NEWS
Italy jails 11 over PFAS
A district court in Vicenza, Italy, has sentenced 11 people to prison terms ranging from two years and eight months to 17 years and six months for their role in contaminating groundwater and rivers with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances( PFAS) over many years. The defendants were also ordered to pay € 57 million in fines to the Italian environment ministry.
The 11 included three Japanese nationals who had been business managers in Mitsubishi’ s fluorochemical division and one more who was the general manager of the division, plus others from ICIG, the subsequent owner of the site. The Japanese executives received some of the highest sentences. Four others were acquitted.
All 15 defendants had worked for Miteni, a former Mitsubishi subsidiary that operated a facility at Trissino, near Vicenza. The court also ordered Mitsubishi to compensate the victims, including individual citizens, the Veneto region and the municipal government.
In 2013, the regional authorities identified the Miteni plant as the source of PFAS pollutants in the area. Investigations found concentrations in local residents’ blood far in excess of acceptable levels, while the pollution extended over an area of some 200 km 2. An estimated 350,000 people in the provinces of Vicenza, Verona and Padova were affected.
The prosecution at the trial, which opened in 2021, accused Miteni of failing to treat PFAS waste generated during the manufacturing process properly, allowing it to enter the groundwater and trying to conceal the problem after the pollution came to light. Miteni itself was sold to ICIG in
The trial attracted demonstrations from local groups and environmental campaigners
2009 and went bankrupt in 2018. The facility has since been closed.
“ This was a groundbreaking ruling that almost entirely recognises corporate responsibility,” said Marco Casellato, a lawyer representing the victims. It was the first time corporate managers have been held criminal responsible in Europe. Greenpeace Italy representative Chiara Campione called the ruling“ historic”.
Meanwhile Green MEP Cristina Guarda noted that the ruling“ goes even further than the prosecutors ' requests and is of immense value to the people. We have fought for over a decade to defend our health, our environment and the food we eat and our efforts have finally been recognised.”
Guarda added that the Greens will continue to advocate for a complete ban on PFAS.“ It is still regrettable that the institutions did not deal sooner with the largest case of PFAS pollution known in the world. There hasn’ t been enough attention on this topic, even though the alarm was sounded a long time ago,” she said.
6 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981