Native name: Ψυττάλεια | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view | |
  Psyttaleia | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 37°56′24″N23°35′17″E / 37.94°N 23.588°E /37.94; 23.588 |
| Archipelago | Saronic Islands |
| Area | 0.375 km2 (0.145 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
Greece | |
| Region | Attica |
| Regional unit | Piraeus |
| Demographics | |
| Population | uninhabited (2001) |
Psyttaleia (Greek:Ψυττάλεια) is an uninhabited island in theSaronic Gulf between the harbor ofPiraeus and theKynosoura peninsula onSalamis Island,Greece. It covers an area of 0.375 square kilometers. The island housesAthens' largestsewage treatment plant,[1][2] which is also the largest in Europe,[3][4] with a projected daily maximum drying capacity of 750 tons of sewage.[5] Administratively it is part of theMunicipality ofPiraeus.
In 480 BC, before the navalbattle of Salamis, thePersians installed in the island a garrison of soldiers and noblemen. After the Greek victory, the Persian fleet retreated towardsPhaleron and the guard was abandoned.Aristides, the Athenianstrategos (general), landed on the island and executed all the Persians. From the Middle Ages until recently[when?] the island was calledLipsokoutali[6] (Λειψοκουτάλι - lit.half-spoon), because it resembled a half-spoon when seen from theMount Aigaleo. Ancient Psyttaleia has long been identified with modern Lipsokoutali, though some scholars proposedMount Aigaleo instead; the consensus remains with Lipsokoutali.[7]
In modern history, the island was briefly transformed into a naval prison, in accordance with the French model of the time, as well as place of exile for political dissidents.
Since the 1990s, theSaronic Gulf was starting to become polluted by industrial and residential sewage fromAthens. In order to protect the ecosystem and due to considerations for negative implications ontourism, asewage treatment plant was installed on the island which started operation in November 1994.[8] This included theprimary treatment, which prevents the waste from entering the sea, but did not provide a permanent solution for the resulting sludge. Temporary solutions of exporting the sludge and of neutralizing it through oxidization proved insufficient over the years.
On June 1, 2007, thesludge treatment plant was put into operation, with two production lines of a total waste drying capacity of 500 tons per day. Another two production lines started operation a month later, raising the total capacity to more than 750 tons per day.[5] It is estimated that the remaining sludge of 150,000 to 160,000 tons that was accumulated on the island over the years when only the primary treatment was active, would be converted tobiofuel in the first six months of operation, and used in industry, especially in cement kilns and electricity power plants.[9] On October 5, 2007,environment vice-minister Themistoklis Xanthopoulos announced that there would be no sludge left in the following five months, and that auditors such as theEuropean Court of Auditors had approved the quality of the plant.[10]
In the northeastern part of the island, which is not occupied by the sewage treatment plant, there is a lighthouse and a station of theHellenic Coast GuardVessel Traffic Service system.
