Italy is putting the lives of the inhabitants of the Land of Fires at risk by not protecting them properly and not intervening adequately. This was established by the European Court of Human Rights , which condemned the country. The Strasbourg Court is targeting the Campania region involved in the burial of toxic waste in recent decades . The case was brought before the Court by 41 Italian citizens and five associations who accused Rome of not protecting them from these deposits, which are causing an increase in cancer rates in the region.
The ECHR has ruled that Italy must introduce, without delay, general measures capable of adequately addressing the pollution phenomenon in question. The ruling is final. The recognized risk for the citizens of Campania living in the affected area is "sufficiently serious, real and verifiable". The judges also consider that "there is insufficient evidence of a systematic, coordinated and complete response by the authorities in addressing the situation in the Land of Fires". The assessment shows that progress in assessing the impact of the pollution has been "slow", when speed was needed. They also indicate that the State has not been able to demonstrate that it has taken all necessary criminal actions to combat the illegal disposal of waste in the Land of Fires area.
To explain the “serious and complex” situation to citizens, it would have been necessary to proactively inform the public about potential or real health risks and the actions taken to manage those risks. This, as the ECHR writes, did not happen. Indeed, “some information was covered for long periods by state secrecy.”
(Online Union)