Five things to know about Italy ’s nuclear dumps

Regional leaders in Italy are fighting plans to dump nuclear waste in some of the most picturesque areas of the country. Some of the 67 potential sites include the rolling valleys of Tuscany and the countryside around the famed ancient hilltown of Matera. Here’s a look.

1 Like all governments

The governors of the seven affected regions, including Piedmont, Puglia, Basilicata, Sardinia and Sicily, have accused the federal government and Sogin, Italy’s nuclear decommissioning agency, of failing to consult them.

2 Waste versus work

Italy closed its nuclear power plants after a referendum in 1987. The new deposit site would store waste from those power plants as well as radioactive material still produced by industry, hospitals and research centres. The 370- acre site could bring 4,000 jobs during construction and 1,000 jobs when operational.

3 Take a Geiger tube on holiday

The mayor of Pienza said he was “incredulous ... How can they be considering a region like ours, which has World Heritage recognition?” he told Corriere della Sera. “I can’t imagine what tourists would say when they come here looking for beauty and discover instead radioactive waste dumps.”

4 At least the towns might glow in the dark?

Matera was a European City of Culture in 2019, and was used as a location for the forthcoming Bond film No Time To Die. “We’ll fight it at every level,” mayor Domenico Bennardi said. More than 20 of the potential dump sites are in the north of Lazio.

5 Let’s talk it out

One site is near the village of Gallese, where one family has managed a country estate for more than a century. “It seems mad to choose an area of designated natural beauty,” manager William Urquhart said. “The government seems to have sprung this on the country out of the blue ... it needs to be an open, transparent process. Instead, it has come as a bombshell that will frighten a lot of people.”