The MSW Processing Plant environmental effects monitoring has been and still is, since its foundation, a concern and a need.



This concern and need exist because we exercise an activity that may rouse some doubts on the part of the residents in the area surrounding the Plant; therefore, we were concerned in putting into practice monitoring programmes that allow the knowledge of some parameters, assessing in an unequivocal way the environmental effects of a plant in operation.



This fact assumes greater importance if we consider that the area where the CTRSU is located is an area where the industry sets its presence in a very special way.



The monitoring programmes, carried out continuously, started one year before the Plant start-up and are the following:



-Air Quality (continuously monitoring) RVQA - Entity in charge: Valorsul, SA.



-Air Quality (non-continuous monitoring) - Entity in charge: Instituto do Ambiente e Desenvolvimento da Universidade de Aveiro (Development and Environment Institute of Aveiro University);



-Trace Elements - Entity in charge: Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear (Nuclear and Technological Institute);



-Environmental Noise - Entity in charge: Centro de Análise e Processamento de Sinais do Instituto Superior Técnico (Signal Processing and Analysis Centre of the High Technical Institute);



-Water and Sediments Quality - Entity in charge: Instituto Hidrográfico da Marinha (Navy Hydrographic Institute);



-Terrestrial and Estuarine Ecosystems - Entity in charge: Instituto de Oceanografia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (Oceanography Institute of the Lisbon University Science Faculty;



-Public Health Surveillance - Instituto de Medicina Preventiva da Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa (Preventive Medicine Institute of Lisbon Medicine Faculty);



-Residents' attitudes - Entity in charge: Factor Social - Consultadoria em Psicossociologia e Ambiente, Lda.



These surveys, with the exception of the one related to Air Quality (continuously monitoring), which is done by Valorsul itself, are being done by highly reputed independent entities, who assure the independence and reliability of the results.