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Parliamentary question - P-004061/2016Parliamentary question
P-004061/2016

Neutralisation of chemical weapons at Civitavecchia

Question for written answer P-004061-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Dario Tamburrano (EFDD)

The Italian Government intends to build in Civitavecchia a ‘thermal oxidiser that will be used to burn chemical weapons from World War Two’, which is to take the place of all the other chemical weapons neutralising facilities in Italy. The government considers that no environmental impact assessment needs to be conducted for the oxidiser as it is ‘comparable to a low-capacity industrial furnace’[1].

Italy needs to dispose of several hundred tonnes of mustard gas and over 100 000 chemical munitions — some of which contain mustard gas, and some not — left over from World War Two[2].

It is very hard to imagine that the plant that will have to process all this material can be ‘a small industrial furnace’ which, furthermore, will be located on the border of the Tolfetano-Cerite-Manziate special protection area (SPA).

Does the Commission have sufficient information to show that Italy has, or has not, applied the EU rules correctly in establishing that a plant of this kind does not require an environmental impact assessment? If not, does it intend to obtain such information and will it specify whether, given the neighbouring SPA, an environmental impact assessment is necessary under EU rules?

Should an environmental impact assessment be required, what steps does the Commission plan to take to ensure that the Italian Government conducts that assessment?