"This government will make a nuclear waste repository," Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said, speaking at the States General of the Green Economy, underway at the Ecomondo fair in Rimini. "I'm not saying by Christmas, but in a very short time. I'm working on it every day," the minister continued. That need does not depend on whether or not we have a nuclear power plant. "We have 22 containers of high-level waste in Slovakia, Fancia, and England," the minister explained. "We have right now 98,000 cubic meters of low- and medium-intensity waste, which is essentially hospital waste". Then Fratin quickly responded to any criticism: "Whoever says they don't want the waste repository, are they ready to tell their family member or friend 'don't do the PET in the hospital, because it produces waste'?" He then reiterated the emergency: "We produce an average of 1,000 cubic meters per month of medium and low-level waste. We have to find a solution. After 30 years we still haven't done it. This government wants to make it, and it will make a waste repository". Sogin, the state company in charge of nuclear decommissioning, has selected 67 areas in seven regions. But the road to identifying the one best suited to host the repository is impassable. All or most of the selected locations claim their unique landscapes and boast valuable agricultural production, archaeological sites, historical monuments, and natural parks.
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