Fire in the ecological island of Pianura, schools closed and air monitoring in progress

Attention remains high in the Pianura district, on the western outskirts of Naples, where yesterday morning a fire broke out in the ecological island in via Nelson Mandela where special and dangerous waste is also stored. To protect the population, Arpac, the regional environmental agency, immediately started monitoring the air to verify the possible presence of pollutants. Hence the order issued late yesterday evening by the Municipality, on the proposal of the ASL Napoli 1, which establishes the closure of public and private schools of all levels throughout the neighborhood until otherwise communicated and until the emergency ends.

The outcome of further Arpac monitoring should be announced tomorrow. Among the precautionary measures adopted also the suspension of all outdoor sporting activities until the parameters fall within safety limits and the stop to all activities on the ecological island. The municipal administration also recommends that citizens keep doors and windows closed; not to stop outside; to turn off air conditioners and air recycling systems; to wash fruit and vegetables "thoroughly and with plenty of water"; to contact your doctor or go to the emergency room if you experience symptoms such as burning or difficulty breathing.

Meanwhile, the investigative activity continues at the same time to trace the causes of the fire. Checks are underway on the functioning of the fire prevention system and the acquisition of images from the video surveillance system.

At the moment, no hypothesis is ruled out, not even that of arson. A meeting of the provincial committee for public order and safety is underway in the prefecture, which is also dealing with this matter. A neighborhood, that of Pianura, which in the past was the scene of violent clashes precisely on the waste front: between 2007 and 2008 the decision of the then Government and the commissioner structure to reopen the Contrada Pisani landfill triggered violent protests.

The population took to the streets, setting up road blocks, overturning bins and setting up real barricades to prevent access by trucks. Situations which, albeit to a lesser extent, were also repeated in subsequent years with protests against the phenomenon of illegal landfills and the illicit dumping of waste.