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Italy and Nuclear Power: The Greenpeace Report

by Francesca Romana Buccioni

by Francesca Romana Buccioni (Confronti Editorial Staff)

According to the recent Greenpeace investigation, “The Price of Atomic Bombs at Home” (edited by Sofia Basso), even if Italy has never admitted it, about 40 American nuclear bombs are stored in the military bases of Ghedi (Brescia) and Aviano (Pordenone).

A study by the Ministry of Defense, shared only with military and political leaders and with those responsible for nuclear safety, reveals that a potential terrorist attack on the bases of Ghedi and Aviano would cause a radioactive fungus capable of reaching from 2 to 10 million people, depending on wind propagation and intervention times.

In economic terms, an estimate by the Milex Observatory has calculated that the “expenses directly attributable to the presence of nuclear warheads on Italian soil” fluctuate between 20 and 100 million per year.

However, most Italians reject the idea of a nuclear program in Italy. A recent survey commissioned by Greenpeace to IPSOS, in fact, reveals that:

  • 80% of respondents are against hosting American atomic bombs and having fighter-bombers capable of using them.
  • 8 out of 10 Italians want their country to adhere to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), an agreement adopted at the UN.

In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene a conference, inviting member states to adopt a legally binding instrument to ban the use, production, acquisition and transfer of nuclear weapons: the TPNW.

The agreement will enter into force on 22 January 2021: on 24 October, in fact, with the accession of Honduras, it reached the milestone of 50 necessary ratifications, with 84 signatory countries.

There are only five European states that have ratified the TPNW: Austria, Ireland, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican.

Francesca Romana Buccioni

Francesca Romana Buccioni

Confronti Editorial Staff

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