Air quality
Air quality is constantly monitored via the network of survey stations installed throughout the region by Veneto's Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection (ARPAV). The values of air pollutant concentrations are compared with the limits established by the laws in force and, based on the results, conclusions are made regarding the state of air quality.
Among the many pollutants monitored, particular attention is paid to data regarding PM10, ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in various areas throughout the province.
(Table 16.2.1)
One pollutant that has attracted much attention in recent years is PM10. PM10 refers to fine particles deposited in the soil. PM10 comes from both natural as well as man-made sources. Natural sources are fires, soil erosion, and volcanic eruptions while man-made sources are industrial activities, heating systems and automobile exhausts.
Clearly the most critical areas are urban ones where there is more traffic and greater population density. Monitoring of some of the more significant survey stations shows that the annual average of PM10 concentration in the period running from 2005 to 2009 has tended to decrease. In 2009, almost all of the survey stations taken into consideration showed an average concentration of PM10 within the limit of the 40 microgr/m3 required by the Ministerial Decree DM no. 60 dated 2 April 2002 by the Ministry of the Environment in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. In some cases, a progressive improvement has been noteworthy, such as in the survey station in Verona, Borgo Milano. In 2005 the annual average concentration was more than 70 microgr/m3 of PM10 but in four years it decreased to only 40.
(Figure 16.2.1)
Another parameter that DM 60/2002 deals with is exceeding the daily limit of 50 microgr/m3 of PM10 over the period of a year, which should not be more than 35 days.
If we take these limits into consideration, the situation appears to be rather critical. In 2009, the sampling station in Belluno was the only one that stayed within limit of 35 days required by law, with 23 days. In all of the other cases, excess of the limit was always more than 70 days.
Nonetheless, the trend over time is positive. If 2005 is taken as a starting point, in all cases, except for Belluno, there has been a significant decrease in the number of days when the 50 microgr/m3 limit of PM10 was exceeded. This indicates that the environmental protection policies enacted and efforts taken to reduce emissions have begun to have some effect.
(Figure 16.2.2)
In addition to PM10, there is constant monitoring of ozone, O3, a poisonous gas, mostly present in the higher layers of the Earth's atmosphere which, at that level, functions as a filter for ultraviolet rays from the sun. Ozone is also present in lower layers due to human activities and is a pollutant. Directive 2008/50/EC establishes limits for concentrations of O3 that are considered fundamental for the protection human health. More specifically, it sets three thresholds: an information threshold, an alarm threshold, and a long-term threshold corresponding respectively to 180, 240 and 120 microgr/m3 of O3 concentrations in the air. Each monitoring station records the number of times these three thresholds are exceeded. If we consider the number of times the alarm threshold of 180 microgr/m3 has been exceeded in some monitoring stations located in urban background areas and urban traffic areas between 2007 to 2009, we see that there are very diverse situations. In a few cases, such as Treviso-via Lancieri and Venezia-parco Bissuola, the number has decreased significantly whereas in all the other stations, the numbers fluctuate. This depends to a large degree on the climatic conditions, which undoubtedly have a great impact on the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere.
(Figure 16.2.3)
Water
Bathing waters
Water has always been one of the main elements that characterises the territory in Veneto. From its lakes to its dense river network, from its long coasts along the Adriatic Sea to its subterranean waters, the region owes part of its wealth to this precious natural element. Therefore, water protection is a fundamental aspect of territory management and, for this reason, the quality of Veneto's diverse water resources are continuously monitored.
There are 167 sampling stations to monitor the bathing waters; they take samples that analyse the chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics of the water.
In 2009 almost 86% of the sampling stations proved to be suitable for bathing. In addition to the overall values, which are strongly influenced by the high concentration of sampling stations in the Adriatic Sea and Lago di Garda, it is important to point out that the quality of water in two lakes, Lago di Santa Croce and Lago del Mis, has improved over time; even though they started with a negative situation in 2005, they achieved bathing-level quality in 2008 and again in 2009.
(Figure 16.2.4)
Groundwaters
Italian legislation, like EU legislation, defines the state of groundwaters based on its quantitative and chemical state. Here reference will only be made to the chemical-qualitative aspect.
The chemical state of groundwaters (SCAS) identifies chemical quality by considering the values of seven basic parameters
(Note 3), as well as other biodegradable and non-biodegradable pollutants.
In 2008, as in the past, the most frequent types of contaminations are those coming from nitrates, followed by pesticides and halogenated compounds.
