An even more performing cement plant with even lower emissions: this is what emerges from the results of the environmental monitoring of the plant, presented today by the Director Lorenzo Metullio. The results of the environmental monitoring of the cement plant confirm, in fact, a significant improvement of the most important environmental parameters monitored, in particular that of powders.
In the 2017, the average daily dust content was 3.33 mg / Nm3, compared to the limit imposed by XIAXX 2017 mg / Nm15. The first months of 3 record values even below 2018 mg / Nm1. Positive values also for nitrogen oxides, with reduced values of 3% compared to previous years and for sulfur dioxide, with a daily average of 35 mg / Nm1.26 with respect to the 3 mg / Nm50 limit, then with a value of 3 times lower than the reference standard.
A greater industrial efficiency of the plant is also confirmed by the reduction of 7% of energy consumption compared to 2016 with a saving of more than 5 million KWh thanks to interventions to improve the efficiency of the plant. Significant reduction of 50% of water consumption, through a more rational resource, which led to consuming 140.000 m3 of water less in the 2017.
Investments in favor of sustainability
More than 2017 thousand euros have been invested in the 700 for the maintenance and efficiency of the filters, the adoption of new types of "filtering sleeves" for the reduction of emissions, the use of new electrical uninterruptible power supplies, for the control emissions and for the environmental recovery of quarries.
In 2018 a total investment of about 1 million euros is foreseen for further filtering, the complete modernization of the emissions monitoring system and the adoption of a new continuous monitoring system with innovative technology and the renewal of some parts of the cement plant.
Within the year, the environmental management system of the Colleferro cement plant will adapt to the new ISO 14001: 2015 standard for even wider management of its environmental aspects and impacts
Attention to the biodiversity of the Cava di San Bruno
The cement comes from raw materials of natural origin coming from mining areas located near the cement plant. Limestone, one of the fundamental raw materials for the cement production cycle, comes from the San Bruno quarry, active in the Municipality of Segni, and is transported in cement plants through a series of 6 conveyor belts that are a total of 4.300 meters long, without affecting the local traffic.
The extraction activity, Italcementi supports responsible use of resources for the reduction of environmental impacts through the drafting of a quarry recovery plan, which pays great attention to biodiversity and ecosystems.
The San Bruno quarry is cultivated with the "horizontal descending spaces" system: starting from the top with the excavations proceeding gradually towards the lower parts of the area. As you proceed downward, the upper parts no longer used to find the raw materials can be recovered immediately. In this way the areas are restored at the end of their use, with considerable advantages in terms of safety and environmental impact. The project for the recovery of the quarry has as its purpose the maximum reinsertion of the places in the surrounding landscape and in the surrounding environment; for this reason, besides the important naturalistic recovery, there is a partial reuse of the territory for tree crops already widespread in the area through native species and varieties: the seeds used for the greening are local species or however suitable for the area and , where possible, autochthonous flowers are used coming from the mowing of surrounding lands or the area.
Plants, especially shrubs, have been inserted, able to support the species of birds and insects which, in turn, will favor their diffusion, thus allowing to obtain, in a short time, the integration of the recoveries in the surrounding environment and the creation of a dense and stable tree cover in areas no longer worked. Finally, in the creation of forest surfaces, we tried to recreate a structure as similar as possible to natural forms, even through the irregular or stained arrangement of trees and shrubs.
The cement plant and safety, a fundamental commitment
Italcementi has always been committed to ensuring that safety is a "lifestyle" for its workers and for all the people who work in the plants. From 2000, there has been a reduction in accidents of 80%.
The safety culture characterizes the daily commitment of all Colleferro cement workers who, in November 2017, achieved the important goal of 1 year without accidents (a number that involves not only the employees of the plant, but also the companies contractors and transporters).
And only in the 2017 the actions taken were:
261 security audit with individual employees;
207 security audit with personnel of contractors; 141 security audit with personnel of transport companies; 824 departmental meetings on security;
27 security committees;
19 general safety assemblies with workers;
2.221 hours of security training;
18 security inspections;
70 technical / organizational audit.
Colleferro's cement plant
Built in the first post-war period, the Colleferro cement plant was the first in Italy to be destined to produce pozzolanic hydraulic binders, enhancing the pozzolan deposits in the Colleferro area. The rapid development of the activity of the plant led to the establishment in 1921 of the "Italian company for the production of lime and cement of Segni", purchased in 1972 by Italcementi, which immediately launched a plan for the progressive modernization and strengthening of the plant. Important interventions were also carried out in the nineties: the construction of a new bagging and shipping shed with two palletizers, the replacement of the cooked electrofilters and the filters of the oven coolers with bag filters and the construction of a new 10.000 cement silo. t.
In 1995 the cement plant obtained the ISO 9002 quality certification. Starting from the 2000s, other significant modernization interventions concerned the production site, including: the modernization of the CTP filter of the kiln, the revamping of kiln 1 and of the kiln 2, the installation of the SNCR plant for the non-catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides to the emissions of the kilns, the installation of the Continuous Emissions Monitoring System of the two clinker cooking lines. In 2005 the plant obtained the ISO 14001 environmental certification and in 2010 the Integrated Environmental Authorization reviewed in 2017.