QUANTITIES OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES AND PREPARATIONS IN ESTABLISHMENTS AT RISK OF MAJOR ACCIDENT

    Panel 1
    Update date
    Authors

    Fabrizio Vazzana, Francesca Pepe

    Abstract
    Graph
    Abstract

    The indicator analyzes the type of substances or categories of hazardous substances/mixtures most prevalent in facilities at risk of major accidents, present throughout Italy and declared by the managers of the facilities subject to Legislative Decree 105/2015. Among the categories of hazardous substances (Annex 1 - Part 1 of Legislative Decree 105/2015) most widespread in quantitative terms are those belonging to Section "P" - Physical Hazards, particularly flammable liquids. Environmentally hazardous substances falling into the hazard category "E" - Environmental Hazards are also very widespread. The regions with the highest presence of toxic substances are Sardinia, followed by Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Piedmont. The region with the highest quantities of flammable substances is Sicily, followed by Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, and Sardinia. There is a significant presence, distributed throughout Italy, of flammable liquefied gases and natural gases (LPG and methane) and petroleum products.

    Description

    It is possible to obtain useful information for the hazard map associated with a plant, in addition to the activity carried out, also from the quantities, typology and properties of the hazardous substances and mixtures present in it. This indicator analyses the typology of substances or categories of hazardous substances/mixtures most widespread in plants at risk of major accidents, present on the national territory and declared by the managers of the plants (lower and upper threshold) subject to Legislative Decree 105/2015, as specified respectively in Annex 1 - Part 1 (categories of hazardous substances) and Part 2 (specified hazardous substances) of the same decree.

    Purpose

    Estimate the prevalent nature of the risks to which humans, air, soil, subsoil, groundwater and surface water are subject in relation to the presence of certain dangerous substances and mixtures in establishments at risk of major accidents.

     
    Policy relevance and utility for users
    It is of national scope or applicable to environmental issues at the regional level but of national significance.
    It is able to describe the trend without necessarily providing an evaluation of it.
    It is simple and easy to interpret.
    It is sensitive to changes occurring in the environment and/or human activities
    It provides a representative overview of environmental conditions, environmental pressures, and societal responses.
    It provides a basis for international comparisons
    It has a threshold or reference value against which it can be compared.
    Analytical soundness
    Be based on international standards and international consensus about its validity;
    Be theoretically well founded in technical and scientific terms
    Presents reliability and validity of measurement and data collection methods
    Temporal comparability
    Spatial comparability
    Measurability (data)
    Adequately documented and of known quality
    Updated at regular intervals in accordance with reliable procedures
    Readily available or made available at a reasonable cost/benefit ratio
    An “adequate” spatial coverage
    An “appropriate” temporal coverage
    Main regulatory references and objectives

    D. Lgs. 105/2015

    DPSIR
    Pressure
    Indicator type
    Descriptive (A)
    References

    ISPRA-MASE, Inventario Seveso

    ISPRA, Annuario dei dati ambientali - Vari anni

    Limitations

    It depends on the timeliness and accuracy of the information that reaches ISPRA from the managers, now subjected to a validation process before approval.

     
    Further actions

    None

    Data source
    ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research)
    MASE (Ministry of Environment and Energy Security)
    Data collection frequency
    Continuos
    Data availabilty

    All information comes from the National Inventory of establishments likely to cause major accidents, provided for by Article 5, paragraph 3 of Legislative Decree 105/2015. https://www.rischioindustriale.isprambiente.gov.it/seveso-query-105/Default.php

    https://www.rischioindustriale.isprambiente.gov.it/seveso-query-105/Default.php

    Spatial coverage

    National, Regional

    Time coverage

    2019-2025

    Processing methodology

    All information is taken from the National Inventory of establishments likely to cause major accidents, provided for by Article 5, paragraph 3 of Legislative Decree 105/2015. The inventory allows the extraction of an Excel file that allows to extrapolate after different steps, the data necessary for updating the indicator.

    Data quality

    This is information provided by managers to the competent Authorities (including MASE, through ISPRA) pursuant to specific obligations set forth in Legislative Decree 105/2015, which provides for administrative and criminal sanctions in the event of failure to declare. The data is then collected, validated and processed by ISPRA, also by comparison with the information held by the regions and regional agencies with territorial jurisdiction.

