Switches disposed of in full safety
In response to the report made by the S.e. Trand Company on the consignment of switches/circuit breakers delivered by the Eco.Ge.M.M.A. firm, an internal investigation was immediately performed, and we can now report that:
The switches removed from an electrical sub-station of the Northern Plants (former Versalis), purchased in 2015, were made safe already at the Sarlux site: there was never any risk for either the population or workers. The radioactivity value recorded, only in contact with the terminal portion of the switches, and which at a distance of one metre already drops to surrounding ambient levels, is 13 times lower than that emitted by an X-ray of the hand.
Sarlux internal investigation
Although not directly informed of the reading taken on 14 March, and without having been requested by any external party, we immediately tested the switch/circuit breaker remaining at the site, which was of the same type as the ten included in the consignment. The eleven devices – installed in the mid-1970s – had recently been removed from the closed electric boxes of an electrical substation of the Northern Plants (former Versalis), during revamping of the area acquired by Sarlux two years ago from the ENI Group. Albeit there is no certainty of the presence of asbestos inside them – something, moreover, not indicated in the associated technical fact sheet issued at the time of purchase – based on our customary cautious approach, the switches were immediately segregated, made inert and subsequently transported in full safety, in accordance with legal procedures covering the disposal of asbestos, by a specialized firm, Eco.Ge.M.M.A., to an equipped disposal site, operated by S.e. Trand, at Settimo San Pietro. Hence, it is clear that no citizen was ever exposed to radiation from the material contained in the switches, which at all events represents only a tiny fraction of the 600 kg consignment erroneously reported as being “entirely radioactive”. On conclusion of the complex analyses performed in search of an isotope which does not belong to Sarlux products and plants (and thus was impossible to detect initially), on the extremity of the switch stored in an inaccessible area of the site, a value of 0.36 microSievert per hour (µSv/h) was recorded. It is stressed that already at a distance of one metre from the switch itself, the measurement tends to assume the radiation value of the surrounding natural environment, that is 0.065 µSv/h, while at the S.e.Trand disposal facility in Settimo San Pietro the ambient value increases to 0.17 µSv/h, according to information taken from S.e.Trand documents published in the press. It also might be as well to recall that a dental X-ray emits 5 µSv/h, 13 times the radiation emitted by the ends of the switches in question.
No risk for direct or indirect workers
To guarantee the full safety of direct and indirect workers, we felt it our duty to perform further tests to ascertain any harmful effects on workers who worked in the vicinity of the sub-station electrical boxes – inside which the switches were placed – and on personnel who had performed maintenance: on the basis of overestimated exposure, compared with legal limits, it is proven that personnel never ran any risks for their health. Further reassurance stems from the fact that we tasked an independent qualified expert with assessment and he confirmed our evaluation. These results were also passed on to workers’ security representatives.
Equipment dating back 40 years, no indicators of radiation sources
As to the origin of the radioactivity, other checks are in progress. In the technical fact sheets covering the switches in question, which date from 1976, nothing is indicated in this regard, nor is there any reason to believe that these switches, on account of the information and warranties provided by the former operator, and of their type and use, could contain or have been exposed to radiation sources. We shall however continue with our investigation, not least to provide all elements and information which could be of use to the competent authorities and thus avoid incorrect media reports.