Eternit S.p.A. was an Italian company operating under the direction of Swiss and Belgian parent companies, with a number of asbestos plants on Italian territory. One Belgian and one Swiss Chief Executive have been charged in an Italian court, in which the prosecution has provided solid evidence that the risks involved in asbestos working were known to the company owners and top management, but were hidden from workers and local authorities. Proper safety measures were were not enforced, proper information was withheld from the workers to the point that they took their asbestos-dust filled overalls home for their wives to wash, exposing their families to the risk. Dust was blown all over the territory surrounding the works and aerators installed were simply difusing the problem.
The Turin Public Minister, Raffaele Guariniello, had requested jail sentences of 20 years for both the Belgian Baron Jean Louis Marie Ghislain de Cartier de Marchienne and the Swiss billionaire Stephen Schmidheiny. The judge sentenced them both to 16 years of imprisonment and for a further 5 years they are banned from holding any public office.
The Eternit Sentence
On 13th February 2012, the sentence was read out before thousands - the tribunal in Turin had prepared three large courtrooms with simultaneous translation into English and French for the many foreign journalists present, and had the sentence transmitted in streaming through the public administration. Many wept as the sentence was read out. Those who have lost one or several family members to mesothelioma felt it was important that long prison sentences be pronounced for those who profited from the industry without due care for the risks.
Will These Men go to Prison in Italy?
Neither of the condemned men is likely to serve his time in jail. The Belgian baron is already over 90 and lives in Belgium, so this sentence in his case has a moral value, as well as a financial one.
Schmidheiny, aged 64, now lives in Costa Rica, and is unlikely to come to Italy in this situation.
The verdict is de facto harder on Schmidheiny than on his predecessor, and in fact he did try to reach agreement with the Municipality of Casale Monferrato to settle out of court for compensation of 18 million Euros. Casale Monferrato was going to accept this sum, but the municipality backed out of negotiations after protests from their citizens who wanted not only compensation but also a guilty verdict.
Schmidheiny's lawyer announced that he would appeal the sentence. It is interesting to note that during the trial it emerged that under his management, a proposal had been made to their Italian competitors to use alternatives to asbestos, since some of the devastating effects had begun to be known. If all suppliers had followed this suggestion, costs would have been increased. The competitors did not want to know, so Eternit continued as before, since "it was legal".
Warning from Defence Lawyer
One of the defence lawyers, Astolfo Di Amato, countered the general satisfaction with the verdict, by warning: "If the principle is accepted whereby the head of a multinational is responsible for all that happens in their peripherical works, then from now on it will be very difficult to invest in Italy".
Compensation for Families and Survivors of the Eternit Plants in Italy
There were originally more than 6,000 claimants for compensation, but some settled out of court. About 5,000 remained. This sentence includes compensation both to towns, regions, public bodies and private citizens or their survivors.
- The Municipality of Casale Monferrato (to whom Schmidheiny offered 18 million Euros) will receive compensation of 25 million Euros. Considering that much of their territory is at present unusable due to contamination from the asbestos works closed down years ago, this sum is not as enormous as it might seem.
- The Region of Piedmont (which includes both Casale Monferrato and Cavagnolo) will receive 20 million Euros (again not so much considering cost of reclamation and the health costs involved).
- Cavagnolo Municipality will receive 4 millions.
- INAIL (the Italian National Insurance scheme for work-related accidents and illness) is to receive a provisional sum of 15 million euros, while their request for 272 million Euros plus interest will be pursued separately.
- The average compensation for each family is in the region of 30,000 Euros.
Prescribed Because Terms Elapsed in Rubiera and Bagnoli
Compensation for the towns of Rubiera (Reggio Emilia) and Bagnoli (Naples) has not been awarded because too much time has elapsed and the offences have been prescribed. This is hard for those involved in these two locations to accept.
The President of Naples Province, Luigi Cesaro, listed the bulletin of deaths from the Bagnoli works:
- 134 deaths from lung cancer
- 9 deaths from larynx cancer
- 258 deaths from asbestosis
- 65 deaths from mesothelioma
as well as 100 workers still ill from the above illnesses.
The Mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, stressed the importance of this sentence at the national and international levels, but expressed bitterness for his local community and for the many families involved. He could only remind the government of the necessity to face up to reclaiming and requalifying Bagnoli and the surrounding area.
Meanwhile the WWF warned that there may be a peak of illness and deaths between 2015 and 2020, due to the long time elapsing between exposure and illness.
Why this Sentence has Attracted International Attention
The Italian Health Minister Balduzzi called this a "historic" sentence. After decades of denying or minimizing the damage connected with asbestos, this trial has left no doubts in people's mind about the risks to workers and communities. The international community has followed this trial, which it is hoped will influence those responsible world-wide for mining, working, selling, exporting asbestos (now banned in EU member states).
For the background, see the article :
Turin, Italy: 20-year Sentences Requested for ETERNIT Managers
For information about asbestos related diseases, see World Health Organization
Sources: INAIL
ANSA (Italian News Agency)
Corriere del Mezzogiorno (South Italian newspaper)
Valerie Wilson - Valerie Wilson has lived, studied and worked in Scotland, Germany and Italy; mainly employed in multi-national companies in shipping ...
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