• picture
  • picture
  • picture
  • picture
Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine (follow us on Google News)

The Living on Earth Almanac

Air Date: Week of

Facts about... the Seveso, Italy chemical accident.

Transcript

NUNLEY: Before there was Bhopal, there was Seveso. Twenty years ago this summer an explosion at a chemical plant near Milan, Italy, released a cloud of dioxin over the town of Seveso. The foul-smelling compound caused birds to fall from the sky, and all the town's farm animals had to be slaughtered. People living near the plant were evacuated. Those who lived a little further away were allowed to remain. In the aftermath of the explosion some 200 residents developed a rare skin disorder called chloracne. And in the decade that followed, scientists found the residents who stayed had increased rates of leukemia, lymphoma, and sarcoma, as well as gall bladder and biliary tract cancer. The disaster heightened public awareness of exposure to toxic chemicals, and led to the tightening of regulations of hazardous sites in the European Union. And scientists exploring the long-term effects of dioxin continue to study the accident's victims. Today the Seveso plant and the topsoil around it have been removed. The area is now a park, but it's a park that's surrounded by a fence. It remains unsafe for regular use. And for this week, that's the Living on Earth almanac.

 

 

Living on Earth wants to hear from you!

Living on Earth
62 Calef Highway, Suite 212
Lee, NH 03861
Telephone: 617-287-4121
E-mail: comments@loe.org

Newsletter [Click here]

Donate to Living on Earth!
Living on Earth is an independent media program and relies entirely on contributions from listeners and institutions supporting public service. Please donate now to preserve an independent environmental voice.

Newsletter
Living on Earth offers a weekly delivery of the show's rundown to your mailbox. Sign up for our newsletter today!

Sailors For The Sea: Be the change you want to sea.

Creating positive outcomes for future generations.

Innovating to make the world a better, more sustainable place to live. Listen to the race to 9 billion

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment: Committed to protecting and improving the health of the global environment.

Contribute to Living on Earth and receive, as our gift to you, an archival print of one of Mark Seth Lender's extraordinary wildlife photographs. Follow the link to see Mark's current collection of photographs.

Buy a signed copy of Mark Seth Lender's book Smeagull the Seagull & support Living on Earth