POLYECO SA

Polyeco contributed to eliminating a real and significant public health risk affecting an entire city, transforming one of the country’s most hazardous industrial remnants into a safe landmark of knowledge, memory, and sustainable heritage preservation.

The initiative’s primary objective was to address a particularly severe environmental and public health threat in Lavrion through the safe decontamination and restoration of the historic “Konofagos” building at the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park.

The building constitutes an emblematic technical and industrial monument, linked directly to the metallurgical history of the region and to the early efforts to mitigate the harmful impacts of toxic flue gases on the health of workers and residents. Following the cessation of its operations, hazardous residues of high toxicity remained inside the structure, primarily arsenic- and lead-based compounds. At the same time, the building’s severe structural instability created a substantial risk of sudden pollutant dispersion in the event of collapse.

Polyeco contributed to the safe management of a technically and environmentally complex project, where the combination of extreme toxicity, structural fragility, and the building’s designation as a monument of modern industrial heritage required highly specialized expertise, strict safety protocols, and full respect for the site’s historical character.

The initiative served three interrelated objectives: safeguarding public health and the safety of the city of Lavrio, preventing the environmental dispersion of hazardous pollutants, and preserving an emblematic monument of the country’s modern industrial history. 

The initiative primarily addresses the local community of Lavrio, as it removed a long-standing and high-risk source of pollution from a site closely connected to the city, its daily life, and its collective memory.

Direct beneficiaries include the residents of Lavrio, the employees and visitors of the Lavrio Technological and Cultural Park, neighboring businesses, and future users of the restored site. The project also concerns cultural and environmental institutions, as it preserves a monument of modern industrial heritage, as well as the scientific and technical community, since it represents a complex case study of remediation and restoration under extreme conditions.

On a broader level, the initiative is relevant to any shareholder managing contaminated industrial structures, abandoned production facilities, or heritage sites with high environmental burden, offering a practical example of responsible intervention. 

The project commenced in September 2022, lasted 33 months, and was completed in May 2025.

“Konofagos” building in Lavrio is one of the most emblematic industrial structures in region’s metallurgical history. It is associated with the operation of metallurgical facilities and the need to protect workers and residents from the toxic emissions produced during ore processing. The building was named after Konstantinos Konofagos, Professor of Chemical Engineering/Metallurgy and Rector of the National Technical University of Athens, who designed a filtration system for the capture of arsenic compounds and other hazardous particles.

Over the decades, following the cessation of its operation, the building became a heavily contaminated site. The accumulation of toxic residues inside the structure, combined with its severe structural instability, created a complex risk: a threat to the public health and the environment, and a potential loss of a unique technical monument.

The decision for the implementation of the project was based on three critical criteria. First, its significant social and environmental impact, as it was essential to protect an entire city from a real and imminent risk. Second, the need for specialized and responsible technical intervention, as the project combined an unusually high burden of hazardous pollutants, severe structural instability, and constraints related to monument protection. Third, the responsibility to preserve cultural heritage, as the building is a designated monument of modern industrial architecture.

The project was implemented under the framework of the Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (EPAnEK) – ESPA 2014–2020 and was structured into three distinct phases of high complexity.

Phase 1 – Emergency Structural Stabilization.
Works included the installation of steel support structures, the removal of hazardous structural elements, and the application of heat-shrink covering, in order to ensure the complete containment of the building and minimize the risk of pollutant dispersion.

Phase 2 – Decontamination under strict negative-pressure protocols.
The decontamination works were carried out using specialized negative-pressure systems to prevent the release of hazardous particles into the environment. The project involved the use of advanced and innovative mechanical equipment for the removal of accumulated contamination deposits from the internal surfaces.

At the same time, waste repackaging operations were conducted using specialized containment and transport systems, followed by transfer to a properly designed and licensed underground hazardous waste storage facility — the only operating facility of its kind in Greece, meeting the most advanced technical specifications.

In parallel, continuous air-quality monitoring was implemented both within the work areas and in the surrounding atmosphere, while personnel operated under strict personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements and high-risk safety protocols.

In total, 2.7 tonnes of arsenic were safely removed, considering that quantities of less than 1 gram are sufficient to cause acute poisoning.

Phase 3 – Structural and aesthetic restoration.
This phase included works to restore the building’s structural envelope, such as the application of shotcrete (gunite), cement grouting, masonry restoration, reconstruction of structural elements, and landscaping of the surrounding area.

The objective was to ensure that the building remains safe, recognizable, and functionally integrated into the environment of the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park.

