The combination of sand, sea and sun make the beaches sanctuaries of mental peace. These sites are usually highly appreciated by tourists, whether they are looking for fun, tranquility or a beautiful landscape to admire. No two beaches are the same, each one has a peculiar beauty that makes them unique. There are pink, black, violet sand and even colored crystals. Among the most outstanding beaches to which tourists usually go in search of its turquoise charm, we will find the name of Rosignano Solvay, a beach in Italy that stands out for its idyllic appearance and also for his toxic pollution that gives you its exotic beauty.
Turquoise waters and pristine white sand, anyone would think that Rosignano Solvay escaped to the Caribbean paradise to settle in Italy. There is nothing further from reality than this. The coastal area that is famous for its visitors who seek to photograph its paradisiacal sand, looks like this because of the soda ash waste Solvay producesa chemical company in the region.
A toxic beauty
The chemical plant constantly dumps tons of arsenic, mercury and phosphorus into the sea. According to the World Health Organization, Rosignano Solvay beach, which is located near the town of Livorno, is one of the most polluted regions in the entire Mediterranean. The Solvay chemical plant is responsible for producing sodium bicarbonate, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide. And for almost a century it has positioned itself as one of the most important companies in the region. But it has also been in charge of polluting the sea, although the effect it has given to the landscape is not precisely that of a polluted beach. quite the opposite, He has painted the sand a soft white which in turn turns the sea water turquoise.
And although the beach seems more like a heavenly place, the consequences of the waste dumped into the sea are serious. The sands are composed in a 90% by crushed limestone and the other 10% by calcium chloride. This is without counting the amounts of arsenic and mercury that have also been deposited in the sea.
Tourists come to the place to bathe in the sea and sun. Although the influx of people suggests that there is a lot of misinformation regarding the real state of the beach. The restrictions do not include the prohibition to enter the sea, It is only prohibited to enter the Solvay waste discharge area and up to a radius of approximately 50 meters.
For this reason, there is controversy between misinformation, the crowded influx of tourists and those who are aware of the contamination and the damage it can cause. Although the appearance of the beach is not negative, the discharge of toxic pollution from the chemical plant should represent an urgent health problem for Italy, which seems not to gain enough relevance to do anything about it.
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