Illegal car wash in Paternò: fine and complaint for the owner

Continues in the Etna area, at the initiative of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Catania, the campaign for the prevention and contrast of environmental crimes and protection of workers, with particular attention to the illegal or irregular disposal of polluting substances, a phenomenon that damages the territory and puts public health at risk.

In this context, the Carabinieri of the Operational Nucleus, Operational Section of the Paternò Company, with the support of colleagues from the Labor Inspectorate Nucleus and the Ecological Operational Nucleus of Catania, carried out checks both in terms of special legislation and workplace safety and regarding compliance with the regulations set forth by the Environmental Code.

During an inspection at a car wash in Paternò, the owner, a thirty-year-old local woman, was reported to the judicial authorities for alleged violations of the Environmental Code and employer obligations, based on the evidence collected, to be verified in court and in full respect of the presumption of innocence until a possible final conviction.

Against the business, a suspension order and a preventive seizure of the business activity were issued, as at the time of the inspection four employees were found, three of whom were employed “illegally”. The owner was also charged with four fines totaling 3,622 euros, in addition to the maximum penalty for irregular work amounting to 13,650 euros. Social security contributions and welfare premiums totaling 4,900 euros were also recovered.

From an environmental perspective, the military established that the business operated without systems for controlling the discharge of industrial wastewater and lacked the necessary discharge authorization. A comparison between the wastewater collection system indicated and attached to the SCIA and the actual situation revealed significant discrepancies, including the total absence of the collection tanks for the wastewater numbered in the site plan.

The owner did not present any contract with authorized companies for waste disposal produced by the washing activity, nor agreements for the management of packaging and residues classified as special waste containing hazardous substances (such as soiled rags, dirty paper used during cleaning phases, aerosol cans, detergents, and oils resulting from the treatment of car wash wastewater). It was also found that the waste loading and unloading register was missing, which was never prepared, as well as the identification forms proving the regular disposal of aqueous waste solutions and the authorization for the discharge of industrial wastewater.