The mayor of a small Italian town believes the making of pizza in wood-burning ovens is among the causes of higher smog levels in San Vitaliano.
So, Mayor Antonio Falcone has decided to ban pizzerias from using wood-burning ovens to make traditional pizza unless owners install air filters to reduce emissions.
“As of today, in spite of several tests carried out by the environment agency Arpac, we are still unsure of the cause of the pollution,” Mayor Falcone wrote in a statement translated by local media. “But the situation has gotten worse during the winter and we need to take maximum precautions to ensure the problem doesn’t get deteriorate.
“Agricultural, artisanal, industrial and commercial producers are hereby forbidden from burning solid biomass such as wood, woodchips, coal and charcoal. The only exceptions are for those who have filter systems in place that will guarantee the elimination of 80 per cent of all polluting Pm10 particulates,” Falcone said.
The mayor said the ban will be enforced from Dec. 17 through June 30. Those caught breaking the by-law will be fined up to $1,000 Euros.
San Vitaliano has a population of about 6,000 and is located just outside of Naples. According to local media, the town surpassed the safe level of air quality 114 days this year. Milan, a city with more than 1.2 million people, had a total of 86 days deemed poor air quality.
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