On 8 and 9 November 1987, Italy said no to atomic energy with the first historic referendum against nuclear energy in Italy. These were the years of Chernobyl and the arms race. The referendum of 12 and 13 June 2011 reaffirmed the will not to build nuclear power plants in Italy, torpedoing the atomic plans of the government of the time.

Yet seven known nuclear sites still exist in Italy — former power stations and storage facilities.

Which nuclear sites exist in Italy and where are they

Four are the decommissioned Italian nuclear power plants that hold radioactive materials.

Trino Vercellese nuclear power plant, Piedmont

The nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 270 MW, is of the PWR type. It was shut down in 1987, immediately after the referendum. Currently, 780 cubic metres of radioactive waste and 47 spent fuel assemblies (14.3 tonnes) are stored there. Decommissioning work is under way at this plant, carried out by Sogin. The environmental compatibility decree for the decommissioning project was published on 16 January 2009, with a favourable opinion from the Piedmont Region, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Ministry of the Environment. According to the original plans, it was due to be completed this year.

Caorso nuclear power plant, Emilia-Romagna

The nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 860 MW, is of the PWR type. This one too was shut down in 1987, immediately after the referendum. Some 1,880 cubic metres of radioactive waste and 1,032 spent fuel assemblies (187 tonnes) are stored there.

Latina nuclear power plant, Lazio

The nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 210 MW, is of the GCR type. The plant was shut down in 1986 and is currently decommissioned. Around 900 cubic metres of radioactive waste are stored at this site.

Garigliano nuclear power plant, Campania

The nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 160 MW, is of the BWR type. The plant was shut down in 1978 due to technical and administrative problems, then permanently closed in 1982 owing to irreparable technical defects, and is currently decommissioned. Around 2,200 cubic metres of radioactive waste are stored there.

Three radioactive waste storage sites

Italy currently has three category-III radioactive waste storage sites (the most hazardous to store, since the radioactivity persists for hundreds of thousands of years), holding a total of 235 tonnes.

They are distributed across Italian territory — one in the north, one in the centre and one in the south. In Piedmont at Saluggia, where a radioactive leak recently occurred; in Lazio at Casaccia; and in the south in Basilicata, at Trisaia.

The radioactive waste stored across the various repositories and decommissioned nuclear sites amounted in 2010 to 90,000 cubic metres.