Petrol under the streets of Rome: "It can pollute the water, citizens at risk"

In the northern area of Rome, three thousand liters of petrol have been lying underground for over 10 years following the closure of a petrol station.
A potential ecological bomb under the road between houses and shops.
The surreal story was brought to light by the website VignaClaraBlog.it last January and to date a solution has not yet been found.
It may also be that the tanks have already deteriorated, causing the amount of fuel to end up in the aquifers that flow in that area.
But how did all this happen and why were those tanks never emptied? Here's the story.
Three thousand liters of petrol underground in Rome: this is why We are in Rome in Piazza Giuochi Delfici, in Vigna Clara, exactly at number 32 where a petrol station was opened in 1961.
A thriving business that over the years became a point of reference for all the citizens of the area.
Until 2012 when the owners of the plant decided to close the business and communicated it to the Municipality.
In March of the same year, the "Economic Development and Productive Activities" Department of Rome took note of the cessation of the fuel sales activity and the definitive closure of the plant and revoked the commercial licenses.
At the same time, in May 2012, the Customs Agency officials proceeded with the revocation and withdrawal of the tax license and placed seals on the columns and tanks of the plant.
It's a shame, however, that in the 4 underground tanks there were still 3,200 liters of petrol and 80 of diesel.
A not insignificant quantity even with a considerable economic value, at the time around five thousand five hundred euros.
The presence of the fuel was recorded and the owner advised that «if he intended to extract the aforementioned product, he must promptly notify this Office in advance (ed., Customs Agency) in order to be able to unseal the tank concerned».
It's a shame, however, that no one ever cared to empty those tanks even though the Government in those years also allocated contributions for the environmental restoration costs incurred by the owners of fuel distributors following the closure of the plants from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2014 To be precise, anyone who closed a plant could be rewarded with a contribution equal to 60% of the expenses incurred up to a maximum of 70 thousand euros.
But no one ever asked for it.
Although the Municipality formalized the cessation of the activity in 2012 by requiring the owners to remove the underground and surface equipment, this was limited only to delimiting the area with bars.
A few years ago the pumps were covered with fake ivy.
Nobody worried about the underground tanks still full of fuel.
We have thus reached the present day with the fear that those tanks could deteriorate, releasing their contents into the ground and therefore polluting the aquifers.
Assuming it hasn't already happened given that no maintenance has been done on those tanks in recent years.
"A situation of this kind requires attention, as it involves some risks, both of an environmental nature and for public safety", said Dr Antonio Pepoli, an expert geologist.
To date, as reported by La Repubblica, the seals are still present on the tanks and the citizens of the area are hoping for a quick solution to the problem.
The geologist Pepoli explained that in that northern area of Rome there is the presence of a circulation of underground water which ends its journey in the Tiber, flowing underground in our neighbourhood.
The accumulation of pollutants represents a danger of polluting groundwater.
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