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The City Council approved this Thursday the “Regulation of air quality” that defines priorities and deadlines for a series of actions aimed at improving environmental quality in the city. The main novelties include the obligation for all fuel sales points to have electrical charging infrastructures. Existing distributors must submit the project by January 1, 2022 and the installation of the columns must be done within 12 months of the project submission. In case of technical impossibility, the column must be built in a different public area before January 1, 2023.
Smoking: the new rules of the outdoors
Since January 1, 2021, Milan has banned smoking outdoors, except in isolated places: from public transport stops to parks, cemeteries and sports facilities, such as stadiums, smoking will be prohibited within ten meters of other people. Starting January 1, 2025, the smoking ban will be extended to all public outdoor areas. These are measures that have a double objective: to help reduce PM10, that is, polluting particles that are harmful to the lungs, and to protect the health of citizens from active and passive smoking in public places and also frequented by minors.
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Oil heating: prohibited from October 2022
The prohibition to install new diesel and biomass systems for heating buildings comes into force within 30 days after the regulation is approved and, as of October 1, 2022, the use of diesel fuel will be prohibited even in heating systems. existing heating. In case of technical impossibility to renew the system, it will be necessary to present a technical report that demonstrates the impediment. This decision takes into account the important incentives made available to the owners by the Government and the municipal administration for the renovation of the plants. In other words, two summers are available to replace the approximately one thousand plants of this type that still exist in Milan.
Wood-fired ovens and shop doors
The use of firewood is then regulated to feed the ovens of the pizzerias, which from October 1, 2022 must be of “class A1”, with a humidity not higher than 25%: for a control of the environmental quality of the Wood-fired ovens at Milanese pizzerias also started a census that will be carried out before March 1, 2021.
With regard to commercial establishments, it will be mandatory to keep the doors closed before January 1, 2022. An exemption is provided for businesses that use so-called “air blades” that are not electrically heated, with a width greater than that of the door, ground flow less than 2 m / sec or that will adapt the existing air blades by June 1, 2022.
Store doors: Legambiente-Confcommercio clash
For commercial activities in public areas, if they do not require systems to store, refrigerate or cook food, also the prohibition of the use of power generators with internal combustion engines as of January 1, 2022. It will also be prohibited. use internal combustion engine power generators powered by diesel or blended (oil and gasoline) with two-stroke engine for commercial or food management activities in public areas that require food storage, refrigeration or cooking systems from 1 October 2022, with the exception of October 1, 2028 for market stalls with integrated generator.
For commercial activities in non-commercial public areas with fixed parking, the use of replacement power generators for connection to the electricity grid is prohibited as of January 1, 2022.
Construction sites, fireworks, barbecues
New rules also for construction activities, in particular for the containment of dust raised by vehicles on site. Within 30 days after the regulation comes into force, cleaning is mandatory at certain intervals; wash the wheels of vehicles leaving the site; keep the slopes of the construction site wet; maintain a particularly moderate vehicle traffic speed along dirt roads located within the construction site; use, for the handling of earth, aggregates and powdery material, vehicles equipped with closed or sheathed boxes, or in any case equipped with devices to contain the dispersion of dust; storage in silos of cement, lime and other work materials in powdery solid state and handling, when technically possible, using closed systems; Protect plants that generate dust emissions (eg concrete mixing plants).
Other obligations refer to the prohibition of the use of obsolete non-road mobile machinery and the progressive prohibitions of older engines in analogy with the Ztl B area. Exceptions are foreseen until 2030 in case of installation of anti-particle devices and until 2039 in case of additional installation of DeNOx Devices. Finally, starting this year, in the period between October 1 and March 31, fireworks and barbecues are prohibited.
