Unease among the mayors of Tarragona due to the limitations imposed by the risk of the chemical plants

TarragonaThe urban growth of the Camp de Tarragona region clashes with the restrictions imposed by its proximity to the chemical industry and, for the first time, the mayors and representatives of eight of the most important municipalities in the territory have raised their voices. In an unprecedented act, the mayors of Vila-seca, Tarragona, Constantí, la Canonja, la Pobla de Mafumet, el Morell, Vilallonga del Camp, and the first deputy mayor of Salou appeared on October 5th to present the Manifesto for risk management compatible with the future of the Camp de Tarragona. The document acknowledges that "the protection of people must always be the priority" but they demand that it must be compatible "with the daily lives of the residents, the development of the municipalities, and the continuity of a strategic industrial activity".

Their complaint is directed, above all, at those who set the restrictions to reduce risks, which is Civil Protection. The mayors feel like "passive actors" in the decision-making process that affects them completely and they demand that reducing the risk of the industries through investments also be considered so that the risk radius decreases. "It is unacceptable that there is no plan on how to reduce risk at the source. Perhaps it is necessary to bury tanks, use new technologies...", says Pere Segura, the mayor of Vila-seca, one of the most affected municipalities.

The task of Civil Protection, an organization that depends on the Department of Interior and Public Security, is to manage and coordinate actions aimed at protecting people, property, and the environment. The chemical industry has coexisted with the urban centers of Tarragona for more than sixty years. What has happened for the mayors to raise their voices now?

Since 2020, the Camp de Tarragona region has had a special emergency plan drafted by Civil Protection called Plaseqta. Among other things, this plan aims to plan the response in the event of an emergency to reduce the risk to the population. The latest update to the Plaseqta, approved on July 28, allows for the incorporation of 432 chemical sensors to detect possible toxic leaks and also the ES-Alert system to notify citizens via mobile phone in case of an emergency. However, the update to the Plaseqta incorporated another apparently irrelevant change that has outraged the town councils: the list of all Tarragona facilities located within the intervention zone for chemical risk and which, therefore, must have an action plan that provides for the confinement of everyone in the event of an emergency. Until now, this zone appeared delimited on a map by a circle, but since July all vulnerable elements are listed: the urban centers of Tarragona, Reus, Salou, la Canonja, and Vila-seca, the Bonavista neighborhood of Tarragona, where a market is held every Sunday that attracts thousands of people; three primary healthcare centers (CAPs), around twenty educational centers (including three kindergartens)...

All mayors of the municipalities that appear on the list must have self-protection plans validated by Civil Protection, which detail how they will manage to confine all the people in case of an emergency. "It is very difficult to be able to guarantee that you will be able to confine 5,000 people if you are organizing an event and something happens," laments Segura. The mayors fear that these requirements could make some activities disappear. "Certain decisions regarding risk identification and management can have direct consequences on spaces, equipment, and consolidated activities in our municipalities," they state in the statement.

Urban growth

The other restriction that has outraged mayors are the limits they have for their municipalities to grow. To approve any urban development plan, they need the approval of Civil Protection, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. The major obstacles are the proximity to the routes where dangerous goods circulate, such as the A-7, the AP-7, and, above all, the train tracks, which in some cases are less than 100 meters from the urban area. The risk of a serious emergency in the event of an accident involving a convoy transporting hazardous material does not force the demolition of what is already built, but it prevents new facilities from being built and makes it very difficult to construct buildings there. "Since 2010, we have been carrying out urban planning reports to determine what can be done and what cannot. We try to allow the territory to develop, but if there is a very imminent risk, we say no. We must avoid placing a school or a shopping center in these areas," explains Marta Ortín, head of Civil Protection in Tarragona. Segura laments that this restriction "has a brutal impact" on cities and their possibilities for growth: "I cannot move the city 500 meters," he complains.

Mayors also demand to have a voice when it comes to deciding on all these restrictions, but Civil Protection reminds them that this is their job. "Whenever we approve changes, we explain them to the mayors and our door is open to talk about them, but creating emergency protocols is our job," explains Ortín. Regarding the requirements for chemical companies, the head of Civil Protection explains to ARA that this is also being done and that it works well: "It is being done; industrial safety depends on another department, but they are already being asked for a lot of innovation and they are responding. And the intervention radii are already decreasing, and we are on that path," she assures. Sources from the Tarragona Chemical Business Association (AEQT) maintain that "safety is an absolute priority for the chemical industry in Tarragona" and, although "there is always room to reduce risks," they ensure that "it continuously incorporates new technologies, especially in digitalization and advanced control systems, to strengthen the prevention and safety of the facilities."

More participation

Last week, precisely, the participation councils of the Plaseqta were constituted in Tarragona for both the north industrial estate and the south industrial estate. The objective of these new bodies, which will be directed by Civil Protection and formed by citizens, is to involve the population more in these emergency plans and make them more participatory. During the event, the Government delegate in Tarragona, Lucía López, highlighted “the shared will to build a closer and even more participatory Plaseqta, in which the citizenry is not only a recipient of information, but also an active voice in the construction of collective safety”.