Time, for those who breathed asbestosdoes not heal. Indeed, it often becomes an ally of the disease. The families of the 92 victims recognized by the Turin Court of Assize in Turin know this well in the Eternit bis processwho on Thursday 17 April saw the owner of the Multinational Eternit, Stephan Schmidheiny, sentenced 9 years and 6 months for manslaughter. A sentence yes, but lighter than the 12 years inflicted at first instance. Lighter also than the weight of the death of 392 people in Casale Monferrato, all united by an invisible enemy: the pleural mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos in the Eternit plant, closed in 1986, and in the neighboring residential areas.
Eternit bis: between expectations, convictions and prescriptions
The sentence arrives at the end of a long and complex process, in which the accusation had asked for life imprisonment for voluntary murder with possible malice, claiming that Schmidheiny was fully aware of the danger of asbestos, but had consciously chosen to ignore it for profit. The appeal judges, like those of Novara, have opted instead for the manslaughter, considering the voluntarity not demonstrable.
However, despite the downsizing, the sentence represents an important staple. “The co -responsibility of the accused has been recognized,” they comment from Legambiente“In a wound still open on the Casalese territory”. This is testified by the data of the Alessandria hospital: 74 new cases of mesothelioma only in 2024. The drama is still current, and this sentence, despite its limits, certifies a principle: who pollutes, must pay.
The invisible victims: the state condemned for asbestos in the Navy
But there is another justice, silent and less media, which moves on a parallel track. It is that obtained in civil courts by those who served the state in the Navy and found themselves, without knowing it, immersed in the asbestos killer fibers. Two recent sentences have changed the scenario.
The first sentence is that issued by the Civil Court of Rome on March 6, 2025, who sentenced the Ministry of Defense to compensate the family members of with one million euros Clemente CrisciSottocapo Noccieiere died in 2015. Crisci had served between 1966 and 1971 on old generation ships, constantly in contact with asbestos, present everywhere: in the local local rooms, in the corridors, in the conduct. No protection. No warnings.
«I remember a seriously ill clemente – he said in a note Ezio Bonannipresident of theNational Asbestos Observatory And the family of the family – he felt betrayed by the state. He knew he had to die. ” Only years after his death did the recognition of the status of the victim of duty arrive. «This sentence will not bring it back, but it is a turning point that requires the definitive reclamation of the Navy ships. He will save other lives, “added Bonanni.
The second sentence comes from Traniand is dated April 11. Here too, the ministry was sentenced. Another victim of the Navy, a Apulian radio and telegraphist (Lmm), died in 2020. He served between 1962 and 1964 on two ships: Albatros and Corvetta Alcione. Also in this case, exposure to asbestos was daily and without any protection. The widow has obtained overall compensation of about 400 thousand euros, including special donation, backward and monthly annuity.
“Almost five years after his disappearance, Lmm has finally obtained justice – commented Bonanni – The sentence also opens the way to the children of the victims, to whom the right to compensation had been denied in the past. Now they will be able to act in court to obtain the compensation that is up to them ». It is a civil, but also political victory. Because those who served the state, today, cannot be left alone.
The common point: a justice that chases
The real challenge, now, is not to forget. Asbestos is not just a problem of the past. The cases of mesothelioma continue to emerge, while entire industrial and military sectors still await a definitive reclamation. The “Community pact“Signed in Casale Monferrato between local authorities and associations, and the campaigns as”Eco -friendship immediately”, They try to keep attention high. But it serves more.
