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DOI: 10.4018/IJSESD.292069
Volume 13 • Issue 1
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*Corresponding Author
1
Konstantinos I. Vatalis, Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Greece*
Greece was one of the biggest producers of asbestos in the world as well as a consumer. It took
advantage of the asbestos-rich Zidani mine, in the region of Western Macedonia in Greece. However,
due to serious health problems caused by inhaling asbestos, it was banned in 1979 and the mine closed
in March 2000. Rehabilitation management of the abandoned asbestos mining area, the depositions
in the open-pit mining area, and the tailings remnants was necessary in order to avoid health and
environmental problems in the wider area. The detailed soil protection and rehabilitation project of
the degraded mining area was implemented taking all necessary and appropriate safety and health
measures according to the requirements of the relevant EU and national legislation, so that accidents
would be prevented. Results show that the rehabilitation, soil protection, and enhancement of the area
help the ecosystems to be sustainable and ecologically and socially acceptable.
Asbestos, External Depositions, Rehabilitation Project, Zidani Greece
Environmental degradation derives its origin from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The recent
period of industrialization and urbanization has contributed significantly to this. Heavy metals are
one of the most hazardous contaminants that may be present in the soil and aquatic environment. A
different kind of pollutant but equally, or even more dangerous for the neighboring inhabitants, miners
and users of the final products is asbestos. Asbestos fibers when inhaled in high concentrations and
over a long period of time are a health hazard. People who worked for long periods with asbestos
and were constantly exposed to it, suffered serious damage to their health (Cornelissen, 2017; Vatalis
and Kaliampakos, 2006). The problem was not realized until the early eighties and therefore, workers
in both the mines and the construction industry, and even people using asbestos based materials
were affected. It has been estimated that it takes from 10 to 40 years for a person to become ill after
exposure to asbestos. It is believed that it is very likely that one will develop such an illness after an
episode of exposure to large quantities of asbestos fibers or by exposure over a short period of time to
small quantities (Liebenberg, et al., 2012). Asbestos is a collective term used to describe six naturally
occurring fibrous minerals that have specific physical/ chemical properties. These properties make
them resistant to heat and acid, giving the material a high tensile strength, which makes it ideal for
use in many industrial materials – everything from brake linings to building insulation. Asbestos
was commonly used in a variety of construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. The
strength of its fibers make it suitable for use in the manufacture of roofing shingles, ceiling and floor
tiles, paper products and asbestos cement, and its heat resistant properties for friction products, such
as automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts, heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and
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coatings. Since it is a major contributor to environmental problems, the management of asbestos
deposits in the Zidani Asbestos Mining Area (ZAMA), must be monitored regularly and controlled
by the environmental conditions to ensure that the rehabilitation of the affected area is successful
(Damigos and Kaliampakos, 2006).
The asbestos surface exploitation of the MABE Company was situated at Zidani, in Western
Macedonia in North-western Greece, 40 km south of the city of Kozani (Fig. 1). The Zidani area
covers 4,135,115 m2. It operated from 1982 to 2000 (MABE, 2012). It was Europe’s largest mine and
the last to stop working after the ban of asbestos. During operation, it produced 106 tons of asbestos.
The mining area is about 1km away from the Aliakmon River and near the Polyfytos reservoir
through which the river f lows (Pavlou et al. 2013). The river is the main source of drinking water
for large cities in Greece, such as Thessaloniki and Kastoria and is used extensively for irrigation
(Koumantakis et al. 2009). Asbestos concentrations throughout the Aliakmon river and polyfytos
lake were considerably higher than the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA standard values for
asbestos in surface waters (SOP Protocol, 2013).
