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Following the outbreak of a fire caused by the combustion of waste in a storage depot, which occurred last Saturday evening in Licata, the city is still under a cloud of smoke.Citizens and Administration are on alert for the potential consequences of the fire:after having issued an order with which he has schools closed of the Municipality of Agrigento, the mayor has decided to close as a precaution, until Saturday, also municipal villas, cemeteries, markets and all outdoor commercial and sporting activities, also prohibiting the display of food products outside commercial activities.To understand what moves to implement, we are waiting for ARPA to comment on the data on air quality, both in Licata and in the adjacent areas.From the benches of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, the 5 Star Movement asked for the proclamation of the "state of emergency”, while the Licatese association “A testa alta” presented a complaint to the Prosecutor's Office asking for investigations to be carried out on the potential presence of dioxins in the affected areas.
It all started on the evening of January 20th, when a huge fire – probably malicious in nature – is flared up in the Omnia landfill, in the Bugiades district of Licata.The company in question has been under seizure since March 2022, when he snapped the provision due to alleged environmental violations regarding the management and disposal of special waste.After the accident, the firefighters of Licata and some teams of those of Agrigento arrived, as well as the Police and Civil Protection, who immediately issued an alert so that the inhabitants of the area kept their windows closed.Yesterday the rescue coordination center met, chaired by the vice-prefect of Agrigento Elisa Vaccaro, in which an assessment was made of the emergency situation underway in Licata.The city government has announced that they will fight the fumes used foaming liquids and that, in addition to the closure of schools until the weekend, the archaeological site of Castel Sant'Angelo will also close.Maximum attention was paid to the protection of food products that retailers place outside shops, due to the danger that they could be contaminated by the products of combustion of special waste.Because of this they cannot be displayed on the street until the dangers subside.
Yesterday, at the Sicilian Regional Assembly, an agenda signed by the M5S deputy Angelo Cambiano was approved as a recommendation by the government in which the executive commits to "implement all the activities and adopt all the necessary measures within its competence For reduce the risk of significant damage to citizens and businesses in the area affected by the fire that occurred in the waste storage center in Licata".Furthermore, the provision engage the regional government to “establish a special commission of inquiry in order to ascertain the exact dimension of the phenomenon, establishing a technical table in collaboration with Dasoe and ARPA in order to plan the monitoring and intervention lines necessary for the protection of health in an area at high environmental risk".The regional deputy Giovanna Iacono, of the PD, asked for the intervention of the Ministry of the Environment;lastly, the Licatese association "A Testa alta" also intervened, having envoy a complaint to the ARPA, to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Agrigento, to the prefect, to the Agrigento nature anti-crime center and to the regional energy department, highlighting "the concrete danger that, from the area affected by the smoke of the fire, visible for kilometers away, one has developed toxic cloud with the involvement of the inhabited center of the Municipality of Licata" and asking "from now on that any criminal liability be ascertained".
[by Stefano Baudino]