Mercury hazardous substances to human health

Mercury is one of the most hazardous substances to human health and also for the environment. For this reason, the European Union has decided to implement the new rules so that you can get to significantly reduce exposure to mercury for humans, plants and animals and thus offer a better future for our children and the planet in which we live.

The European Union has decided to reduce the time of temporary storage of metallic mercury, which can only be stored up to a maximum of 5 years. As for permanent storage have not yet been made ​​final decisions because it is first necessary to try to understand how dangerous it can be a practice of this type.

The storage of metallic mercury can be performed in underground storage in underground deposits are deposits if they are certified by the European Union. All deposits must in fact be one hundred percent safe and should specifically be well insulated from the ground so that there is no loss of mercury, must allow the reversibility of the storage and must then avoid the development of emissions of mercury vapor.

The EU member states will have to adapt to the new guidelines by the end of March 2013.

Mercury exposure for humans

The EU intends to implement all possible measures to reduce the risk of mercury exposure for humans and the environment. Member States shall, in accordance with the Commission Communication to the Council and European Parliament on Community Strategy on Mercury, have until March 15, 2013 to comply with best available techniques for the temporary storage (1 to 5 years) of metallic mercury (indications of the second Directive 2011/97/Ue).

The latest directive authorizes the temporary storage (more than one year) and permanent discharge of metallic mercury, notwithstanding the general prohibition of admissibility 'of liquid waste. For most stocks 'short' but need permission from ordinary. The new criteria established by the EU have the intention to introduce some restrictions limiting the maximum duration of storage at 5 years, needed to conduct further assessments on the effects of permanent storage. To ensure safe storage for human health and the environment, and 'appropriate for the safety assessment for the underground storage is complemented by specific requirements and should also be applicable to non-underground storage depots.

While the above-ground storage conditions should notably meet the principles of reversibility 'of storage, protection of mercury against meteoric water, impermeability' with respect to soils and prevention of emissions of mercury vapor. The measures adopted at Community level is seen as part of a global effort to reduce the risk of exposure to mercury in particular within the Mercury Programme of the United Nations program for the environment.

regional production from solid biomass in 2009

This rapid proliferation of facilities including large size, favored by the regime of incentives, on the one hand contributes to the goals of producing renewable energy and CO2 savings that our country must achieve in order to meet European commitments and the Kyoto Protocol On the other hand highlights the criticality due to a lack of planning and coordination at national level and limits of the forest sector, which suffers the backwardness due to years of disregard.One of the risks to which they can more easily meet is related to incorrect or approximate assessments regarding the availability of real biomass: theoretical evaluations often at the local level do not take due account of the real difficulties of supply caused by a number of factors such as scarcity of forest companies equipped, the fragmentation of ownership, the difficulty in cutting and skidding to a lack of adequate forest roads, the demand for wood products and any pre-existing proximity to other plants with the same water supply.If so we want to avoid use is made of raw materials from abroad with the cancellation of the environmental benefit, it is hoped that these considerations together with other environmental and economic are placed at the base of each decision-making that relates to the installation of forest biomass.

Evolution of installed capacity and number of plants using solid biomass

In the period considered, the production of energy has risen from 587 to 2,828 GWh (for an average annual increase of 17%), while the evolution of its generation facilities fueled by solid biomass was characterized by an increase in size: the size in 1999 average is 7.9 MW, 8.9 MW in 2009 to arrive.