Forge Fedriga GREEN & SAFETY Magazine N.15

Information and sharing of environmental and health and safety topics underlie the relationship between Forge Fedriga and all its stakeholders. We are publishing the 15th issue of the “Green & Safety Magazine”.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY COMMITTEES

During the year 2020 that just ended, two committees that were set up at the beginning of the year worked within the Company. These are the Workers’ Health and Safety Committee attended by workers representing all company departments, and the COVID-19 Protocol Committee consisting of the Employer, OH&S MANAGER, WSR and Company Physician.
The Health and Safety Committee promoted, at the company management level, various interventions designed to reduce those risks for workers which, at times, are not sufficiently examined. The COVID-19 Protocol Committee, required by the Prime Ministerial Decree of 14/03/2020, has managed and still manages the ongoing coronavirus emergency by indicating and monitoring the application of all required contagion containment measures at the Company to allow workers to operate safely.

BRESCIAN COMPANIES AVAILABLE FOR THE ANTI COVID-19 VACCINE CAMPAIGN

The companies of the Brescia Province, through the A.I.B. (Brescian Industrialists Association) have joined the project mobilised by Confindustria Brescia, under the direction of the Prefecture, together with ATS, Spedali Civili, Fondazione Poliambulanza, Gruppo San Donato and the Provincial Trade Unions, to speed up – as soon as possible – the administration of anti-CoVID19 vaccines. The project bases its potential on the active and voluntary cooperation of its member companies.
To understand the assets that can actually be mobilised for this initiative, the concrete interest of the member companies was measured, and contextually, the presence of certain technical specifications at the company. Forge Fedriga expressed this interest by providing the technical information required. It is a matter of mapping and assessing the companies that have adequate premises and spaces available in which to perform any vaccinations.
The Brescian companies issued a quick response, dictated by the need to define the project in the shortest time possible, a necessary condition so that the representatives, Prefecture and ATS in primis could share it and, above all, hold it at the appropriate locations (Lombardy Region and Health System) for approval.
After the project has been defined and authorised, noted the AIB President, it will begin once there is a significant amount of vaccines to be made available to the community.

NEW PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM

A new 60 kW photovoltaic system is being completed on the roof of the Forge Fedriga warehouse in Berzo Inferiore dedicated to the raw material warehouse. Connection to the mains is expected in the coming months. The plant, given the power demand of warehouse activities, will cover part of the energy required during the day, reducing resource consumption. Similarly, a new group of panels for a power of 20 kW was added to the existing photovoltaic system at the warehouses of Cividate Camuno.
Forge Fedriga’s production of photovoltaic electricity contributed to reduced emissions in 2020 equal to 120 tons of CO2, which corresponds to approximately 46 T.O.E. (Tonnes of oil equivalent) i.e. the amount of oil that would otherwise have been required to produce the corresponding amount of solar energy.

ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT STARTS FROM THE DESIGN

The evolution and increasingly strict qualitative demands for steel forgings lead to the need for ever more performing and reliable systems. This requires constant adjustments to machinery and structures. For the heat treatment area, Forge Fedriga is planning an automated system with furnaces and cooling tanks. During this stage, the various inputs to be provided to the designers also included those related to the environmental impacts of the new plant. Combustion systems will therefore be built able to ensure compliance with the legal parameters for atmospheric emissions, properly sized cooling towers will be used to reduce water table consumption, low noise fans with higher energy class motors will be installed. It is important to start off on the right foot… also for the environment.

SPEAKING OF OZONE

Ozone (O3) is a gas consisting of three oxygen atoms, a strong oxidising agent, chemically endowed with high reactivity linked to the particular molecular conformation, characterised by strong instability. The average daily concentrations at the tropospheric level vary from a few units of parts per billion (ppb) up to exceeding 100 ppb in some areas during the summer period. Average concentrations in rural areas in Europe are estimated to have doubled with respect to the pre-industrial era. The accumulation of ozone in the troposphere (a region of the atmosphere that extends from the ground for 10-15 km), in addition to natural causes, also depends on the emission of primary pollutants such as nitrogen monoxide (NO) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Apart from the complexity of the forming mechanisms and the role of climatic factors, there is no doubt that in order to reduce the effects on health and on the ecosystem caused by high levels of O3 in the air, it is required to act on the pollutant sources which man can exercise control over. The contributions of road transport emissions, the production and use of organic solvents or preparations that contain them, combustion processes in energy production and industry are significant.
The guidelines of the WHO (World Health Organisation) provide, the following table for indicators, in terms of μg/m³ of O3 in the air on average over 8 hours (see tab below).
For Lombardy, the data gathered in 2019 show that the target value of 120 μg/m³ not to be exceeded for more than 25 days a year (Legislative Decree 152/2010), has been exceeded in all areas of the Lombard territory. The alarm threshold (240 μg/m³) was exceeded in 20 of the survey stations (for a minimum of 1 hour up to a maximum of 11 hours) out of the 46 installed in the territory. These are data that warrant mutual consideration.