PGE-Gabes: Study visit on solutions for phosphogypsum management and recovery

A region affected by industrial pollution

During the 1970s, the industrialisation of the Gabes region, which is located in the south-east of Tunisia, led to the establishment of a chemical industry complex in Ghannouch, around the commercial port located 3 km to the north of Gabes. Since then, some 12,000 tons of phosphogypsum (residue from the production of phosphoric acid) are discharged into the Mediterranean every day. This pollution affects marine and oasis ecosystems, the health of populations and the economic development of an entire region.

Managing and recovering polluting residue

From 2 to 4 October 2017, representatives from civil society, decentralised administrations, research institutes and local industry went to Engis, Liege, Louvain, Namur and Evergem.

The aim of the visit was to answer the stakeholders’ questions about phosphogypsum management (storage in heaps) and recovery methods (in the construction and agriculture sectors in particular) via special meetings with Belgian companies (Prayon and Envesan), KU Leuven University, the Waste Policy Department of the Public Service of Wallonia (SPW) and the Inter-environment Federation of Wallonia.

On 12 October, Expertise France organised an additional visit for members of the PGE-Gabes Steering Committee to the Taparura site, which aims to de-pollute the northern coast of the city of Sfax.

These exchanges took place at a time when the Tunisian Government committed to the dismantling of the polluting units of the Gabes Chemical Group at the end of June 2017, their relocation to a site far from populations, which is yet to be determined, and therefore to an end to discharging phosphogypsum into the Mediterranean. The information collected by the delegation during the visit will be presented during the next project Steering Committee meetings at the end of October, in Gabes and Tunis, chaired by the Governor of Gabes and Directorate General for Environment and Quality of Life of the Ministry of Local Affairs and the Environment, respectively.