Only 14% of the samples taken had man-made contaminants (Class 4), whereas 31% had natural contaminants (Class 0). Overall, 41.4% of the samples had good or excellent quality (Classes 1 and 2) whereas 14% were characterised by levels of contamination at the threshold of attention (Class 3 of the repealed Legislative Decree DL 152/99).
(Figure 16.2.5)
A comparison of the chemical state of groundwaters in 2007 and in 2008 shows that the situation is basically stable; the chemical class remained the same for 87% of the monitoring stations, improved for 5% and worsened for 8%.
Drinking water
In the case of water use by humans, it is important to consider both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The former regards the chemical state of water for human consumption, whereas the latter the degree of conservation of water resources and, consequently, the sustainability of water use.
As far as qualitative aspects are concerned, much importance is given to the concentration of nitrates as they are very dangerous to human health.
Monitoring is carried out throughout the region in a systematic way. According to Legislative Decree DL 31/01, the concentration of nitrates in tap water cannot exceed 50 mg/l. The evaluation for the year 2009 in Veneto was positive in that none of the averages calculated exceeded the legal limit.
If we analyse the trends over time, the situation improved from 2006 to 2009: the number of municipalities whose drinking water has levels of nitrates lower than the established limit of 5 mg/l has increased from 31 to 41% of all the municipalities monitored.
(Figure 16.2.6)
As far as the quantity of drinking water is concerned, the so-called "piezometric level" is used to measure the sustainability of the use of the resources available. It measures the amount of water stored in and drained from underground acquifers.
In order to maintain the ability of an aquifer to supply water, it is fundamental that the level of the aquifer be such that the yearly average of extractions over a long period does not consume all of the resources available. A positive or stable piezometric level means that the use of water resources is sustainable and that, therefore, the quantitative status of the water body is good.
If we look at the data collected in the period running from 1999 to 2009, we see that the piezometric level was stable in 89 of the 119 stations monitored, positive in 18 stations and negative in 12. These data indicate that the overall quantitative status is good/stable.
If we look at the stations where the trend is positive, we can see that they are mostly located in the province of Venezia. This is the consequence of a series of specific initiatives carried out by the province to reduce water loss in the aquifers.
Soil
The issue of soil management regards several different regional policies and has gained increasing attention as awareness of the risks associated with a non-rational use of this resource way has grown.
One very general indicator is the percentage of a territory that is urban area, namely characterised by housing and industrial areas, road networks, and other such examples of human activity. The indicator is based on aerial photography. On a regional level, as will be seen below, the most urbanised provinces are Padova (19.4% urban area) and Treviso (17.6%).
An analysis of the evolution of this indicator over time from 1983 to 2006 shows that the areas with the highest percentage variation were the province of Verona (+25.6%) and the province of Venezia (+21.9%); this increase in the province of Venezia was mainly due to the development of seaside areas and resorts.
This
urban sprawl is accompanied by a decrease in Utilisable Agricultural Area (UAA).
(Figure 16.2.7)
In this report, we have chosen to focus on two specific contexts in order to analyse soil use and management as they are believed to be particularly relevant: extraction activities and industrial activities at a risk of creating significant accidents.
The end aim of quarry extraction is the sale of the materials extracted and as such it is to be considered both an opportunity for the supply of materials and jobs, as well as a risk for local environmental protection and landscape. Over time, Regione Veneto has refined various tools for regulating, monitoring and controlling extraction activities throughout Veneto, noting a decrease in the number of active quarries from 367 in 1990 to 233 in 2009.
An analysis of the data regarding the production of quarry material and the reserves that have yet to be extracted indicates that the province of Treviso alone makes up 40% of such extraction activities in Veneto. We also see that Rovigo has no extraction activities and that the province of Venezia is engaged in these activities in a very limited way, similar to the province of Padova, which was more active in the past especially in the hill areas of the province.
(Table 16.2.2)
The following figure shows the percentage of material extracted by type of material throughout the region.
(Figure 16.2.8)
The second aspect of soil management to be analysed, which is one that has not always been considered enough, is that regarding industrial activities at risk of creating major environmental accidents.
As is often the case, Community and national laws evolved significantly following major disasters, more specifically the major accidents in Seveso and Tolosa. Industrial accidents are regulated by European directives 82/501/EEC, 96/82/EC and 2003/105/EC, and, on a national level in response to these EU directives, by Presidential Decree DPR no. 175 dated 17.5.1988, Legislative Decree DL no. 334 dated 17.8.1999, and DL no. 238 dated 21.9.2005. These laws regulate plants that are at a high risk namely because they contain potentially dangerous substances that exceed established thresholds, either in storage or for use in the production cycle.
