Illicit trafficking of false “green” biomass, obtained from contaminated waste and placed on the market as charcoal or biochar, was discovered as part of the “Carbone delle Alpi” investigation, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Trento and conducted by the Ecological Operational Unit of the Carabinieri, between Alto Adige, Austria, Germany, Croatia and Serbia.
According to what was announced by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, at the center of the investigation there would be a transnational criminal system specialized in the treatment and marketing of ash deriving from pyrolysis and gasification processes.
Materials which, instead of being disposed of correctly, were illegally transformed and resold as ecological products also intended for the domestic heating and agricultural markets.
Dioxins and other toxic substances
Chemical analyzes carried out by various laboratories on ash, semi-finished products and finished briquettes have revealed concentrations of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) exceeding the limits set by law, as well as the presence of dioxins, highly toxic and dangerous substances both for the environment and for human health.
PAHs are polluting organic compounds that can develop during incomplete combustion processes and some of them are classified as carcinogenic. Dioxins, on the other hand, are persistent contaminants that tend to accumulate in the environment and in the food chain, with possible effects on the immune, endocrine and reproductive systems.
The investigation, the Customs further explain, was also developed thanks to international coordination with Europol, Eurojust and Olaf, which made it possible to reconstruct the cross-border flows of ashes and derivative products, bringing out the European dimension of the illicit trafficking.
