Emilia-Romagna Transparency Table

On 20 June, the Fox Cinema in Caorso (Piacenza) hosted the Transparency Table on the decommissioning works at the Caorso nuclear power plant, convened by the Councillor for the Environment of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Irene Priolo. In addition to Sogin management, the meeting was attended by representatives from the Region, the Municipality of Caorso, ISIN, ARPAE, the Municipalities of Lower Piacentina, trade unions and Legambiente. After the initial greetings of the Mayor of Caorso, Roberta Battaglia, and the Regional Councillor for the Environment, Irene Priolo, Sogin reported on the progress of the decommissioning operations at the Piacenza facility.

ISpecifically, progress was highlighted in the adaptation work for the temporary storage of ERSMA radioactive waste, with the recent start to the dismantling of the roof slab of the existing structure. The works are expected to be completed by 2027 and operations are scheduled for 2028, when the repository will be ready to receive low and medium activity waste deriving from decommissioning operations at the plant.

Work is also continuing on the adaptation of the ERSBA 1 repository and the dismantling of the systems and components in the reactor building, which marked the beginning of operations at the "heart" of the plant.

The meeting was also an opportunity to present the activities of the Radwaste Management School, which is based at the Piacenza site, and illustrate the siting process for the National Repository and ongoing Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) procedure.

During the event, the synergy between Sogin and the territory was re-emphasised, as also incorporated in the Programme Agreement signed with the Emilia-Romagna Region on 6 November 2024 which, in implementing Article 24, paragraph 4 of Italian Legislative Decree 1/2012, provides for environmental compensation measures of up to 2% of the cost of decommissioning activities already reported. A subsequent implementation agreement will make provision for environmental interventions to be carried out under the Po Valley Media River Contract, which involves 34 Municipalities including Caorso.

As Councillor Priolo also reiterated, the Transparency Table not only provided an opportunity for exchanging information, but "a tangible space for discussion between institutions, entities and local communities. Today, we had confirmation of the significant steps forward in the plant’s dismantling programme and shared the need to put in place a concrete vision for development, so as to return value to this territory".
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