Giovanni Randaccio middle school in Cervignano
CERVIGNANO. Atrazine in the water in some areas of Cervignano is still a problem. For this reason the Municipality is still forced to run for cover in the school structures of its competence by relying on a local company, leader in the distribution of beverages, which for the next school year will have the task of supplying bottled mineral water as a success. already last year.
While for the primary and kindergarten “Collodi”, in via Turisella, the problem has recently been solved thanks to the connection of the two institutes to the neighborhood well controlled by Cafc, the same procedure, for the moment, has not been adopted for the other municipal schools in the city where the problem persists: this is the “C. D’Agostina “and the” Vincenzo Gioberti “primary school in Strassoldo, the elementary school” Riccardo Pitteri “, the” Podrecca “nursery school, the” Randaccio “middle school and the” Gianni Rodari “nursery school in Cervignano.
«The water in these schools is not drinkable – confirms the Councilor for the Environment and Social Policies Loris Petenel -. The collection system is directed by the aquifer and from a series of checks we have found that the wells have atrazine values beyond the norm required by law. Even in high school the water is not drinkable, but it is not a municipal competence ».
Hence the decision to guarantee the children of all schools concerned a safe and controlled supply of mineral water bottles and plastic cups for the next school year.
At the moment, the amount that the municipal administration will have to support for the supply of bottled water is around thousands of euros.
That of atrazine in the water is not a new problem for Cervignano, but it has been dragging on for over fifteen years, that is, since its presence in the water was ascertained. The massive use of atrazine as a herbicide in the 1970s led to consequences that are still present today.
The mayor Gianluigi Savino also intervenes on the question: «Atrazine is one of the chemical components with the greatest environmental persistence, it will take years, if not decades for its disappearance – he explains -. Meanwhile, the Municipality has decided to renew the contract with a well-established company in the area to ensure maximum safety and protect the health of the students ». –