The remnants of the asbestos exploitation plant are separated schematically in four areas a)
the Mine, b) the Depositions, c) the Building Facilities and d) the Surrounding area, vide infra
(Anastasiadou and Gidarakos, 2007). It is not unusual for exhausted open-pit mines to be converted
into landfills for disposal of solid wastes and they are often used for the disposal of urban solid
wastes. In this area however, because substantial quantities of asbestos remained exposed in the
external deposition mining area, purification techniques were implemented as well as coverage of
the deposits and progressive rehabilitation of the area. Problems concerning slope formation, quality
topsoil supplies, and the selection of suitable plants that can survive the extreme site conditions were
studied. Furthermore, a method to solve the problems of toxicity and environmental pollution was
suggested, which involved land rehabilitation and the environmental restoration of the deposition
material in the mining area. Gidarakos et al., 2008, discovered that the data that they could collect
from the Asbestos Mine of Northern Greece called “MABE” regarding the quality of the environment
and in particular, the presence of asbestos was insufficient to determine the extent of the pollution
problem at the time. Thus, the first approach to this problem was to conduct a toxicity risk assessment
(Damigos and Kaliampakos, 2006).
Rehabilitation is interdisciplinary, crossing traditional subject boundaries (Qin et al., 1997; Li and Lai,
1994). For example, mining engineering, landscape architecture, and environmental management is
required to harness the principles of ecological succession during the rehabilitation process. Ideally,
the planning of both the mining operations and the rehabilitation processes should be fully integrated.
The term “succession” stands for a natural process (Reynolds and Tenhumen, 1996), and there is
usually a sequential transition from simple ecosystems to more complex ones (Marrs and Bradshaw,
1993). For instance, a degraded grassland habitat may change gradually from a sparse herb grassland
to dense herb grassland, then to shrub-grass ecosystems, and finally to forest. This process can take
several decades or even centuries. However, human beings and social activities may interfere and
accelerate the ecological development or even change their direction (Vatalis, 2010). Such an approach
has been implemented in China where the local people who live in the areas surrounding mines were
involved in the rehabilitation process of the open-cast mines in Shanxi Province (Miao and Marrs,
2000). During surface mining, two to eleven times more land is degraded than with underground
mining (Miao and Marrs, 2000). Mining transforms fertile, cultivated land into wasteland or bog,
and causes serious environmental pollution of land, air and water (Rybnikova, et al., 2017). On the
other hand, a wealth of useful raw materials for the contemporary industrial civilization is gained
from open surface mining (Menegaki an Kaliampakos 2012).
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The external depositions of the Zidani mining area (Fig. 2 & 3c) originated from asbestos
mineral processing in the plant, from 1982 to 2000. During the mining operation, the production
capacity was 100,000 tons/ year. The barren materials from the plant were transferred using shovel
and dumpers as mechanical equipment, while configuration was accomplished by bulldozers. The
aim was to create a progressively horizontal square, a task which was finally fulfilled at the altitude
of 590m. At that point the deposit site was separated from the ravine by a single bench. Due to the
deposition method mentioned above and the significant volume of material, typically larger deposits
reached the base of the slope while smaller deposits were spread throughout the slope, in the form
of piles (Anastasiadou and Gidarakos, 2007).
A methodological framework was developed and designed to highlight actions which are needed to
enable feedback on the environmental and human health impacts of the current management choices of
Figure 1. Zidani Asbestos Mining Area “ZAMA” in Greece
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the asbestos area. Particularly, the first part focuses on the existence of asbestos materials in the wide
area. The second concerns the labelling of the location and condition of the material and its potential
risk. Thirdly, the risk assessment of exposure to asbestos materials and the preparation of a plan to
manage the problem to ensure that any hazardous material that contains asbestos, in this geographical
location, is managed with the appropriate environmental technique so as to protect public health.
Finally, the decision making concerning the restoration of the abandoned external depositions, the
restoration of the old mine and the remediation of the building facilities. This methodology offers a
safe and sustainable framework to address the economic, environmental, and human activities, such
as ecosystem resilience after an intense mining period and public health protection, through the final
rehabilitation project, leading to a more sustainable future for this area.
