Between June 29 and July 6, Las Salinas toured European cities with long experience in the remediation of contaminated soils in urban environments: Lacq, in France; Turin and Milan, in Italy; and Gent, Gijzegem, Soetaert and Brussels, in Belgium. The purpose of this trip was to visit a series of projects associated with soil remediation in order to exchange experiences and technology transfer regarding the development of these initiatives, both to see aspects associated with engineering in the operation of biopiles and soil management, as well as the development of these projects in urban environments. As stated by Esteban Undurraga, development manager of Las Salinas “”. Among the places visited was the Séché contaminated soil treatment center, located in the city of Lacq, in the south of France, where it was possible to see and touch the operation of biopiles that work with the same criteria as those proposed by Las Salinas, which considers the encapsulation and control of environmental variables of the biopile. The tour of the Luigi Einaudi university campus in Turin, an urban recovery project generated after the remediation of a site where a gas plant was previously located, also attracted attention. After the land was remediated, the campus – designed by famed British architect and designer Norman Foster’s studio – was installed and began operating in 2012, with a groundwater remediation process still underway, without generating interference or risk for those who use the campus on a daily basis. “”, explains Camilo Quiroga, head of environmental development at Las Salinas. In addition, the engineering and technology associated with large-scale sanitation projects, such as sheet piles, Berlin walls, drying piles, among others, could be seen directly in Belgium. The visit was attended by Esteban Undurraga, development manager of Las Salinas; Camilo Quiroga, head of the environmental area; and Salvador Donghi, PUCV biologist and member of the company’s scientific committee that generated the basis for the environmental project for the reclamation of the land.
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