating. Its widespread use explains its presence in the environment and in the groundwater. This work has examined the geochemistry of chromium and its general distribution in nature and in different areas affected by anthropogenic contamination. In detail it has been examined the situation in the region of Piedmont and in the Province of Turin, distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic sources, and providing an element distribution in the three compartments: soil, groundwater and surface water. In particular it has been explored the study of the least stable form of chromium, or Cr(VI), an element highly toxic and carcinogenic to humans. In collaboration with the Provincia di Torino - settore bonifiche e rifiuti were collected and processed data from the last 10 years about contamination from Cr(VI) in groundwater in the province of Turin with the creation purpose of a map about its distribution. In detail 19 sites characterized by the presence of Cr(VI) in groundwater and in soils have been examined. Among these it has been considered the case of Basse di Stura, focusing on an industrial plant. I analyzed the situation of the contamination and conduct a risk analysis. The strong presence of contaminant leads in searching for new procedures that would allow the contaminated aquifers remediation; with this purpose it was made an experiment on water and soil samples contaminated with Cr(VI), taken within the site, in collaboration with the Dipartimento di Chimica Analitica dell'Università degli studi di Torino. So it has been demonstrated the possibility of reducing the concentration of Cr(VI) by using the bioremediation adding sugar.