IT-alert: two upcoming tests in Emilia-Romagna and Liguria
On April 1 and 9, the two regions will simulate a major industrial accident at industrial facilities
This April, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria will host two national public warning system tests focused on major accidents at industrial facilities under the Seveso Directive. The facilities involved in these tests are Marig Esplosivi Industriali S.R.L., located in Novafeltria, Rimini, and the Panigaglia GNL plant in Portovenere (SP).
The test at the Marig Esplosivi Industriali S.R.L. facility in Emilia-Romagna is scheduled for April 1, 2025, at 10 a.m. This will involve an area with a radius of approximately 5 km around the plant.
Following that, on April 9 at 9:30 a.m., a test will take place in Liguria at the GNL plant in Panigaglia. This test will involve the surrounding area with a radius of 2 km.
Testing specific risks and scenarios helps identify parameters that can be optimized to enhance the effectiveness of the Italian public warning system. Additionally, conducting regular IT alert tests is crucial to ensure that, in the event of a real emergency, alert messages are correctly transmitted from phone cells and received on devices in the affected areas.
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
Finally, individuals in the affected areas during the testing are encouraged to complete the survey available at www.it-alert.gov.it/en, even if they do not receive the alert message. This feedback will help enhance the service.
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.