Rivers Lambro and Po

On 23 February 2010, in a former refinery used by Società Lombarda Petroli S.p.A. as an oil depot in the municipality of Villasanta (Monza Brianza), some unknown persons turned on the hydraulic pumps of the connection manifolds normally used to dispense the products into tanker trucks. This caused the release of approximately 2,600 tons of oil, including 1,800 tons of diesel and fuel oil (lighter than water) and 800 tons of combustible oil (heavier than water) in approximately three hours.

On 23 February 2010, in a former refinery used by Società Lombarda Petroli S.p.A. as an oil depot in the municipality of Villasanta (Monza Brianza), some unknown persons turned on the hydraulic pumps of the connection manifolds normally used to dispense the products into tanker trucks. This caused the release of approximately 2,600 tons of oil, including 1,800 tons of diesel and fuel oil (lighter than water) and 800 tons of combustible oil (heavier than water) in approximately three hours.

The hydrocarbons, having flowed into the loading bay of the depot and into the drainage system, later reached the San Rocco purification plant, situated between Monza and San Maurizio al Lambro, causing a blockage. Workers at the plant (BrianzAcque) immediately notified ARPA (regional environmental protection agencies). The oil that evaded the purification plant, which blocked a quantity of approximately 1,250 tons of material, gradually flowed into the River Lambro, which crosses the province of Milan and Lodi, joining the Po on the border between the provinces of Pavia, Piacenza and Lodi.

On 25 February, on the explicit request of the President of the Regional Authority of Emilia Romagna, also shared by the Presidents of the Lombardy and Veneto Regional Authorities, the coordination of operations to tackle the emergency was transferred to the Department of Civil Protection.
Voluntary organisations specialised in environmental operations (particularly in oil clean-ups) were deployed to survey the river banks affected and decide what measures were to be adopted. ARPA technicians carried out non-stop monitoring of the presence of pollutants in the water. A ban was placed on the use of the water for agriculture and land reclamation consortia.

On 26 February, at the Prefettura of Piacenza, an inter-regional Crisis unit was set up comprising the DCP, representatives from the three regions affected, the Po basin Authority and AIPO (Interregional agency for the Po River). Containment operations, using barriers and oil-absorbing materials as well as suction skimmers, enabled much of the material to be cleaned up in just a few days.

On 28 February, in view of the comforting results of investigations conducted by the Lombardy and Emilia Romagna branches of ARPA, which reported levels of pollution below the detection threshold and in continual decline compared to the days before, the next emergency management phase with the replacement of the used oil sweeps, the reinforcement of barriers, recovery of pollutants as well as environmental monitoring through sampling and analysis carried out along both branches of the rivers. As a precautionary measure, some channels of the Po delta were barricaded, while the Harbour Office controlled the sea with its own vessels.

The regions involved asked the Prime Minister and the Department of Civil protection to declare a state of emergency pursuant to Law no. 225 of 24 February 1992, which was fully supported by the Ministry for the environment and protection of the territory and sea following the on-site evaluation of the situation.

Given the positive developments in the situation, the national Department of Civil protection personnel returned to their offices on 2 March.