By the presence and the activities of the asbestos mine in Zidani area, the environmental resources,
such as water, soil and air were and still are, polluted with unknown amounts of asbestos. Accordingly,
systematic sampling and evaluation of the contamination levels was compulsory for the planning of
rehabilitation needs. A part of the examination concerned not only the material from mining, but also
the barren material derived from the mineral processing. In addition, the top of the old deposits had an
unexpected high level of contamination despite the partial rehabilitation treatment on that part of the
tailings. Worse still was that the barren material of the mining process and the fine grained mineral
treatment remains were deposited for several years in a ravine, which is very close to the Aliakmon
river. It should be also noted that landslides have occurred over the years due to the enormous volume
of barren material and the exceptionally steep slopes. Physicochemical analyses were necessary to
determine the present asbestos pollution levels of MABE deposits and concentrations in the Aliakmon
river and Polyfytos reservoir. In particular, the fiber size alteration along the river course and the effect
of the river-water pH on fiber dissolution was determined. Also, the temperature and pH relation to
the translocation of chrysotile fibers in the river water was monitored to simulate the effect of the
seasonal weather variation in the area. Water sampling and analyses were performed throughout the
Aliakmon river and Polyfytos reservoir, since the water is used for both irrigation and drinking for
major neighboring communities, such as Thessaloniki, Greece (Koumantakis et al., 2009).
Figure 2. Photorealistic plan of rehabilitation green project (ANKO, 2003)
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The Asbestos Mine of Northern Greece (MABE) is situated within the Zidani area in the Region of
Western Macedonia, 40 km south of the city of Kozani. The mine is also less than 1 km away from the
Aliakmon river (Fig. 1), the longest river in Greece and it is also near the artificial lake of Polyfytos.
The Polyfytos artificial lake was created by the construction of a dam on the Aliakmon River for the
Greek Public Power Corporation. The Aliakmon reservoir area is an important habitat for fish and
birds because it provides food, nesting and shelter. The area is also used by migratory bird species
as a winter shelter, and several species of reptiles and mammalian fauna have been reported around
the lake. MABE operated the plant until 1992, with production in various quality trade groups and
extraction of fibers, about 3%. In 1992, it was rented by the Swiss company Mineral Intergraded Ltd,
which continued production until 1997. After the global outcry over the harmfulness of asbestos on
health, and by following the path of other plants in different countries, it was necessary to shut down
business, leaving more than 200 workers and engineers without work. The waste of the plant consisted
of millions of tons of trapped asbestos, and thus the slopes needed configuration and recovery. The
mine covers an area of 335,000 m2. The exploitation was performed in the open-pit mine using
explosives by applying the method of vertical closed benches. The mining process has resulted in
the creation of a funnel excavation approximately 180 meters deep, in steps of 10 meters which are
5 meters wide. At the bottom of the mine, a lake was formed covering an area of about 125 acres.
The deposits of asbestos in Zidani were first discovered in 1936 and in 1950, it was denominated the
greatest exploitable asbestos deposit in Greece. The mine, which was an open pit mine, started its
Figure 3. Methodological framework
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initial operation in 1981 and ceased operation on March 6, 2000. The total production during the active
exploitation period (1981-2000) consisted of 59.441.010 tons serpentine fibers and 905.388 tons of
chrysotile. In 2003, the EU project of environmental restoration collected 20.000 tons of raw asbestos
fibers in 50 kg plastic bags, which were packed and buried in the mine’s internal storehouse. Only a
small amount of that was used in the country’s cement factories and almost the entire production was
exported abroad. Asbestos fibers were banned in Greece as well as in the E.U as a whole in 2005 due
to its detrimental health effects, which was discovered in 1983. Over the entire active mining period
in Zidani around 1000 people were periodically employed, while during the peak period in1985,
about 500 people were employed simultaneously (Vafeiadou, 2003).
The Zidani area is situated on the western border of the pelagonian zone (Rassios, 2008). The chrysotile
fibers of the asbestos mine occur as syntectonic slip-fiber veins altering the antigorite serpendinite
along brittle shear planes. Retrogression and brittle deformation of the antigorite serpendinite was
the result of the thrusting of the overlying rocks. The partitioning of deformation along numerous
amphibolite dykes (Sheraton et al., 1989) that cross cut the deposit, enhanced the intensity of the
thrusting- related phenomena, and played a major role in the deposit Formation (Karkanas, 1995). On
the other hand, a small occurrence of tremolite asbestos, near “Ano Agoriani” of Othrys Mountain,
occurs as slip fiber veins, in metasomatic zones between rodignitized gabbroic segregations and
serpendinites. The tremolite asbestos veins represent the channel system, in which Ca, Si - rich
fluids of a second phase of serpendinization, supersaturated in respect to tremolite, circulated at the
ultramafic - gabbros contacts.
