THE SEVESO DIRECTIVE AND THE RISKS EMERGING FROM THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Ten years after its national implementation, the advanced training course for safety in industrial plants has been inaugurated

Rome, December 4, 2025 - Skills and operational tools to correctly apply the Seveso III Directive - implemented in Italy with Legislative Decree no. 105/2015 - to then address the verification and control activities of industrial plants, in relation to the risk analysis of the main industrial processes, and in light of the new technologies introduced with the energy transition. These are the objectives of the Advanced Training Course in “Safety in industrial plants: the Seveso Directive and the risks emerging from the energy transition”, conceived, organized and delivered in collaboration between ISPRA and UCBM Academy, inaugurated today at theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di RomaThe training program demonstrates the focus on the technical and scientific preparation essential for industrial risk prevention and is an integral part of the educational offerings of the ISPRA School of Specialization in Environmental Disciplines, inaugurated last year.  UCBM Academy promotes post-graduate training of theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, developing master's degrees, advanced courses, executive programs, and tailor-made programs for companies and institutions. The collaboration with ISPRA is part of joint initiatives to develop advanced technical skills in highly complex sectors.

 

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the national transposition of the Seveso III Directive, which replaced the previous Seveso II Directive, coinciding with the full entry into force of the new European regulation on the classification, labeling, and packaging (CLP) of substances. Among the main innovations of the Seveso III Directive: alignment with the CLP Regulation, simplification and reduction of administrative burdens, and improved readability.

ISPRA It has extensive and consolidated experience, together with the Agencies within the National Environmental Protection System (SNPA), in conducting and managing inspections and checks, both ordinary and incidental, at Seveso plants. These inspections are aimed at verifying the suitability of the operator's Major Accident Prevention Policy and the implementation of the Safety Management System, conducting a planned review of the systems in use at the plant, whether technical, organizational, or management in nature.

Some data on the SNPA inspections concerning, in addition to the specific topic of the advanced training course (Seveso), that relating to the directive on the verification of the requirements of the AIA decrees:

• In 14 regional environmental protection agencies and ISPRA, the number of inspectors from regional and provincial agencies as of 2023 was 2.170, and in ISPRA it was 29. Annual reports received by the agencies from private individuals were 2.430, and those from public entities were more than 1.200. The annual number of inspections carried out by the SNPA was approximately 6.600 for waste, more than 13.500 for water, and approximately 3.800 for emissions. The total annual number of environmental violations detected during an inspection (administrative and criminal) amounts to approximately 6.300 and more than 3.400 administrative sanctions are issued.
• The National Inventory Management, which concerns establishments at risk of major accidents, tells us that As of November 20, 2025, 736 notifications had been made, and requests to the Seveso Notification Communication System Portal Help Desk were just under 1.900, an increase compared to the previous year's figure (around 1500).
• As of 27 November 2025, the inspections in establishments at risk of major accidents (Seveso) specifically requested from ISPRA were 21, those carried out 15, with a trend of approximately 71% (inspections carried out compared to requests), a value in line with data from previous years. These values, obviously, They should be read in addition to the data relating to the inspection activities carried out by the Regional and Provincial Agencies, within the SNPA, for an annual total of approximately 300 inspections of national establishments.    
• As of November 27, 2025, the environmental inspections, for surveillance and controls in the AIA plants under state jurisdiction requested or scheduled were 70 (compared to 61 in the previous year) and the inspections carried out, including extraordinary ones, were 65 (61 in 2024); the inspections carried out compared to scheduled requests stood at 93%.
• Regarding AIA inspections at plants of national strategic interest, these occur more frequently than those at other industrial plants. In the case of the former ILVA plant in Taranto, for example, four regular inspections are required per year, with quarterly frequency, while for the ISAB Srl plant, for example, two regular inspections are required per year. As of November 27, 2025, 83% of annual inspections have been carried out or planned on plants of national strategic interest.

ISPRA's technical and scientific contribution to the training program is part of its role as the National Technical Body for the implementation of the Seveso Directive. The Institute is responsible for defining the technical content of laws and decrees for controlling the risk of major accidents. This task is carried out through ISPRA's participation, as technical secretariat, in the Seveso Coordination Committee, established at the Ministry of the Environment and composed of the Department of Civil Protection, the Ministries of the Interior, Infrastructure and Transport, Economic Development, Health, the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, the Association of Municipalities, representatives of the National Fire Brigade, the Higher Institute for Occupational Safety, the Higher Institute of Health, and the SNPA.