    Status
    Undefinable
    Trend
    Undefinable
    State assessment/description

    At present, given that managers have now reached a sufficient level of knowledge in completing the notification form and correctly classifying the substances present, no significant fluctuations are expected in the future.

    Trend assessment/description

    Compared to the previous survey in December 2025, a significant increase in environmentally hazardous substances has been identified in Sardinia, Lombardy, and Sicily, while the other total quantities remain virtually constant.

    Comments

    Tables 1 and 2 provide, for your convenience, the following information: - the number of occurrences per hazard class. Please note that in this case, substances belonging to multiple hazard classes appear multiple times; - the number of establishments that have notified the substance; - the total amount of the substance present in the country resulting from the sum of the quantities present in the establishments that have notified it; - the hazard statements for each substance or category of substances; Among the categories of hazardous substances in Annex 1 - Part 1 of Legislative Decree 105/2015, the most widespread in quantitative terms, is the category of substances belonging to Section "P" - Physical hazards, in particular flammable liquids. Also very widespread are substances hazardous to the environment that fall into the hazard category "E" - Environmental hazards (Table 1). Among the hazardous substances specified in Annex 1 - Part 2 of Legislative Decree 105/2015, a significant presence, distributed throughout Italy, of flammable liquefied gases and natural gases (LPG and methane) and petroleum products (gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and fuel oil) is evident. A significant presence of methanol and oxygen is also noted; finally, although concentrated in some regions, particularly significant quantities of ammonium nitrates and anhydrous ammonia are noted. For a more detailed analysis, the regional distribution of the notified substances across Italy was also analyzed (Tables 3 and 4). The hazardous substances included in Annex 1, Part 1, are grouped into categories with similar hazardous characteristics, namely: Section "E" - Environmental Hazards and Section "H" - Health Hazards (which includes acutely toxic substances), Section "O" - Other Hazards, and Section "P" - Physical Hazards (which includes explosive, flammable, and oxidizing substances). The regions with the highest concentrations of toxic substances are Sardinia and Lombardy, followed by Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. It should be noted that the region with the highest concentrations of flammable substances is Sicily, followed by Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, and Sardinia. Similarly, Sicily is the region with the highest concentrations of environmentally hazardous substances, followed by Lombardy. The hazardous substances included in Section O - Other Hazards are present in less significant quantities, with the regions with the highest concentrations being Lombardy and Tuscany. Regarding the substances notified in Annex 1 - Part 2 of Legislative Decree 105/2015, some of the most widespread substances in Italy have been reported, such as liquefied gases and methane, petroleum products, methanol, oxygen, chlorine, and toluene diisocyanate. It should be noted that liquefied gases (LPG), natural gas, and petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and fuel oil) are fairly evenly distributed throughout Italy, with peaks for gases (LPG and methane, referring to underground natural gas storage), in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Abruzzo, while for petroleum products, Sicily is the location of petroleum refining plants. For the other substances examined, specific concentrations are recorded in some regions: Emilia-Romagna for methanol, Tuscany for chlorine, and Lombardy for oxygen and toluene diisocyanate (Table 4). It should be noted that since the data in the tables are a function of various factors, in some cases an attempt has been made to provide additional brief information, which however is insufficient for a complete and detailed analysis of the data, an objective that is deferred to more specialized publications from the Institute.

    Data
    File
    Headline

    Tabella 1-Quantità complessiva sostanze per categorie

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    File
    Headline

    Tabella 2-Quantità complessiva sostanze specificate

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    File
    Headline

    Tabella 4-Dettaglio (maggiore diffusione) sostanze specificate per regione

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    Immagine
    Headline

    Quantitativi di preparati e sostanze pericolose - Pericoli per la salute (sezione "H") (2024)

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    Immagine
    Headline

    Quantitativi di preparati e sostanze pericolose - Pericoli fisici (sezione "P") (2024)

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    Immagine
    Headline

    Quantitativi di preparati e sostanze pericolose - Pericoli per l'ambiente (sezione "E") (2024)

    Data source

    Inventario ISPRA

    File
    Headline

    Tabella 3-Quantità complessiva sostanze per categorie per regione

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    English