"If we can rest assured? Don't worry, I would say that vigilant attention is required ». In short, if you read the color map of the areas suitable for the establishment of the national radioactive waste deposit, Sardinia is not exactly at the top of the ranking; but Giorgio Querzoli, professor of hydraulics in the engineering faculty of the University of Cagliari and member of the scientific committee of Legambiente, warns that (for once there is no mention of viruses) "it would be good not to let your guard down". While Italy has recovered from twenty months of pandemic and is grappling with the heat of reopening in the hope that the vaccine will work like the hand of heaven, Sogin, a public company that has managed radioactive waste since 1999, recalled that there is the most suitable territory for storing 78 thousand cubic meters of nuclear waste has to be found, so that - the map of potentially suitable sites published in January - the round of consultations between the selected regions began and the day before yesterday, in fact, it was Sardinia's turn .

The Island in class B

Sardinia has repeated what it has been saying for twenty years: no nuclear waste here. President Christian Solinas asked that "the State respect the will of the Regional Council and the outcome of the 2011 referendum, when over 97% of the Sardinian people voted against the localization of waste on the island", and recalled that "a Committee scientific technician has already transmitted on 26 March the arguments that demonstrate the inappropriateness of such a choice ", from the too many military servitudes that already weigh on the island to the risks associated with transport and the water system. For the sake of clarity, it must be said that the 14 sites in Sardinia that have ended up on the map of the 67 identified throughout Italy do not seem to be among the most accredited. The island is in fact in class B, island areas, third choice together with Sicily, in a list that sees as the most suitable areas (class A1, defined as very good) several sites in Piedmont (provinces of Turin and Alessandria) and in Lazio ( Viterbo); and some areas (class A2-good) in Puglia, Basilicata and Tuscany are interesting but less suitable.

The elephant among the crystals

The name of the territory that will host the deposit should be found by November, but Sogin's intent is to ensure that the meetings with the individual Regions involved push someone to submit a self-nomination, including observations and denials. It will certainly not be Sardinia to come forward. "We are not the most appropriate choice, the most suitable area to host a nuclear waste deposit, something that, in terms of size, space and volume, would be an elephant in a crystal shop", underlines Professor Querzoli who edited the report Legambiente technique illustrated during the meeting with Sogin. “We are aware that Italy needs a national repository to safely manage radioactive waste, and we believe the participatory procedure initiated by Sogin is positive. Having said that, we have highlighted a series of critical issues, and the conclusion we have reached is that Sardinia is not the best site ». All the areas considered potentially suitable, from Marmilla to Sarcidano, to Trexenta, "are located at a short distance, less than two or three kilometers, from villages, areas of environmental and landscape interest, archaeological and cultural sites also of extraordinary value such as Barumini ». True, says the professor at the University of Cagliari, «Sigin places our region in class B, but it is always good to be alert. Watchful attention, that's what you need ».

Political reactions

On the issue that in Sardinia has united, and unites, all the political parties for five decades, the deputy Mara Lapia (Democratic Center) intervenes and says she is worried "that the president of the Region does not know the political actions that are being promoted in Rome time ago". That is, the unitary motion approved in April by Parliament which commits the government to "preserve the Sardinian territory among others - it is written in the note". It was the result, says Lapia, "of a long work of concertation between the majority forces" which led to keeping out "the islands, the territories burdened by military servitude, the Unesco sites". Romina Mura endorses what was said by Emiliano Deiana, president of ANCI, who recalled "the dangerousness of transporting waste by sea" and "the fragility of the areas indicated, at risk of depopulation". The Island, underlines the deputy Pd, “cannot be the place of storage. It is not the most suitable, and the Sardinians, directly with a referendum and through their representatives, said no ».

Piera Serusi

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