Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
Apr 20th 2007 | 7:23 pm
#1
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Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2469268.ece
Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 21 April 2007
It is "one of the best-kept property secrets in Italy", according to
estate agents hoping to tempt British buyers, "alluring and unspoilt."
But "unspoilt", in the case of the central Italian region of Abruzzo,
is a cliché too far. And among its own well-kept secrets , only now
coming to light, is the fact that it is home to the biggest illegal
toxic rubbish dump in Italy, and very probably in the whole of Europe.
In a narrow, densely wooded valley known as Gola dei Tre Monti (Throat
of the Three Mountains), sandwiched between two national parks, forest
wardens have uncovered an area covering four hectares packed with
chemical waste to a depth of seven metres. They believe it contains a
total of 240,000 tons of hazardous waste. Mafia gangs are known to
make a killing by driving hazardous waste from northern Italian
factories to wilderness areas in the south and dumping it there. But
the culprit is believed to be closer at hand: a chemical plant in the
nearby town of Bussi sul Tirino, which was set up to manufacture
chlorine in 1902.
According to an investigation in L'Espresso, the weekly news magazine,
the dump was the destination of waste from the Bussi plant between the
1960s and the 1990s with the knowledge of workers there.
The magazine claims: "There were those at Bussi who knew about the
lorries that left late in the evening, loaded up with toxic waste. The
drivers said that they were taking it to Germany, but the next morning
they were back at the plant again, empty and ready to load up."
Analysis of samples taken from the dump reveals a wide spectrum of
toxic chemicals, including chloroform and mercury.
The region is now confronted with the challenge of what to do about
the dump. Taking the stuff by lorry to Germany and dumping it in
worked-out salt mines is said to be prohibitively expensive; encasing
the whole dump in concrete, another suggestion, would not prevent
further contamination.
Then there is the challenge of nailing the people to blame. Patrizia
Fantilli, a legal expert with WWF, said:"Italy's laws on ecological
crime are too weak."
But today the Environment minister, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who is
also the leader of the Green party, is expected to unveil a tough new
law threatening polluters with prison and stiff fines. "If he can't
get the law through, no one can," said Ms Fantilli.
Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 21 April 2007
It is "one of the best-kept property secrets in Italy", according to
estate agents hoping to tempt British buyers, "alluring and unspoilt."
But "unspoilt", in the case of the central Italian region of Abruzzo,
is a cliché too far. And among its own well-kept secrets , only now
coming to light, is the fact that it is home to the biggest illegal
toxic rubbish dump in Italy, and very probably in the whole of Europe.
In a narrow, densely wooded valley known as Gola dei Tre Monti (Throat
of the Three Mountains), sandwiched between two national parks, forest
wardens have uncovered an area covering four hectares packed with
chemical waste to a depth of seven metres. They believe it contains a
total of 240,000 tons of hazardous waste. Mafia gangs are known to
make a killing by driving hazardous waste from northern Italian
factories to wilderness areas in the south and dumping it there. But
the culprit is believed to be closer at hand: a chemical plant in the
nearby town of Bussi sul Tirino, which was set up to manufacture
chlorine in 1902.
According to an investigation in L'Espresso, the weekly news magazine,
the dump was the destination of waste from the Bussi plant between the
1960s and the 1990s with the knowledge of workers there.
The magazine claims: "There were those at Bussi who knew about the
lorries that left late in the evening, loaded up with toxic waste. The
drivers said that they were taking it to Germany, but the next morning
they were back at the plant again, empty and ready to load up."
Analysis of samples taken from the dump reveals a wide spectrum of
toxic chemicals, including chloroform and mercury.
The region is now confronted with the challenge of what to do about
the dump. Taking the stuff by lorry to Germany and dumping it in
worked-out salt mines is said to be prohibitively expensive; encasing
the whole dump in concrete, another suggestion, would not prevent
further contamination.
Then there is the challenge of nailing the people to blame. Patrizia
Fantilli, a legal expert with WWF, said:"Italy's laws on ecological
crime are too weak."
But today the Environment minister, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who is
also the leader of the Green party, is expected to unveil a tough new
law threatening polluters with prison and stiff fines. "If he can't
get the law through, no one can," said Ms Fantilli.
Apr 20th 2007 | 7:55 pm
#2
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Posts: n/a
Re: Warning virus !
