Group from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) during the visit on the Argalario security cell on 11 May 2021The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of in-person visits to the Argalario security cell located in Barakaldo (Bizkaia); however, since May, professionals in the field and students on specialist master’s degrees may again return to the Argalario facilities provided they abide by the health restrictions in place.

In 2002, the Argalario security cell, situated in Barakaldo (Bizkaia), was permanently closed to contain over 340,000 m³ of soil contaminated by lindane, a pesticide that is now banned due to its toxicity for human health and the environment.

The infrastructure, which cost €34 million, is part of the Basque Government’s commitment to restore over 340 hectares of land of the Basque Country that was contaminated by this insecticide, classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation since 2015.

During the construction of the cell and to the present, this project has been and is a benchmark given its scope, the quality control systems implemented and used, along with the citizen participation processes in place right from the very start.

Therefore, the last 20 years has seen a steady stream of visits by different stakeholders and entities, including delegations of interested regions from Brazil, the Netherlands or Rumania; delegates to landfill and contaminated soil conferences; research groups from the Basque Country, Navarra and Cantabria; a variety of training centres; and different specialist companies, such as Aclima, the Basque Environment Cluster. The Argalario security cell has also been showcased at different symposiums and forums, such as the 13th HCH & Pesticide Forum in Zaragoza.

In total, since 2002, over 2,500 people, mainly professionals in the field or students on specialist master’s degrees, have gone to Barakaldo to learn the details of this ambitious projects from members of Ihobe-the Basque Government’s environmental management agency. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the visitors is clear; since 2016 surveys have been conducted in that regard and the average satisfaction is over 9 out of 10.

Each visit includes an educational tour of the facilities, which can be adapted to the specific interests of the visitors: for example, the purification treatment of the lixiviates produced in the cell is sometimes explained; other times, the degassing system set up in the former landfill that was restored during the project; or the environmental control systems installed on site to control the water and air quality around Argalario.

Despite the socio-health situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the visits to be adapted to the health measures in force and even to replace in-person by remote sessions, interest in the project has not waned nearly 20 years after it was conceived.

Please write to info@ihobe.eus to request information on upcoming sessions or to submit an application. You can find further information on the Argalario security cell and other land-related themes in the Ihobe "Soils" section.

Ihobe-the Basque Government’s environmental management agency is the public manager of this infrastructure. Since the cell’s construction to the present, Ihobe has overseen the environmental control and maintenance work in order to ensure the cell is in good condition.