From 1968 the Zidani mine was the major asbestos-cement producer in Northern Greece covering the
needs of the rapid urbanisation of the area. Also, until 2013 the plant also produced asbestos for cement
for the construction industry. Asbestos was used throughout Greece in small-scale constructions and
in a sporadic way, mainly in the production of cement products. In contrast to countries with colder
climates asbestos was not used as thermal isolation material in Greece. Therefore, the problem of
asbestos removal was less significant than in other European countries. Over the last 20 years’ other
kinds of insulating materials such as polystyrene or polyurethane as well as cement enriched with
wooden fibers have been used for thermal isolation in the country. However, the readily recognizable
and easily removable one-piece wavelike roof sheets contain 10% asbestos (Vafeiadou, 2003).
The purpose of this article was to follow the land restoration and environmental rehabilitation progress
of the asbestos depositions over the years. In order to achieve this goal, we studied in detail the
conditions before and during the mining activity (surface relief, slope, vegetation and landscape) and
followed up the proposed rehabilitation model to analyze if it was appropriate in order to respond to the
social concern for adverse effects on the environment and on the public health of the local population
from the uncontrolled depositions of waste asbestos material (Menegaki and Kaliampakos 2012). In
the entire Kozani region, measurements had shown high levels of asbestos contamination in the air
which were clearly derived from the mining operation. The asbestos amounts which were released
during the mine operation due to repeated explosions, treatment procedures, dissolution, loading and
unloading of asbestos and barren material, were inestimable (Anastasiadou and Gidarakos, 2007).
As presented in a recent study by Koumantakis et al. (2009) in the area, the asbestos concentration
in the Aliakmon river was also much higher than the permissible limit that is established by the
Environmental Protection Agency (SOP, 2013).
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MABE Company ran the asbestos open pit mining in Zidani area in Greece for more than twenty years
and was an internationally significant producer of chrysotile. The company employed a medical doctor
to supervise the health of those working for the company over the years. The medical examination
of the employees in the mine, however, did not show any immediate relation between the twenty-six
deaths of company workers and the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Despite EU warnings and legislation
concerning the dangers of asbestos, three lung cancer deaths were diagnosed as being due to heavy
smoking and the fourth case to complications of tuberculosis. The spirometry tests did not generally
show any respiratory function impact of the working environment on the workers, neither were there
cases of mesothelioma or asbestosis diagnosed. All in all, in asbestos mining regions in Greece, nine
cases of amiantosis, one mesothelioma and fourteen lung cancer of heavy smokers were reported
until 2003. However, no national enquiry was conducted at the time which was adequate to produce
statistically significantly results concerning asbestos related diseases. (Vafeiadou, 2003).
The Greek legislation follows EU policy. Specifically, regulations have been issued by the
Hellenic government and the E.U on use of asbestos, its market restriction, protection of workers and
the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution. According to the European legislation, the
permissible exposure limit (PEL) for asbestos is determined at 0.1 to 0.2 fibers/cm3 (f/cm3) of air as
a time-weighted average (TWA) concentration over an 8-h work shift according to the modification
of Directive 83/477/EC (2003). The American National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) recommends that asbestos should be controlled and handled as a potential human carcinogen
in the workplace and that exposure should be minimized to the lowest feasible limit (NIOSH, 1997).
Serious health impacts follow inhalation of asbestos fibers that become airborne, for example
when building material alters after aging. Presence of asbestos has recently been identified by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA, 2016) as a hazardous and cancerogenic
environment. The microscopic fibers of this substance become embedded in the lung tissue and
give rise to several cell alterations leading to organ malfunction and eventually death. Lung cancer,
mesothelioma and asbestosis have been linked to the presence of asbestos material in both work and
home environments. Consequently, material made of or including asbestos must be removed and
disposed of in order to prevent release of airborne fibers.
