The final plenary session of the National Seminar started on 7 September last year, ended today, and marked the completion of the first public discussion on the design of the National Repository and Technology Park, following the publication of the National Charter of Potentially Suitable Areas (CNAPI) on last 5 January.
Today's meeting saw the speeches of Vannia Gava, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Ivan Scalfarotto, Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, and Emanuele Fontani, Sogin's CEO. Among the other participants there were: Maurizio Pernice, ISIN (National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection) Director ; Simon Morgan, Head of Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste Management Team at WENRA, Western European Nuclear Regulator's Association; Bengt Hedberg, Author of WENRA's Report "SRLs for the disposal of radioactive waste"; Rebecca Tadesse, Head of the Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste Management Unit at NEA, Nuclear Energy Agency; Gilberto Dialuce, Chairman of Enea, National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development; Stefania Ravazzi, Professor of Public Policy Analysis at the University of Turin, Department of Culture, Politics and Society; Simona Fabiani as CGIL spokesperson; Angelo Emilio Colombini as CISL spokesperson; Antonio Cozzolino, as UIL spokesperson; Fabio Chiaravalli, Head of the National Repository and Technology Park at Sogin and Luigi Perri, Sogin's Chairman who concluded the Seminar with final remarks.
“"The National Seminar was a fundamental step during the first procedures to site the National Repository. It gave us the chance to hold a democratic discussion with all the stakeholders involved in implementing this work - stated Vannia Gava, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The Seminar, held in full transparency, allowed explaining why Italy, like many other countries across Europe, should safely manage its radioactive waste. The experiences made abroad - continued - show that these kinds of infrastructures provide a unique chance to promote the economic and social development of the area hosting them".
“"The National Seminar established an important moment of confrontation with the geographical stakeholders involved in the project," - commented Emanuele Fontani, Sogin's CEO. The broad-based citizens' participation and the presence of the main stakeholders allowed us to clarify several issues revolving around the construction of the National Repository. It gave us a chance to underline, once again, the need for such an infrastructure for closing the Italian nuclear fuel cycle and managing radioactive waste more sustainably and safely, including those resulting from nuclear medicine, industry and scientific research activities".
“"I would like to thank all the attendees to the National Seminar for the insightful contents and materials shared with us in these weeks," - stated Fabio Chiaravalli, Head of the National Repository and Technology Park at Sogin. I believe we achieved the set objective to the best of our possibilities. Territories have acquired a comprehensive set of detailed technical documents, including in terms of local culture and tradition; - he added - these materials will make an effective contribution to the drafting of the following National Charter of Potentially Suitable Areas".
The Seminar featured nine meetings, live-streamed on the website www.seminariodepositonazionale.it and on Sogin's Youtube Channel. Along with the opening and closing plenary sessions, the Seminar included seven working sessions, one at a national level and six at the local level, with the participation of the Regions involved in the CNAPI drafting: Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio, Puglia and Basilicata, Sicily, Sardinia. More than 160 people joined the National Seminar that hosted the speeches of Local Entities, Associations, Committees, workers' organizations, local trade unions, individual citizens, and technical and institutional experts.
During the first public consultation stage, the participants submitted about 200 questions answered, either in written or orally, during the live stream. The participants discussed many topics, including the suitability of the areas detected in the CNAPI to the international requirements established by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the national ones identified by ISIN (National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection). Moreover, some aspects linked to the work implementation and subsequent compensatory measures were analysed; they included workers' safety, the protection of the population and the environment, and economic benefits and local development opportunities.
The National Seminar will end on 15 December with the publication of the full report of the meeting. The second stage of public consultation - lasting 30 days - will begin. This stage will allow submitting additional observations and technical proposals to draft the National Charter of Suitable Areas (CNAI), according to the contributions received during the Public Consultation. After this stage and the CNAI publication, Regions and Local Entities will present their non-binding expressions of interest and further discussions.