Ecomafia Radioactive Waste Dumping in Mediterranean: International Catastrophe Coming to Light
Imagine the consequences of 20 years of nuclear waste dumping in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea that surround the Italian Peninsula and its islands.
It’s an unfolding crisis that has the international community alarmed, including the fishing interests in Japan.
We’re talking about the coasts of 22 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and a pending ecological and public health disaster which is being allegedly swept under the rug by the Italian government.
I only learned about it recently in a Counterpunch post on the nightmare, passed along to me by a devastated reader. Meantime, the disaster is also catching on in the mainstream media.
The post writer, Michael Leonardi, is a university educator who lives in Calabria with his wife and baby. He says after returning from a visit to the States, he was alarmed to learn that the Tyrrhenian Sea – which his daughter has been bathing in since birth – was intentionally poisoned with toxic waste.
“How shocked and dismayed we were to discover that government officials have known about it all along,” he shares. “And how enraged we are that a journalist has been killed, possibly for trying to reveal the truth about the disposal of waste by the international Ecomafia and their colluding government and corporate interests.”
The journalist described was Rai television reporter Ilaria Alpi. Leonardi says she was following the trail of arms and toxic garbage trafficking from Italy to Somalia in 1994 when she and her camera man, Miran Hrovatin, were gunned down and killed in Mogadishu.
“Many here believe, including the Mafia pentito, Franceso Fonti, that she was killed because she learned too much about the collusion between the Mafia and Italian military,” argues a bold Leonardi.
So how is the dumping engineered by the bad guys?
Leonardi says dozens of ships with the radioactive and toxic cargoes have been intentionally sunk by organized crime syndicates.
Leonardi says epidemic levels of cancerous tumors and thyroid problems have occurred in the area and along the coasts of the Mediterranean – where fishermen make a living by selling their catch throughout Italian and on the international market.
The public outcry is heating up as Greenpeace and the Italian environmental organization Legambiente work to bring the disaster to the surface. CNN reported on the scuttled hips, as well, last week. The report says it is believed between 32 and 41 of the ships sunk in international waters between Italy, Greece and Spain.
Lending credence to the sinking, testimony by Franceso Fonti, who admitted his role in helping to sink three ships in the fishing waters, including the Cunsky.
Last week a robot sub was sent down off the coast of Centraro to shoot photos of the ship thought to be the Cunsky. The images document the presence of drums like those used to transport and store radioactive and toxic wastes. The hope is that the barrels are still in tact but no one knows for certain what they contain.
“Traces of Mercury and Cesnium 137 have recently been found near the town of Amantea in Calabria further south of Cetraro by about 50 kilimeters,” explains Leonardi. “Amantea is considered a “hot spot” for tumors and ground temperature around the contamination area is six degrees warmer than normal.
“The population is demanding the truth and government action,” he says, adding international cooperation is needed.
Images: enigmachck1, Wiki, Wiki
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5 Comments
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Wow, this is horrifying. Even a small amount of toxic waste can have serious consequences, but 20 years’ worth? I wonder if this has happened in other parts of the world as well.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
It’s a truly horrifying situation. It’s actually been getting a lot of coverage on the UK news over the past week or so, as you would expect. My understanding was that it came to light because the Italian government announced the discovery of a wrecked ship with toxic cargo and asked the rest of the EU for help in the clean-up effort.
One a hopeful note, they might stop over-fishing in the Mediterranean as a result. They are currently fishing species like bluefin tuna at about 20 times the sustainable rate. The waters around Italy are probably badly contaminated now and that is a tragedy. I am not downplaying that in the slightest. But I will be curious to see what happens next, especially if we now leave those waters alone.t I wonder if 20 years from now, it will be a thriving marine wildlife reserve. The decontamination zone around Chernobyl in the Ukraine is now a haven for wildlife.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 am
I don’t think anyone will want to touch that fish if the drums spill, Caitlin. That’s the thing, no one knows yet if they are in tact or their has been a lot of spillage into the sea. All coverage of this began last week when the robot sub was sent down to photograph the wreck.
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