According to epidemiological data, the risk of mesothelioma is higher in amphibole asbestos than
in the Zidani chrysotile type of asbestos (Hughes, 1991). USEPA (1989) in its quantitative assessment
of the risk of mesothelioma concluded that epidemiological and animal data did not conclusively
determine the differences in the risk of mesothelioma from different types of asbestos fibers and
therefore all asbestos fibers should be considered to cause similar effects. Based on this, they concluded
that chrysotile fiber of asbestos is a strong cause of pleural mesothelioma. Today there is no reliable
data or blood tests to detect mesothelioma in the area of interest. The risk assessment used derived
from previous studies in areas with relatively high chrysotile fiber levels. The rehabilitation process
of Zidani area is therefore estimated to have significantly reduced the transport and dispersion of the
airborne asbestos fibers to the wider area. It is clear that the described rehabilitation model responds
effectively to the adverse effects on the public health of the local population.
The main steps of the rehabilitation model are related to the local communities, the public health and
landscape sustainability. The hazards from the abandoned asbestos area transmits a high risk to the
human settlements, many of which are located in proximity of the mining area. The interaction of the
local communities with the abandoned Zidani area, give us the opportunity for further investigation.
Therefore, the rehabilitation model includes four phases, namely:
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1. The risk assessment of the whole mining area during the exploitation and the exposure of the
workers and the neighboring population. b). The health and safety problem that concerns both
the potential impact of the polluted building facilities and the uncontrolled external and internal
asbestos depositions, during and after the exploitation. c). The environmental impacts on the
surrounding natural environment and finally, d). The landscape sustainability of the area and
the cessation of asbestos activity in 2000 drastically reduced occupational exposures; however,
the ecosystem and landscape sustainability required urgent attention. An expensive project of
rehabilitation was undergone which adopted E.U policy measures and national legislation for the
prevention of occupational and environmental risk, both in the Zidani area and other countries.
A comprehensive figure of the most important considerations and actions that are necessary
for the environmental rehabilitation assessment and management of open pit mines is given in the
photorealistic plan (Fig. 2). In particular, the planning that involves integration of both the mining
operations and the rehabilitation processes is emphasized in the complex relationships between the
following units. According to (Anastasiadou and Gidarakos, 2007) the Zidani Asbestos Mining Area,
called “ZAMA” as seen in Fig. 2 and 3 covers 4.135.115 m2 and is separated schematically into four
units that consist of (a) the Mine, (b) the external depositions, (c) the building facilities and the (4)
surrounding area (Figs. 3a, b, c, d).
1. The mine occupies an area of 335,000 m2, in which the mineral exploitation took place by applying
the open pit method and the use of explosives that created levels 10 m high and 5 m wide. The
mine, which is 180 m deep, is funnel-shaped (Figs. 3a,). At the bottom of the mine a lake has
formed, which occupies an area of 12.5 ha.
2. The building facilities (Fig. 3b) occupied an area of 25,000 m2, whilst the total building surface
was about 44,000 m2. The production unit consisted of a Crusher house, a dryer building, a transfer
house, 3 wet silos, 6 dry silos, the mill building, the storage building and the conveyors system.
The administration building comprised offices and laboratories, whilst the utilities building
consisted of a workshop, a pharmacy, dressing rooms and a restaurant. There was a small village
a short distance from the administration building with 17 prefabricated houses, which were used
for the permanent or temporary residence of MABE employees.
