Hydrocarbons and heavy metals in the sea, but also the damage caused by the flares used to dispose of the waste produced in greater quantities due to increased production. Finally, leaks that would have compromised the soil and groundwater .
The Cagliari Public Prosecutor's Office has closed its investigation into alleged environmental pollution at the Sarlux plant in Sarroch. Prosecutors Enrico Lussu and Nicola Giua Marassi served the notice on Vincenzo Greco , 66, CEO from 2014 to September 2017; Settimio Guarrata , 59, CEO since September 2017 and site manager; Francesco Lion , 73, previously holding a special power of attorney for environmental matters; and Walter Cocco , 58, with similar responsibilities since December 2018. They are all charged with environmental pollution . The company is liable for the administrative offense set forth in Legislative Decree 231 of 2001 on corporate liability.
According to investigators , untreated stormwater, including from industrial areas, containing hydrocarbons and other hazardous substances, was discharged directly into the sea from emergency spillways. The discharges were also used in anticipation of ordinary weather events, when the tanks were full and inadequate to contain the wastewater. The analyses cited in the notice indicate contamination by lead, cadmium, and hydrocarbons . For the latter, the limits were exceeded in ten out of eleven samples, with a peak of 10.5 million micrograms per liter, compared to the maximum limit of 350. Marine sediments also reportedly contained high concentrations of aluminum, manganese, barium, strontium, vanadium, lead, and nickel, as well as petroleum-derived hydrocarbons.
Then there's the "blowdown" system designed for safety and emergencies. The flares were allegedly used as a routine system for disposing of process gases, including those from the incineration of hazardous waste. On several occasions between 2018 and 2021, they were allegedly used without ensuring the 800-degree flame required to eliminate volatile organic compounds. The Prosecutor's Office—following investigations by the Regional Forestry Corps' investigative unit— : instead, a chemical product was used to mask, in particular, hydrogen sulfide. Thus, the prosecutors claim, the population would not have perceived the emissions, which could have been programmed based on the weather, with the wind blowing offshore.
