IT-alert: new test in Veneto simulating an industrial accident
On November 13, the test will involve the Pometon Spa industrial facility
On November 13, Pometon Spa in Martellago (VE) will test the national warning system for major industrial accidents.
The facility, which falls under the Seveso Directive, will take part in a regional civil protection exercise involving sites at risk of major accidents. The exercise will also include testing the public warning system: a message will be broadcast at around 10:00 a.m., covering an area with a radius of approximately 3 km around the facility.
Periodic testing of IT-alert is essential to verify its proper functioning, to ensure that in the event of a real emergency, the cell towers in the affected area provide adequate coverage, and to confirm the efficiency of the communication flows established in the facility’s external emergency plan.
During the simulation, the message that will be sent to the affected population will read as follows:
TEST TEST This is an IT-alert TEST MESSAGE. There is an ongoing SIMULATION of an accident at an industrial facility in the area where you are. To learn what message you will receive in case of real danger and to fill out the survey, go to www.it-alert.gov.it/en TEST TEST
On test days, the homepage of this website will feature a link to a survey, which residents in the affected areas are encouraged to complete, even if they do not receive any notification.
The test date may be subject to change if regional civil protection systems are activated due to weather alerts or other emergencies.
Major accident means an event such as a significant emission, fire, or explosion due to uncontrolled developments occurring during the operation of an industrial facility classified as a major-accident hazard by Legislative Decree No. 105 of June 26, 2015 - Implementation of Directive 2012/18/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, and which results in an immediate or delayed major hazard for human health and the environment, either inside or outside the facility, and in which one or more hazardous substances are involved.
Each industrial facility must have an External emergency plan (EEP) containing damage mitigation measures outside the facility and an Internal Emergency Plan (IEP), including damage mitigation measures inside the facility.
IT-alert would be activated for possible accident scenarios affecting the facility.
In case of real danger from a major accident at an industrial facility, cell phone users in the areas near the affected facilities will receive such an IT-alert message:
▪ Civil Protection Alert DD/MM/YY at 00:00 - Accident at the XYZ industrial facility involving hazardous substances in the Municipality of XYZ (PROVINCE). FIND INDOOR SHELTER AND DO NOT GO NEAR the facility (E04). Keep up to date and follow the instructions of the authorities.
However, there may be devices present in areas affected by the emergency that will not receive the message. This is caused by one of the limits of cell-broadcast technology: the impossibility of perfectly overlaying the area potentially affected by the emergency with the area covered by the antennas of the telephone operators used to send the messages.