Castiglione Residents Demand Updated Groundwater and Air Quality Data

A group of about fifty families recently submitted a petition to the Municipal Administration requesting regular monitoring of the groundwater “due to the presence of trichloroethylene found a few years ago in the water.” How can we be sure it doesn’t contain toxic substances given the high concentration of industries in the area? say the residents of Castiglione.

Requests Regarding Groundwater Quality

“The request,” explains Franco Tiana, a local environmentalist, “basically is to know the quality of the groundwater, not that of the water supply, of course. Since the early 1990s, we have raised concerns about the presence of solvents like trichloroethylene and toluene in the groundwater. This has been confirmed by analyses from ASL in 1994.

But if trichloroethylene was present seven years ago, is it still there now or not? And has there been any positive change following the installation of the purification plant and the hydraulic barrier at the former Marchon factory? Without causing alarm, I believe the citizens have the right to know from the Administration that represents them the updated situation.

However, if no groundwater analyses have been conducted since the mid-1990s, then we request that they be carried out and that the data be made public and disseminated.

Environmental Situation in the Historic Center

The citizens’ petition also requests data on air quality, given that in some areas of the historic center, the continuous passage of vehicles causes discomfort. Specifically, in Viale Maifreni, Piazzale Pio X, and via Zanardelli, “at certain hours of the day, the air is unbreathable, and the smell of exhaust gases is nauseating.”

Since a monitoring station for air quality is positioned at the schools in Viale Maifreni, the citizens ask to know the data and, if possible, to monitor pollution levels in the adjacent streets where the same volume of traffic as in Viale Maifreni is present.