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Title: Triangle of death (Italy) The triangle of death is a wide area in Campania included into the municipalities of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano. One time ago, these ones were the most fertile lands in the region of Campania. Now, in these lands, there is a strong increment in cancer mortality and in other diseases, which appears with a higher degree than the italian average. Environmental pollution is believed to cause this one. The main cause of pollution is the illegal hazardous waste disposal by mafia-type criminal organization Camorra.

Definition
The term "The triangle of death" was first used in august 2004 by the international scientific medical review The Lancet Oncology (edit by Elsevier) who published a work by two researchers: Kathryn Senior and Alfredo Mazza (researchers in Pisa's CNR) , called: Italian “Triangle of death” linked to waste crisis. In this area are living about 550,000 persons. The death rate for 100,000 inhabitants (number of deaths every years, per 100.000 inhabitants) for liver cancer is close to 34,5% for the male and to 20,8 % for female. On the contrary, the national average is 14%. Death rate for some different kind of cancer like bladder cancer and CNS cancer, is higher than in other European's countries, although with a more modest increment. This compares with the overall cancer mortality in Campania, that is lower than the average in Italy.

The high death rate is thought to be due to the illegal hazardous waste disposal from various sources, especially from the northern Italy industries, carried out by Camorra. :

"Today, the difference between lawful management of waste and illegal manipulation with regard to their compliance with health regulations is very narrow, and the health risks are rising."

- Alfredo Mazza, The Lancet Oncology, vol. 5, settembre 2004

"The 5000 illegal or uncontrolled landfill sites in Italy drew particular criticism; Italy has already been warned twice for flouting the Hazardous Waste Directive and the Landfill Directive, and the EU has now referred Italy to the European Court of Justice for further action."

- The Lancet Oncology, vol. 5, settembre 2004

Epidemiological research committed, in the provinces of Napoli and Caserta, by World Health Organization
In 2007 a further research committed by World Health Organization, Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Campania Region was made; this one, has collected data on cancer death rate and congenital abnormalities in 196 municipalities around this area, between 1994 and 2002. In this statistical work, the confidence interval about the death releability into Confidence intervalare showed; it uses Bayesian inference.

The death rate for all the causes is shown below: it was significantly in excess
 * between the male, the 19% of the towns in the provence of Caserta, and for 43% of the towns in the province of Napoli,
 * between the female in the 23 % in the provence of Caserta, and in 47 % in the province of Napoli".

The authors foundeed an elevated rate of congenithal malformation, too. The work shows (in this areas with an elevated death rate or an elevated congenithal malformations) almost always have got landfills or uncontrolled waste sites. From the other side, this works highlights the difficoult to determinate the causality and the link beetween the elevated death and malformation rates and exposures related to the disposal of waste.

The presence of dangerous pollutants such as dioxin, particularly in the area of Acerra, is found , as well as illegal activities of waste disposal, , even in the business of Montefibre , and as early as 1987 a decree of the Ministry of Environment called Acerra territory "at high risk of environmental crisis".

Illegal spillage of toxic waste in Campania
The thesis linking the high rate of cancer with environmental pollution in several sites in Campania, is supported by the confession of the boss Gaetano Vassallo, linked to the Casalesi clan, whom systematically worked, for about 20 years, to the spillage of toxic waste, bribing politicians and officials of the government commissione . Most of the waste comes from North Italy. Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italian Repubblic, said on june 2008. : "It is sure, not only in civil life but also in parlamentary area, that a sistematic toxic waste transfer from Northern Italy factories to Campania, was committed with the active co-management by the Camorra"

- Giorgio Napolitano, 4-06-2008.

High level of policlorobifenili (PCB), made by chemical factories not presentin this region, was founded, , in the country of Campania and in the blood of some inhabitants too. Industrial muds, coming from Porto Marghera (industrial dock near Venice), (about 8000 tonns), were probably spread in Acerra countries, by Casalesi clan, with the help of some owner of these fields, passed as compost .

