The symbols. Those that distinguish an era, a history. We become attached to them and they also have value in the energy field. The specific one of these days concerns nuclear power. On the initiative of Sogin (a company that manages Italian nuclear sites) the old chimney of the Garigliano plant is being dismantled. The one that for years, more than elsewhere, has provoked protests and "anti" initiatives of all kinds.
Piece by piece, therefore, the program of neutralization of the old sites is moving forward. The initiative for the Garigliano was announced weeks ago with a good communication and interface strategy with the local populations. A 100-meter-high reinforced concrete chimney is knocked down. Delicate jobs, for which controlled crushing is used. Dangers? Nobody assures Sogin.
Especially since the debris won't stay on the ground. They will be taken away periodically to avoid accumulation at the base and to ward off concern or demonstration. The program started three years ago and the demolition of the chimney will continue until next December. "The demolition - explains Luca Desiata, CEO of Sogin - is the final phase of a significant project in the dismantling program of the Garigliano plant".
Italian technologies are used, just as the projects are all national, evaluated and approved by Sogin. There will be 920 tons of material to be disposed of with rigorous recourse to specialized firms. At the Garigliano, however, the symbols will not completely disappear. In place of the old chimney, a new, smaller one, 34 meters high, will be built. It will be used for the discharge of gaseous effluents connected to decommissioning. Basically a new symbol of another historical phase. A nuclear totem that we would have liked .
