‘Nervous’ families want justice in Italy ‘Forever Chemicals’ trial

One of the largest environmental disaster cases in Europe, the manager of a chemical plant accused of deliberately contaminating hundreds of thousands of people in Italy.

The Mitany factory now closed near the northeast city of Visenza alleges that he has polluted one of Europe’s largest groundwater basins with PFA, called “Forever Chemicals” because they never break.

From the late 1940s, PFA has been used to produce nonstick, waterproof and stain-resistant remedies, which coat everything from frying pan to umbrellas, carpets and dental floss.

But chronic exposure for low levels of chemicals has been added to liver damage, high cholesterol, low immune response, low birth time and many types of cancer.

More than 200 citizens have joined the Italian test, which began in 2021 and is expected to reach a decision in May or June.

Matteo Seruti, a lawyer representing some affected families, told AFP that it was “one of the largest environmental disasters in history … (with) an affected population of 350,000 people”.

The case was campaigned by local mothers and operated in part, united after the discovery of their families, they had chemicals in their blood.

“With great bitterness, we came to know that they were in our house through taps, foods in our gardens, Barnard animals, which we picked up to give healthy food to our children,” I met Giohonan Dal Lago, five . Told AFP.

“It was a blow to the heart,” said Dal Lago, one of the plaintiffs in the test.

“How can a mother think that she poisoned her children without knowing, without any option?”

‘No immediate risk’

The prosecution alleges that the Mitni plant in Tricino, which had produced PFA since 1968 and was run by three companies until the closure due to bankruptcy in 2018, leaked chemical-uptated water into a waterway.

Then fed in other waterways, polluted a vast area between Vicenza, Verona and Padova.

Mitsubishi, International Chemical Investors (ICIG) and fifteen managers of Mitni are accused of contaminating soil with about 200 square kilometers (77 square mi) with drinking water.

If tap water is found guilty for deliberately poisoning, they can serve 15 years in jail. The plaintiffs are also demanding compensation.

The managers have either refused to comment or have failed to respond to the AFP, but it is believed that the defense team will point to the lack of specific rules at that time.

In 2013, Italy’s Ministry of Environment, after the 2006 European project, discovered contamination after ordering the PO River testing after coming in contact with such chemicals in rivers.

Of all the rivers studied, PO had the highest concentration of a specific PFA called PFOA, which was a known carcinogen. Further investigation recognized Mitni as a source.

According to a regional report by the World Health Organization (WHO), at that time, there were no Italian or EU threshold for PFAS content in drinking water.

The Veto region says that it was initially advised by the National Health Institute (ISS) of Italy and the government that there was no “immediate risk for population”, but was asked to treat water, and it installed filters Did

‘Additional mortality’

Meanwhile, a cancer and blood specialist, local doctor Vicenzo Cordiano, began to exceed the average cancer rate among patients in a certain area.

Cordiano, the Regional Head of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE), was familiar with a high-profile PFAS pollution case in the United States.

When he rings the alarm bell after seeing an increased frequency in “these molecules can be included” in the contaminated area in Italy, he said.

In the figures of the region, he also paid attention to a large number of deaths, “additional mortality cases that can be explained by PFA”.

This discovery provoked a protest movement, which would include “Mums Against PFA” (Mummy No PFA), putting them in Dal.

She does not rely on the filter installed to catch all chemicals.

“We are still afraid of the tap water of the house,” he said.

Contaminated food?

Greenpeace Italia, also a civil plaintiff, said that failure to clean the Mitti site meant that it “pollutes” the area continues, and regular testing of regular testing of local or livestock grown food raised in the area Lack can make a widespread contamination mask.

Environmental groups and mummy no PFA are urging regional officials to test and make the results public, but suspect that it is careful to damage the agricultural industry and exports, from processco sparkling wine to cheese.

“We do not have a clear picture of contamination of food products coming from these areas,” told AFP, a pollution specialist at Greenpeace.

He said, “Lack of control can potentially highlight thousands of citizens, not only Italians but also Europeans,” to consume chemicals forever, he said.

© 2025 AFP