Inquinamento

At least 1.6 million Italian citizens would be exposed to ultrafine particles deriving from aviation (UFP).We are talking about the inhabitants who live in a radius of 20 km from the two busiest airports in the country:Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa.This was made known by research carried out by the organisation Transport & Environment.The analysis examined the two Italian airports with the highest traffic volumes and quantified the citizens involved: 700,000 Romans and over 900,000 Milanese.Exposure to ultrafine particles, the smallest component of particulate matter, is linked to the development of serious, long-term health conditions, including respiratory problems, cardiovascular effects, cancer and complications during pregnancy. The Transport & Environment study was published on Tuesday 25 June and finds that “thousands of cases of hypertension, diabetes and dementia across Europe could be linked to the tiny particles emitted by planes“.According to researc...

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Fuel taxes, building incentives, energy efficiency regulations.We often hear experts, politicians, representatives of the industrial sector and citizens discussing which political and economic solutions are most advantageous and effective in combating global warming and in applying the so-called ecological transition. An action that has become almost an imperative since, almost 35 years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its first report in which it found that human activities were causing a substantial increase in carbon dioxide concentrations ( CO₂) and other gases in the atmosphere, resulting in warming of the planet's temperatures.Since then there have been many United Nations Climate Conferences, governments and public awareness of the effects of the climate crisis and the need for decisive action has increased, and countries around...

High levels of PFAS were found in the blood of all 36 citizens of Spinetta Marengo - a municipality in the province of Alessandria where Syensqo (formerly Solvay) is located, which ended up at the center of a trial for an environmental disaster - recently subjected to biomonitoring.In fact, in 100% of cases they are present concentrations greater than 2 nanograms per milliliter, a threshold identified as a reference value by the National Academies of Sciences and by the Piedmont Region protocol, beyond which deleterious effects on human health may occur.The 36 citizens are submitted voluntarily to the test, promoted by the associations Ànemo, Greenpeace Italia and the Stop Solvay Committee, in May.The analyses, paid for by the Alexandrians out of their own pockets, were carried out by a laboratory at the German University of Aachen.An alarming fact, given that PFAS are highly persistent substances that can cause multiple, even very serious, health problems. The news was communic...

The first hearing of the so-called "Smog trial" took place in Turin on Tuesday 18 June first trial for eco-defendants ever carried out in Italy.Among the accused are the former mayors of the Piedmontese capital Chiara Appendino and Piero Fassino, as well as the former president of the Piedmont Region Sergio Chiamparino.According to the accusations, between 2015 and 2019, they did not put in place adequate measures to guarantee the protection of air quality of the city of Turin, which today appears to be among the Municipalities more at risk for this type of pollution.For this reason, public administrators are charged with the crime of negligent environmental pollution.According to the prosecutor's consultants, the concentrations above the legal limits of the pollutants recorded in the Turin area would have caused over a thousand premature deaths and several hospital admissions.A second line of investigation, referring to a subsequent period, also sees the current president of...

Following the checks carried out by Arpa Piemonte, which certified the failure to comply with the limits of PFAS emissions into the environment, the province of Alessandria sent a double warning to Syensqo – the former Solvay – imposing a halt to production for 30 days.The decision was taken after the company was in recent weeks at the center of particularly serious foam releases in the Bormida river and after investigations conducted for years which resulted in accusations of negligent environmental disaster and which led to discoveries that were anything but reassuring, such as the discovery of Pfas in the blood of the inhabitants of Spinetta Marengo.«It is time for a national law that prohibits the use and production of these dangerous substances to protect the environment and the health of citizens», commented Greenpeace Italia. THE Pfas they are a group that collects over 10,000 synthetic molecules not present in nature, used in various industrial processes...