3. The external depositions (Fig. 3c) originating from asbestos processing in the plant and from
by-products extracted from the mine, prevails over the slopes above the Aliakmon river. The
chemical analyses of the deposition showed a ca. 0.2% of asbestos content, amounting in the
significant total pure asbestos of about 138,000 tons in the entire barren depositions of 69,000,000
tons. The external depositions occupy an area of 532,000 m2. The deposition piles are visible
from a long distance due to the relief change and the color contrast. The principles of landscape
architecture must be applied for the ecological restoration to be in harmony with nature and the
visual characteristics of the landscape in the disturbed area (Simonds, 1961). The depositions
(Fig. 3b) mainly consist of asbestos spoils with coarse structure that form an area of hills with
very steep slopes which has resulted in a number of landslides. The spoils deposition slope can
be 80 - 90% with bank heights up to 180 m and the depositions mainly consist of materials with
particle sized sand and sludge-clay gravel (Zagas et al., 2010). To rearrange the depositions
geometry and to prepare the site for rehabilitation, a tailored rehabilitation project was financed
by the EU and the Greek Government. The aim of the project was the rehabilitation of the
depositions of the Asbestos Mine of MABE Company at Zidani, in Kozani Greece. For this
purpose, a detailed green plan was carried out (Fig. 2) by the Prefecture of Kozani, and ANKO
ltd (Zagas et al., 2010) to determine the terraces (bench plains) that should be constructed. Two
types of terraces with different width were proposed. The most significant factors in the selection
of broad and small terrace design were that it should ensure a suitable surface for vegetation to
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avoid any erosion hazard and to keep spoils depositions permanently stable. The maximum slope
angle of the spoils deposition was chosen as 22 to 24o (Zagas et al., 2010).
4. The surrounding area (Fig. 3d) occupies an area of approximately 3,500,000 m2. The results of
the soil as well as the topsoil analysis have shown very small nutrient concentrations, with low
content of clay and medium organic and very alkaline matter. Zagas et al. (2010) proposed that
the minimum depth of topsoil, which will be used for spoils covering, must be over 40 cm in
order to effectively support the established species. Also, the topsoil should be enriched with
organic matter (2% at least) and with the appropriate fertilizers to improve soil fertility and reduce
alkalinity. Since the deposition piles are visible from a long distance due to the relief change
and color contrast, the principles of landscape architecture must be applied for the ecological
rehabilitation of the disturbed land so as to conform to the visual characteristics of the landscape
of the wider area.
Figure 4. The four units of asbestos exploitation: (a) upper left: The funnel shaped asbestos mine exploitation, (b) upper right:
the building facilities, (c) lower left: the depositions and the, (d) lower right: surrounding area
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A budget of 6.200.000 Euros was assigned for the rehabilitation of Zidani deposition area by the
E.U program “environment” until 2003. Α more recent project of the environmental rehabilitation
was co-funded by the European program LIFE, with 4.3 million used to create the first asbestos
landfill. The above mentioned EU project (total budget: 13.95 million €) includes the consolidation
of the depositions by construction of terraces on the slopes, the landscaping of the mine, laying and
spreading of topsoil on them and finally planting with species that are appropriate for the region. As
a result of these activities the rehabilitated areas will become harmless with respect to the asbestos
contamination. The preparation phase as seen in (Figs. 4a, b) includes: Construction of terraces on
the slopes (horizontal surface of 433 acres, inclined surface of 488 acres, excavation of 2.2 million
m3), landscaping of the mine and horizontal surfaces (450 acres), flood and erosion protection works,
laying topsoil (350,000 m3), planting (360,000 trees, 150,000 small plants, 630 kg seed), automatic
irrigation system (length 430 km), appropriate Safety Measures & Personal Protective Equipment’s,
and PPE (Zagas et al., 2010).
This attempt is one of the top environmental green projects at European level, as the risk of carcinogenic
asbestos required the involvement of experts from the (National Center Scientific Research) NCSR
“Demokritos” in the design and operations, which have already begun. The restored areas of high risk
included 74.0 ha of asbestos and barren depositions, 55.0 ha of space mines, and 2.5 ha of building
facilities premises.
The rehabilitation of the Zidani mine was, as contemporary rehabilitation theories demand,
already active during the mining period. Clean soil with an average thickness of 50 cm was laid over
the old deposits and new benches were created, in which trees were planted This contributed to a
partial remedy of the area. Among the selected trees of pines and acacias the latter, known to have the
greater success score over 75%, were soon obtaining heights of over 2 meters even in barren areas.
In this way, a great part of the asbestos fibers was isolated, significantly reducing the contamination
of the atmosphere in the region. Despite the progress achieved in rehabilitation, the remedy of the
mine area was not considered fully processed (Koumantakis et al. 2009).
