Safety measures completed
At the end of the safety measures carried out starting from late morning today within the Italmatch Chemicals company, following the fire that occurred in one of the departments, the situation, which was immediately under control, returned to normal.
Specifically, around 1.35 pm today, Tuesday 18 June, inside a leacher for the treatment of red phosphorus slurry (red phosphorus dispersed in water) with caustic solution, a principle developed, due to a cause currently under investigation, of fire with emission of dense, white smoke.
The ignited product consists exclusively of red phosphorus. Combustion fumes contain phosphoric anhydride (I205) which, when in contact with humidity, produces phosphoric acid.
The estimated amount of red phosphorus involved is 0.5 to 1 kilogram.
It is also confirmed that following the accident there were no injuries to plant personnel.
After the reopening of the roads which, as a precaution, had been immediately closed to traffic, no dangerous situations were identified even with regards to the dispersion of fumes in the area.
Therefore, both for civilian homes, where it is possible to safely open the windows again, and for the land and crops grown in the area, as agreed with USL Umbria 2 and ARPA Umbria, the full return to a condition of normality is confirmed as the data confirms that there are no risks either for people or for animals and plants.
