A river of red mud, coming from the disused mining tunnels of Sulcis Iglesiente, has invaded the beach of Piscinas in recent days, on the south-western coast of Sardinia, known for its large dunes and crystal clear sea.
The video, shot by a resident, is making the rounds on social media and testifies – as environmentalists denounce – to a real environmental disaster. A river full of red water loaded with heavy, harmful and poisonous metals.
“The red river of mine waste in the sea of Arbus is not a surprise – underlines the WWF in a note – rather it is surprising that a problem of this kind becomes worthy of attention only when the impact is not only evident, but reveals the entire its gravity. What has been done and is being done to resolve a situation that is much more serious than what the color of the waters of the stream that flows into the sea already predicts? Why has the material present in the system of mines and quarries not yet been reclaimed , why hasn’t preventive action been taken, why has no one monitored? Beyond the dismay and concern, we believe that it is time to act. Also because the event we are witnessing seems more serious than usual”.
Concern was expressed by the mayor of Arbus, Paolo Salis. “Sad fate – he told the newspaper L’Unione Sarda – every year the tourist season is tainted by events that are bad for our territory. We ignore the video footage of a historical plague of the territory, namely the pollution of the beach by the minerals of the old mines, it’s shameful to spread it on social media, a negative publicity that discourages tourists. That river doesn’t all come from the mine shafts. Most of it comes from the nearby Donegani dam, where it was deliberately released from the relief valve at the bottom of the structure, in compliance with the rules of the Civil Engineers which requires the maintenance of a certain level of the reservoir”.
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