Part of the new rehabilitation effort included a newly planted forest consisting of around 800.000
trees and shrubs, which converted the altered asbestos landscape from an environmental and social
Figure 5. Planting design of external depositions area with (a) higher panel: broad and (b) lower panel: small terraces (Zagas et
al., 2010)
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wound in the area to one suitable for recreational activities for the residents of western Macedonia
(Fig. 5a, b). At the same time, the risk to the local population was reduced. The sterile landscape in
the inactive MABE mine at Zidani (Fig 5a) has been converted (Fig 5b) into a parkland of 414.4 ha of
pine trees, acacias, wicker, oak, beech, “moschoities” (Eleagnus Angustifolia) and “sfendami” (Acer
Platanoides) and hundreds of shrubs. The configuration of the slopes of the deposits was obtained
by constructing principle steps 8 or 12 m wide with a predominant average slope 1:2. To a smaller
extent for maintaining existing uphill high forest, smaller height slopes with maximum inside slope
of 1:1 were constructed. Also, additional anti-erosion measures were taken by plank bunches and
appropriate dense plantings.
The rehabilitation of the horizontal surfaces of the mine includes both inner terraces as well as
larger outer deposition areas with a total area of 257.9 ha until the boundary. In addition, it includes
the rehabilitation of the main roads, 7.17 ha, of the exploitation terraces, 11.75 ha, and other parts of
the mine, such as slopes and terraces without access. The exploitation terraces and the main streets
of the mine, as well as 8.59 ha on both sides of the traffic lanes of the external and internal areas,
are filled with topsoil and suitable tree species are planted. The traffic lanes of the terraces, 6.18
ha, are filled with barren materials and the deck of the main traffic roads, 4.58 ha, with appropriate
sub-base materials. Finally, other areas of the mine, such as the slopes and terraces without access,
15,000 single individual trees (Fig 4 & 5a) are scattered in pits filled with topsoil.
During the extraction period 1982-2000, around 70 million tons of asbestos deposits had been mined
by Zidani Asbestos Mining Company, of which 1 million tons was chrysotile asbestos. The mineral
deposits that were poor in asbestos fibers were disposed of at the external deposition areas. Once the
dangerous asbestos remnants were removed from the soil surface mining area, the most appropriate
rehabilitation measure of the abandoned mining area was for the most part reforestation. This is because
it includes significant advantages compared to the pre-mining local conditions of the area that was
degraded forest land, used by animals to graze and used for firewood production. The establishment
of the E.U and National environmental legislation and the adoption of strict permit and licensing
requirements, is gradually limiting the environmental impact of the interrupted asbestos mining
activity. Although each mining activity is unique, this article has shown the potential to develop
a framework that will help regional administration and local community players, involved in the
Figure 6. Before and after the rehabilitation of depositions (a) left panel 2007, (b) right panel in 2020
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asbestos risk management to “get it right”, demonstrating that environmental protection and mining
development is possible through the sustainability perspective. The challenges for the near future
are to develop effective public tools for public health prevention that go beyond technical solutions.
One way is to complete this process of asbestos rehabilitation by integrating historical knowledge
and international experience about the economic, social and political conditions which are produced
from rehabilitation projects.
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Anastasiadou, K., & Gidarakos, E. (2007). Toxicity evaluation for the broad area of the asbestos mine of northern
Greece. Journal of Hazardous Materials A, 139(1), 9–18. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.06.031 PMID:16889894
Anko, Ltd. (2003). Operational Environment Program and Sustainable Development. http://www.kozan.gr/
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Cornelissen, H. (2017). The Development of a Qualitative Ranking Tool for the Preliminary Selection of
Abandoned Asbestos Mine Sites for Rehabilitation. Proceedings of the 3rd world congress of new technologies.
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Damigos, D., & Kaliampakos, D. (2006). Developing fuzzy AHP system to evaluate rehabilitation alternatives
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Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, 115(3), 139–144. doi:10.1179/174328506X109059
Directive EU 83/477/EC. (2003). Protection of workers from danger connecting with the exposure to carcinogenic
substances at work, 1983. (modification of 1997/42/EU, 1999/38/EU and 2003/18/EU).
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