Emblematic is the case of a company, whose assets were seized by police in an investigation started on 2006 , who illegally disposed waste coming from industries in the regions of Veneto and Tuscany into the territories of Bacoli, Giuliano and Quiliano: this company disposed about one million tonnes of toxic garbage for a triennium, with an ern of € 27 millions. The company was already the subject of an investigation in 2003, but was ever acting undisturbed for many years . In Marigliano was found, in an illegal dump, a whole tank full of toxic substances buried .

Land of fire
Another step of this illegal activity are the fires burned to eliminate the gabbage, or to recover copper from electric wires , The fires, producting dioxin, have become more frequent because they could be confused with the numerous fires during the garbage crisis, where large amounts of garbage was burned. For example this one happened in Campania between the 2007 - 2008, during the garbage crisis. Between January and March 2007 were burned in agricultural land 30.000 kilograms of waste with a revenue of more than 118,000.

For the presence of fires in the north area of Napoli, Roberto Saviano first used (in his book Gomorra as title for the last and the second last chapters) the name "Land of fire" (in italian terra dei fuochi)

Hazardous industrial waste disposal in lawfull landfill
Hazardous industrial waste disposal may happend in lawfull landfill, too. In 2000 an enquiry of Parlamentary Commission about waste has discovered some muds in Pianura landfill, coming from ACNA of Cengio (Italia). , in Napoli, for an amount of about 800.000 tons. The Italian Procura della Repubblica in Napoli has found (through telephone wiretappings) some irregularities in the waste disposal into the landfill of Villaricca, managed by FIBA (a company of the group Impregilo). .

Claims between population


In 2008 the waste commissioner Guido Bertolaso, (the head of the civil protection department), planned the opening of a new waste landfill. The Chiaiano's population claimed against this decisione for two reasons:

The population of Pianosa had similar claims against the reopening of the closed waste landfill, proposed by goverment commissioner Giovanni De Gennaro, and furtherly given up. Between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008~ some protests degenerated into urban violence between Napoli and the suburbs of Quarto and Pozzuoli. In these situation, same criminals acted directed of local political interests colluded with criminals linked to the building speculation .
 * the mistrast in the governative instituctions, whom, in the last years, had allowed or were lacking of streight in fighting against these illicit waste disposals.
 * the consciousness of the rise in cancer death rate.

Similarly, there were further claims, between the suburbs inhabitants, for the fear of another source of pollution, like the incinerator of Acerra, .

Effect of pollution on the selling of agroalimentary products
In march 2008 in buffalo milk from farms in the province of Caserta, some dioxin was found. In a first time some country like South Corea and Japan, assigned this one to environmental pollution, and stopped their import. Afterward the spread of this notice (that is related only at 2,80% of the farms in Campania ,) the selling of dairy products from the Campania decreased, not only in Italy but in all the world, too. .

Illegal hazardous waste disposal in Campania in literature and cinema
The illegal hazardous waste disposal in Campania are treated by the book Gomorra from the writer Roberto Saviano, and the film Gomorra from the director Matteo Garrone and by the documentary "Biùtiful cauntri".

In television

 * Report: Terra bruciata, Tv 9-3-2008, e seguito nella rubrica: Come è andata a finire?.
 * Repubblica Radio TV: Morire di diossina in Campania, del 28-12-2007:, ,
 * La 7: Il cancro di Napoli, Reality del 12-12-2007; Allarme cibo avvelenato, Exit del 18-12-2007; Il posto dei rifiuti, Reality del 22-09-2007
 * Tg1: intervista to Roberto Saviano at 3-1-2008 (evening ediction at 8:00 p.m.)
 * Sat 2000: interview to dott. Antonio Marfella, oncologist at "Formato famiglia'', 20-12-2007

Voci correlate

 * Camorra
 * Ecomafia
 * Naples waste management issue
 * Gomorrah (book)
 * Gomorrah (film)
 * Biùtiful cauntri
 * Land of the fires

Collegamenti esterni

 * La Terra dei fuochi, website showing claims on illegal waste disposal in Campania
 * La Terra dei fuochi, website on "triangle of poisons" Giugliano-Qualiano-Villaricca

Triangolo della morte Acerra-Nola-Marigliano