The national inventory of plants at risk of causing major accidents carried out by ministerial offices identified 100 such plants in Veneto, located throughout the various provinces as can be seen in the following figure.
(Figure 16.2.9)
The largest concentration of these plants is in the municipality of Venezia, or more precisely in the industrial area of Porto Marghera, which alone has 17 high-risk plants.
The same inventory also classified the plants by type as can be seen in the following figure for those in Veneto.
(Figure 16.2.10)
The data provided by this inventory are the basis for the monitoring activities the assigned agencies must carry out in order to check that the relative norms are being respected and to provide local citizens with relative information, a task which became obligatory following passing of DL no. 195 dated 19.8.2005, "Implementation of directive 2003/4/EC regarding public access to environmental information".
Waste
In 2009 2,371,588 tonnes of urban waste were produced, marking an overall decrease of 1.8% compared to 2008. The amount of waste per capita decreased by 2.6%, to about 483 kg/inhabitant per year (1.32 kg/inh. per day), a value similar to that of 2005. This number is among the lowest in the nation even though Veneto has a high GDP and more than 60 million nights spent by tourists each year.
On a provincial level, per capita waste production fluctuates between the maximum in the province of Venezia (620 kg/inh. per year) and the minimum in the province of Treviso (377 kg/inh. per year).
(Figure 16.2.11)
In 2009 Veneto reached 56.3% of waste separation marking an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to 2008. These figures have allowed Veneto to achieve results higher than the 50% established by Law 296/2006 for the year 2009 and to be among the leading Italian regions for the percentage of waste separation. It is also worth noting that the decrease in the total amount of waste produced, coupled with an increase in waste separation has led to a decrease in remaining waste (-6.8%), which totalled 1,037,560 tonnes.
(Figure 16.2.12)
Looking closer at the data on a provincial level, almost all of the provinces have already passed the 50% goal. The province of Treviso, having reached 71% of waste separation, is in first place in the regional rankings and has already passed the goal established for 2012 by DL 152/06.
(Figure 16.2.13)
At municipality level, in 2009, 55% of the municipalities in Veneto (46% of the population), reached the maximum goal of 65% of waste separation thanks to efforts made by citizens, who were encouraged to separate waste through numerous publicity campaigns, and the activities of the local agencies and companies who collect separated waste.
One aspect worth mentioning is waste collection as municipalities have developed systems for collecting biodegradable waste: 519 municipalities out of 581 carry out dry-biodegradable waste collection and it is the citizens themselves who separate biodegradable waste, dry recyclable waste and dry non-recyclable waste in their homes. The most widespread means for waste collection is "door to door", with 433 of the 519 municipalities adopting this system.
As far as waste recovery and disposal are concerned, Veneto guarantees high quality service thanks to a very articulate system of waste management plants. To recover biodegradable waste, there are 18 medium- and large-sized compost and anaerobic digestion plants and about 50 plants to process agricultral and garden waste. The overall capacity of these plants is equal to about 971,000 t/year, which is more than enough to satisfy regional needs for processing biodegradable waste. Waste treatment for dry waste is guaranteed by about 40 large plants in addition to 150 smaller plants. Consequently, the efficiency of waste recovery is very high, reaching 92% for plastic and 99% for metal.
With regards to these activities, in 2006 Regione Veneto signed an agreement plan with Italy's National Packaging Consortium (CONAI) to improve the way packaging waste was recovered in the region.
One of the many types of waste treatment is the mechanical biological system which aims to transform waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Overall, 514,000 tonnes, or 21.7% of total urban waste, were treated with this system in 2009, producing 153,000 tonnes of RDF.
One very positive result of the waste management policies enacted is a significant reduction in landfill use for waste disposal. The use of landfills decreased by 49.4% from 2002 to 2009.
From a financial perspective, management costs in 2009 were less than 125 euro per capita per year, much lower than the national cost recorded in 2007, which was more than 130 euro per capita per year.
A final aspect worth mentioning is waste recovery for energy production. In 2008, 183,000 tonnes of waste were used for energy production.
Energy recovery was carried out by production activities that use waste as alternative fuels or together with traditional fuels. The main industry that used waste as fuel was concrete production, followed by wood processing and the production of electric energy (where, for example, the ENEL powerplant in Fusina uses RDF together with traditional fuels).
(Figure 16.2.14)