‘Triangle of death’: will Italy finally tackle mafia’s toxic waste dumping?
Cancer rates have soared in Casalnuovo di Napoli, Italy, where burying or burning of waste has poisoned water and land.
The illegal waste dumping, often carried out in cahoots with local police and politicians, was made public by a mafia turncoat in the late 1990s, around the time the early signs of its effects started to appear: first the farm animals born with deformities, then the anomalous rise in cancer cases, especially rare forms of the disease among children.
But the deeply rooted racket, which over time has had devastating repercussions on health, the environment and livelihoods, has never been adequately dealt with, whether by local, regional or national authorities.
