WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3006/97 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. The presence of dangerous waste in a disused warehouse belonging to the chemical firm Zucchet in Rome
Date: 1997-10-01
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: Latium, cessation of trading, chemical industry, dangerous substance, environmental protection, industrial waste, public health, waste disposal, waste management, waste recycling

30. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134/55

(98/C 134/67)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3006/97

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(1 October 1997)

Subject: The presence of dangerous waste in a disused warehouse belonging to the chemical firm Zucchet in

Rome

On 9 December 1996 Rome City Council decided by mayoral decree to clear all the waste remaining on the site
of the warehouse and laboratory belonging to the Italian chemical firm Zucchet, which is now disused, in via
Pian Due Torri (Magliana district).

On the site, which backs onto the river Tiber and is near a sports centre and a number of dwellings, hundreds of
metal canisters, containers and bags were found containing unidentified substances.

However, despite the aforementioned decree, nobody has taken steps to implement it and all the waste is still in
the former warehouse, despite the worrying reports issued by the local health office Rm D, pointing out the need
to identify the waste substances.

In view of all this, can the Commission say:

1.  whether  the  case  in  question  does  not  constitute  an  infringement  of  Directive  96/61/EC (1)  concerning
integrated pollution prevention and control, in particular Article 3(f), which establishes that the Member
States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that all installations are operated in such a way as to avoid
any risk of pollution when activities definitively cease and to return the site to a satisfactory state;

2.  whether the case in question does not constitute an infringement of Directive 91/689/EEC (2) on hazardous

waste;

3.  whether, if infringements of Community environmental law are ascertained, the Commission intends to ask

the Italian authorities to guarantee compliance with the law?

(1)  OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26.
(2)  OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 20.

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(11 November 1997)

The Honourable Member mentions that, despite the existence of a specific ordinance of 9 December 1996, the
wastes generated by the chemical industry Zucchet are still stored in canisters and bags containing non-identified
substances.

Directive 75/442/EEC on waste as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC (1) prohibits the abandonment, dumping or
uncontrolled disposal of waste. Furthermore, this Directive requires Member States to ensure that wastes are
recovered  or  disposed  of  without  endangering  human  health  and  without  using  processes  or  methods  which
could harm the environment.

Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste (2) requires Member States to ensure that, on every site where tipping
of hazardous waste takes place, it is recorded and identified. Moreover this Directive prohibits as a general rule
the mixing of hazardous waste with other hazardous waste or with other waste, substances or materials. In the
course  of  collection,  transport  and  temporary  storage  wastes  must  be  properly  packaged  and  labelled  in
accordance with the international and Community standards in force.

The Italian authorities have to ensure compliance with the above requirements, and the Commission will address
them a letter on this matter.

(1)  OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.
(2)  OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.