Teano – The fire that devastated the Campania Energia headquarters, a waste storage facility in Teano, on August 16th has opened up legal challenges and raised environmental concerns in the Caserta area.
ARPA Campania's measurements have in fact revealed the presence of dioxins in the atmosphere above scientific reference levels, a finding that could impact the investigation into the causes of the fire and the responsibilities of the plant's management.
Dioxin levels exceeded the limits following the large fire that broke out on August 16 at the Campania Energia waste storage facility in Teano. The Campania Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA) announced the findings, releasing the results of the first monitoring cycle conducted with a high-flow sampler installed near the blaze.
The analyses revealed a total concentration of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls of 0,27 pg/Nm3 I-TEQ, almost double the reference value indicated by the German LAI Guidelines (0,15 pg/Nm3 I-TEQ).
The sampling was carried out between the evening of August 16th and that of August 17th, that is, in the hours immediately following the fire, which had proven difficult to put out due to the nature of the materials that had gone up in flames.
More reassuring, however, are the data from the mobile laboratory installed in the urban center of Riardo, where the levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, benzene, toluene, xylene, and fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) did not exceed the limits established by Legislative Decree 155/2010.
The blaze, which lasted for hours and was difficult to contain due to the type of material it ignited, is part of a long series of fires at waste treatment and storage facilities in the province of Caserta. These incidents have previously led to investigations by the DDA into alleged environmental disasters, illegal waste trafficking, and unauthorized management.
In the Teano case , the judiciary may assess whether it constitutes an environmental crime. Meanwhile, ARPAC has clarified that in the town of Riardo, no exceedances of legal limits were recorded for the pollutants monitored by the mobile laboratory, including particulate matter, benzene, and nitrogen oxides.
Francesco Emilio Borrelli, MP for the Green Left Alliance, made a very harsh comment, having called for air quality checks to be carried out immediately:
"Unfortunately, the data confirms dioxin levels above the permitted limits. This is yet another alarm bell for our region, already plagued by too many toxic fires and a lack of controls. We must raise the alert level to protect public health and continue monitoring until normalcy returns."
The episode rekindles the issue of environmental fragility in the Caserta area, an area that has repeatedly been at the center of emergencies related to fires in waste facilities and the risk of new "ecological bombs" waiting to explode.
The fire in Teano appears to be a very complicated case. Dioxins are worrying, and there are many questions about how the waste situation is being managed. We hope the authorities take serious measures to avoid future problems.