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49
SEA
During the period from March through July 2015
Costa ships called at their homeport of Savona 89
times. The large number of calls coincided with the
busiest cruise season in the Mediterranean, when
central heating systems in local buildings were
switched off. These were optimum conditions for a
specific study of air quality
commissioned by Costa
Cruises and conducted by
SIGE
, one of Italy’s leading
environmental engineering and monitoring companies,
which collaborates regularly with various government
agencies. The initiative was part of a Memorandum of
Understanding for sustainable development in the cruise
industry in Savona, which Costa Cruises signed together
with the Municipality and the local Port Authority.
The results yielded by the study, carried out using
methods in compliance with the most stringent scientific
criteria adopted for this type of survey (including
validation by means of statistical tests designed to
correlate the different variables involved), show that
the presence of Costa’s ships in port in Savona has
no significant impact on air quality in the urban area
immediately adjacent to the Palacrociere cruise terminal.
It was found that, though the concentrations of some
pollutants
6
varied, at all times the air quality index levels
remained
well below the limit values stipulated in
public health standards
7
.
The presence of Costa ships in Savona has no significant effect
on air quality
6
sulfur dioxide (SO
2
), nitrogen dioxide (NO
2
) and benzene, dust
(total suspended particulates) and metals (nickel and vanadium).
7
See Legislative Decree no. 155/2010.