A new study conducted by the Federico II University of Naples, in collaboration with the Health Research Organization of Philadelphia, reveals an uncomfortable truth: Contamination from toxic substances in the land of fires It also extends to areas considered “clean” or not very anthropized.
Published on Science of the Total Environmentthe research used a musk, it Scorpiurium Circinatumlike environmental bioindicatorcapable of absorbing harmful substances present in the air. The researchers positioned Musk bags In two Campania champion areas – an industrial area of Giugliano in Campania and the Bosco della Reggia di Carditellotheoretically devoid of direct sources of pollution – comparing them with an uncontaminated area on Monte Faito.
The results are disturbing: arsenic, lead, copper, cadmium, mercury And chrome they were detected in high quantities already after 21 days exposure. The levels detected were enough to trigger Oxidative stress and cell damage in the musk, obvious signs of a compromised environment. But the most surprising data concerns the homogeneous diffusion of pollutantsregardless of the type of the area. The toxic powders coming from illegal burning of waste In fact, they seem not to remain confined, but to disperse in a widespread way.
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy for not having protected the Campania population
These data are part of an already very serious health context. The European Court of Human Rights recently has Italian condemned For not having adequately protected the Campania population, violating the right to life. Meanwhile, doctors like Luigi Costanzowho works in the heart of the land of fires, have been denouncing a boom of oncological pathologiesoften in young subjects and not screening.
Costanzo is a “sentinel doctor“And has collected data for over a decade that demonstrate the surge of tumors, infertility, chronic bronchitis And neonatal malformations. In the absence of adequate institutional tools, it proposes the use of Basic doctors data to create Local tumors registers updated in real time.
In the meantime, his study Humanitas has launched the initiative of “Suspended ticket”a solidarity fund to guarantee care for those who cannot afford them. But, as he himself says, “The solution cannot be charity”. They need structural investments in healthcarefree screening and a Environmental Restore Plan to really face this situation.
