IT-alert: new test in Calabria focusing on industrial accident scenario
On March 18, the AGN Energia S.p.A. facility in Strongoli (KR) will test the national public warning system
On March 18, the AGN Energia S.p.A. facility in Strongoli (KR) will conduct a new test of the IT-alert system, focusing on the scenario of a major accident at an industrial facility.
The facility, which is regulated by the Seveso directive, was one of the first to test the system when the testing phase on specific risks began. Last year's tests identified several parameters that could be optimized to improve the effectiveness of the public warning system. Regular testing of the IT-alert system is essential to ensure it functions properly and that alerts are transmitted from phone cells to devices in affected areas during a real emergency.
The test will occur on March 18, 2025, at 10:15 a.m., involving an area with a radius of approximately 2 km around the facility.
For the scenario of major accidents at industrial facilities, the notification text that the affected population will receive will read as follows:
TEST TEST This is an IT-alert TEST MESSAGE. There is an ongoing SIMULATION of an accident at an industrial facility in the area where you are. To learn what message you will receive in case of real danger and to fill out the survey, go to www.it-alert.gov.it/en TEST TEST
Major accident means an event such as a significant emission, fire, or explosion due to uncontrolled developments occurring during the operation of an industrial facility classified as a major-accident hazard by Legislative Decree No. 105 of June 26, 2015 - Implementation of Directive 2012/18/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, and which results in an immediate or delayed major hazard for human health and the environment, either inside or outside the facility, and in which one or more hazardous substances are involved.
Each industrial facility must have an External emergency plan (EEP) containing damage mitigation measures outside the facility and an Internal Emergency Plan (IEP), including damage mitigation measures inside the facility.
IT-alert would be activated for possible accident scenarios affecting the facility.
In case of real danger from a major accident at an industrial facility, cell phone users in the areas near the affected facilities will receive such an IT-alert message:
▪ Civil Protection Alert DD/MM/YY at 00:00 - Accident at the XYZ industrial facility involving hazardous substances in the Municipality of XYZ (PROVINCE). FIND INDOOR SHELTER AND DO NOT GO NEAR the facility (E04). Keep up to date and follow the instructions of the authorities.
However, there may be devices present in areas affected by the emergency that will not receive the message. This is caused by one of the limits of cell-broadcast technology: the impossibility of perfectly overlaying the area potentially affected by the emergency with the area covered by the antennas of the telephone operators used to send the messages.