Investigations continue to identify the causes of the hydrocarbon spill, probably diesel, that occurred on Friday, September 4 in the Naviglio Grande in Milan. The first reports identified a large oily patch, which required the intervention of the fire brigade and Arpa technicians in the Pontevecchio di Magenta area.
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The intervention to contain the spill
During the operations, local police officers from the municipalities crossed by the Naviglio were also mobilized. Initially, some floating dams were placed near Abbiategrasso, Trezzano sul Naviglio, and Corsico, while the patch moved towards Milan. In the Lombard capital, barriers were subsequently installed to block the expanding patch. However, the seven installations did not completely stop the spill, which apparently reached an extension of about 28 kilometers and reached the Darsena in central Milan. The interventions managed to block at least part of the hydrocarbons, but a portion, albeit minimal, also spilled into sections of the canals crossing the city. In the area, which is also frequented by tourists, a smell of waste oil spread.
Drainage operations
The fire brigade pushed the oily patch towards a junction point on Via Conchetta in Milan, at the intersection between the Naviglio Pavese towpath and Via Darwin. Here there is a lock to block and drain as much as possible the substance. The goal is to limit the impact of contamination on irrigation. During the operations, deep barriers were arranged to intercept as much as possible the algae impregnated with hydrocarbons and also rolls of absorbent material on the surface. The operation was essentially successful and helped avoid widespread contamination of the Darsena and the Naviglio Pavese.
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Operations continue outside Milan, along the course of the Naviglio Grande, the Naviglio di Bereguardo, and the Naviglio Pavese. As a precaution, the mouths feeding the irrigation ditches have been closed, to avoid possible contamination of rice crops and the natural areas of the South Milan Agricultural Park. “From the first hours, we deployed men and means to contain the spread of the substance along the Navigli system,” says Alessandro Rota, president of the Est Ticino Villoresi Consortium. “We are intervening on the Darsena and in Gaggiano and have closed the mouths of the irrigation ditches to protect the rice crops and the natural areas of the South Park. The monitoring will continue until the critical situation is completely overcome.”
Environmental damage
“The damage is certainly great, with serious consequences for the fish fauna and beyond, and a major intervention will be necessary to restore as much as possible,” said Claudio De Paola, director of the Ticino Park, to Ansa. “There is damage to biodiversity, with contaminated birds. Lipu informed us that they are trying to treat a soiled swan,” he added, “and we understand that the Villoresi Consortium has commissioned a company specialized in remediation.”
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