Nuclear, here are the 51 areas suitable for locating the national radioactive waste repository

It took years, between studies and controversies, but in the end the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security published the map of areas suitable for national nuclear waste storagethe so-called National Map of Eligible Areas (CNAI) developed by Sogin on the basis of the observations that emerged following the public consultation and the national seminar conducted after the publication of the National Charter of Potentially Suitable Areas (CNAPI), and approved by the National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (Isin ).

51 areas identified throughout Italyfrom north to south, and concentrated in 5 areas in 6 Regions:

• 10 in Basilicata (5 in Matera and 5 in Potentino)
• 4 between Basilicata and Puglia
• 21 in Lazio (in the Viterbo area)
• 5 in Piedmont (in the Alessandria area)
• 1 in Puglia (in Gravina)
• 8 in Sardinia (2 in the Oristano area and 6 in Southern Sardinia)
• 2 in Sicily (in the Trapani area)

We have created a map that should give a clearer idea of ​​where, according to EU rules, a national nuclear waste repository could be built by Sogin, the public company for the dismantling of nuclear plants which will have to build and manage the landfill .

The main conditions for identifying suitable areas were the distance from inhabited centers, from waterways and aquifers, from seismic zones and from agricultural areas. A list that is far from definitive, since controversies are already arising from the places chosen. The next phase, however, could shuffle the cards on the table with the presentation, within 30 days of the publication of the list by the Ministry of the Environment, of self-nominations for municipalities that are not included in the map as required by the recent Energy Legislative Decree.

Immediately after the publication of the list, a chorus of no arose from the chosen areas, starting with that of the Basilicata Region which to date boasts the highest number of areas suitable for the national storage of nuclear waste. Cosimo Latronicocouncilor for the environment and energy of the Region, promptly issued a note that leaves no room for interpretation:

The Basilicata Region reiterates its no to the identification of radioactive waste sites in the Lucanian territory. Our position does not change and will not change. The Basilicata Region already offers an extraordinary contribution to the country’s energy supply. I am sure that, as Minister Pichetto Fratin has already said, the municipalities that have already expressed their willingness to host such radioactive waste deposits will be identified.

Some applications have already arrived, starting from the municipality of Trino Vercellesein the province of Vercelli, which until 1990 hosted the Enrico Fermi nuclear power plant, built by SOGIN in the early 1960s and closed after the referendum on nuclear power. Hosting the national repository, underlines this today IlSole24Orewould mean “it would bring millionaire public contributions to the territory, in addition to 4,000 employed on the construction site for 4 years and 700-1,000 in the management” of the structure.