4.6 Seveso, Italy

During the middle of the day on July 10, 1976, an explosion occurred in a 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (TCP) reactor in the ICMESA chemical company in Meda, Italy (23–25). A cloud containing toxins escaped into the atmosphere. The cloud contained high concentrations of TCDD, a highly toxic form of dioxin. Downwind from the factory, the dioxin cloud affected a densely populated area of 6-km length and 1-km width. The toxins in the cloud immediately began killing many animals. Seveso, a municipality that was close to the plant was affected to a high degree. However, the dioxin cloud affected a total of 11 communities.

Even though the media discusses Seveso when other major disasters such as Bhopal and Chernobyl are discussed, the Seveso story is different when it comes to handling the toxins (23). Polluted areas within the affected areas were researched after the release and the most severely contaminated soils were excavated and treated elsewhere. Health effects experienced by the citizenry were immediately recognized as a consequence of the chemical disaster. The victims were compensated in relatively short time. A long-term plan of health monitoring was also put into place. Seveso victims suffered from a directly visible symptom known as chloracne and also from genetic impairments (24).

The Seveso accident and the immediate reaction of authorities led to the introduction of European regulation for the prevention and control of heavy accidents involving toxic substances. This regulation is now known as the Seveso Directive. This Directive is a central guideline for European countries for managing industrial safety.

One of the most remarkable attributes of the Seveso accident was that local and regional authorities had no idea the plant was a source of chemical risk (23). The factory operated for more than 30 years without a major incident. The public had no idea of the possibility of an accident until it occurred in 1976. The European Directive was created to ensure information concerning potential problems was available and to improve industrial safety. The Council of Ministers of the European Committee adopted the Directive in 1982. It obligates appropriate safety measures, and also public information on major industrial hazards, which is now known as the need to know principle (23).