The distinctive feature lies in the fact that it was not a conventional environmental remediation project, but a comprehensive high-risk intervention in a heritage monument. The project combined the removal of highly toxic substances, work on a severely deteriorated and structurally unstable building, strict containment of pollutants, continuous monitoring, and respect for a structure of significant historical and cultural value.

Its implementation without any occupational or environmental incident confirms the quality of the planning, the rigor of the protocols, and the technical excellence of the intervention.

At the same time, it establishes an important best-practice example for the remediation of contaminated industrial heritage sites in urban and peri-urban environments. 

The implementation was based on the collaboration of specialized organizations and technical teams, as the project simultaneously required environmental decontamination, structural restoration, technical supervision, and respect for the monument’s heritage character.

Within this framework, Polyeco collaborated with the Technical Services of the National Technical University of Athens, the engineering firm KALLITEHNOS S.A., and the consulting firms EPILYSIS and ILIDA Consulting Engineers S.A. This collaboration strengthened the scientific, technical, and operational capacity of the project and enabled the management of an exceptionally complex intervention in a fully integrated and safe manner. 

The project involved a specialized interdisciplinary team from Polyeco, including environmental management professionals, field technicians, health and safety officers, equipment operators, a pollution monitoring team, and project management personnel.

Before and throughout the works, specific procedures for staff briefing, training, and supervision were implemented, with emphasis on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), working in negative-pressure environments, preventing contaminant dispersion, and strict adherence to decontamination protocols.

The involvement of employees proved to be a critical success factor, as the project was executed under high-risk conditions, without any occupational or environmental incident. Operational discipline, continuous monitoring, and strict enforcement of health and safety procedures enabled the completion of a highly demanding intervention with zero exceedances in employee health monitoring data. 

Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park, where the historic “Konofagos” building is located. 

The project had a direct and measurable impact on public health, environmental safety, and the quality of life of the local community in Lavrio.

Upon its completion, a long-standing and high-risk pollution source was eliminated, the risk of sudden dispersion of hazardous substances due to potential structural collapse was averted, and a monument of significant value to the historical identity of the region was preserved.

The key outcomes of the project were as follows:

• Safe removal of 2,723 kg of arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃) and 12,492 kg of lead oxide (PbO).
• Safe repackaging of 120 sacks and 81 drums of contaminated materials.
• Zero occupational or environmental incidents throughout the implementation.
• Zero exceedances recorded in employee health monitoring data.
• No recorded exceedances of atmospheric pollution levels during works.
• Enhanced safety for residents, workers, and visitors of the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park.
• Restoration and preservation of a designated monument of modern industrial heritage.
• Promotion of Lavrio’s industrial history through an intervention that links environmental responsibility with cultural memory.

The impact of the initiative goes beyond the completion of a technical project. It establishes a new benchmark for addressing historically contaminated industrial sites, avoiding demolition or abandonment in favor of an approach that integrates the protection of people, environmental restoration, and the preservation of collective memory.

Connection with Global Goals

The project is directly linked to SDG 3 Good Health & Well-being, as it contributed to the protection of public health through the safe removal of hazardous pollutants and the prevention of potential exposure of residents, workers, and visitors to toxic substances.

Additional SDG alignments:

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, through the restoration of an industrial heritage monument and the enhancement of urban environmental safety.
SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, through the safe management of hazardous materials and contaminated residues.
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals, through the collaboration between the company, academic institutions, technical experts, and public authorities in delivering a highly complex intervention.

The initiative demonstrates in practice the interconnection between public health, environmental responsibility, cultural heritage preservation, and collaborative governance.

For Polyeco, the project represented a benchmark in terms of technical expertise, operational readiness, and responsible environmental management. The company strengthened its specialization in ultra-high-toxicity projects, in decontamination works under strict containment conditions, and in interventions where environmental protection must coexist with the preservation of cultural heritage.

At the same time, the project reinforced Polyeco’s collaboration with academic, technical, and public institutions, creating a well-documented best-practice example for similar high-risk interventions. Its successful completion without any occupational or environmental incident further enhanced the company’s credibility as an organization capable of delivering complex projects with elevated requirements in health, safety, environmental control, and social responsibility.

The project is directly aligned with Polyeco’s core field of expertise, as it concerns hazardous waste management, environmental protection, and the provision of specialized solutions for projects with high environmental responsibility. For this reason, this should not be seen as an isolated corporate social responsibility action, but as an application of the company’s core operational role in a project with a strong social impact.