"sLuGhUnTeR" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected] om...
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2469268.ece
Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 21 April 2007
It is "one of the best-kept property secrets in Italy", according to
estate agents hoping to tempt British buyers, "alluring and unspoilt."
But "unspoilt", in the case of the central Italian region of Abruzzo,
is a cliché too far. And among its own well-kept secrets , only now
coming to light, is the fact that it is home to the biggest illegal
toxic rubbish dump in Italy, and very probably in the whole of Europe.
In a narrow, densely wooded valley known as Gola dei Tre Monti (Throat
of the Three Mountains), sandwiched between two national parks, forest
wardens have uncovered an area covering four hectares packed with
chemical waste to a depth of seven metres. They believe it contains a
total of 240,000 tons of hazardous waste. Mafia gangs are known to
make a killing by driving hazardous waste from northern Italian
factories to wilderness areas in the south and dumping it there. But
the culprit is believed to be closer at hand: a chemical plant in the
nearby town of Bussi sul Tirino, which was set up to manufacture
chlorine in 1902.
According to an investigation in L'Espresso, the weekly news magazine,
the dump was the destination of waste from the Bussi plant between the
1960s and the 1990s with the knowledge of workers there.
The magazine claims: "There were those at Bussi who knew about the
lorries that left late in the evening, loaded up with toxic waste. The
drivers said that they were taking it to Germany, but the next morning
they were back at the plant again, empty and ready to load up."
Analysis of samples taken from the dump reveals a wide spectrum of
toxic chemicals, including chloroform and mercury.
The region is now confronted with the challenge of what to do about
the dump. Taking the stuff by lorry to Germany and dumping it in
worked-out salt mines is said to be prohibitively expensive; encasing
the whole dump in concrete, another suggestion, would not prevent
further contamination.
Then there is the challenge of nailing the people to blame. Patrizia
Fantilli, a legal expert with WWF, said:"Italy's laws on ecological
crime are too weak."
But today the Environment minister, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who is
also the leader of the Green party, is expected to unveil a tough new
law threatening polluters with prison and stiff fines. "If he can't
get the law through, no one can," said Ms Fantilli.
[email protected] om...
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2469268.ece
Toxic secret of Italy's 'unspoilt' region
By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 21 April 2007
It is "one of the best-kept property secrets in Italy", according to
estate agents hoping to tempt British buyers, "alluring and unspoilt."
But "unspoilt", in the case of the central Italian region of Abruzzo,
is a cliché too far. And among its own well-kept secrets , only now
coming to light, is the fact that it is home to the biggest illegal
toxic rubbish dump in Italy, and very probably in the whole of Europe.
In a narrow, densely wooded valley known as Gola dei Tre Monti (Throat
of the Three Mountains), sandwiched between two national parks, forest
wardens have uncovered an area covering four hectares packed with
chemical waste to a depth of seven metres. They believe it contains a
total of 240,000 tons of hazardous waste. Mafia gangs are known to
make a killing by driving hazardous waste from northern Italian
factories to wilderness areas in the south and dumping it there. But
the culprit is believed to be closer at hand: a chemical plant in the
nearby town of Bussi sul Tirino, which was set up to manufacture
chlorine in 1902.
According to an investigation in L'Espresso, the weekly news magazine,
the dump was the destination of waste from the Bussi plant between the
1960s and the 1990s with the knowledge of workers there.
The magazine claims: "There were those at Bussi who knew about the
lorries that left late in the evening, loaded up with toxic waste. The
drivers said that they were taking it to Germany, but the next morning
they were back at the plant again, empty and ready to load up."
Analysis of samples taken from the dump reveals a wide spectrum of
toxic chemicals, including chloroform and mercury.
The region is now confronted with the challenge of what to do about
the dump. Taking the stuff by lorry to Germany and dumping it in
worked-out salt mines is said to be prohibitively expensive; encasing
the whole dump in concrete, another suggestion, would not prevent
further contamination.
Then there is the challenge of nailing the people to blame. Patrizia
Fantilli, a legal expert with WWF, said:"Italy's laws on ecological
crime are too weak."
But today the Environment minister, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who is
also the leader of the Green party, is expected to unveil a tough new
law threatening polluters with prison and stiff fines. "If he can't
get the law through, no one can," said Ms Fantilli.
