A large fire has broken out in a waste storage facility in Ciampino, on the outskirts of Rome. No injuries are reported. The flames produced a thick column of smoke which is visible from Rome and the Castelli Romani area. The firefighters are working to put it out, but the plastic material and other waste make operations difficult. The movement of trains on the Rome-Velletri line between Ciampino and Pavona has been suspended. The replacement bus service is active on the section concerned. The mayor of Ciampino Emanuela Colella recommended “where smoke is visible, keep the windows closed”. At the moment the fire cloud is moving West/North West.
“A tall column of dense black smoke that slowly spreads over the area of Ciampino and South Rome, clearly visible from all Castelli Romani. Ciampino airport, a few hundred meters from the plant, closes the runway due to smoke, delaying departures and arrivals.Unbreathable air, closed windows, sky that slowly turns black, increasing the anxieties and worries of the citizens of Ciampino and Santa Maria delle Mole on what should have been a clear Saturday in July: this is the result of yet another fire broke out a few hours ago in the ‘non-hazardous special waste’ plant in via Enzo Ferrari in Ciampino where the firefighters have been busy for hours trying to put out the flames”. Thus, in a note, the CGIL of Rome south Pomezia Castelli. “Special non-hazardous waste: waste with a high percentage of polyurethane, polystyrene, construction waste, mixed waste, fiberglass, end-of-life tyres, cables, insulating materials, road cleaning residues. The question is more than legitimate, looking at the sky becoming blacker: do they remain “non-hazardous” for the environment and for health when they catch fire? – continues the note – Without considering that even the only unavoidable activity of extinguishing the fire could produce damage to the environment due to infiltration of extinguishing products into the ground which could potentially reach the groundwater.And net of the impact on health and the environment, can a plant a few meters from the runway of an international airport, a few hundred meters from the Grande Raccordo Anulare, a few steps from the Appia Nuova and a few meters from the airport parking? . Controls, monitoring, prevention. In this country we talk a lot about the environment and environmental sustainability but we don’t invest in monitoring and controls, without which it is impossible to implement a real ecological transition”. For the CGIL “the damage to the environment, and therefore to the health of citizens , they are not prevented with a self-certification. For a more complete evaluation we can only wait for the official results and analyses, but in the meantime we note that the territory of our Chamber of Labor has already been hit in the past by serious fires: we recall the EcoX website which is still waiting to be reclaimed and, last year, that of car wreckers and we are convinced that we can and must strengthen the controls and prevention measures to protect the territory and people’s health“.
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