Seveso: Italian dioxin crisis

On midday of July 10, 1976 an explosion occurred in a TCP (2,4,5-trichlorophenol) reactor in the ICMESA chemical company in Meda, Italy. A toxic cloud escaped into the atmosphere containing high concentrations of TCDD, a highly toxic form of dioxin. Downwind from the factory the dioxin cloud polluted a densely populated area of six kilometres long and one kilometre wide, immediately killing many animals. A neighbouring municipality that was highly affected is called Seveso. The accident was named after this village. The dioxin cloud affected a total of 11 communities.

The media now mentions Seveso in line with major disasters such as Bhopal and Chernobyl, which have both become international symbols of industrially related disease. However, the Seveso story is remarkably different when it comes to handling the pollution and the victims because earlier accidents had shown dioxin to be an extremely dangerous substance. Polluted areas were researched and the most severely polluted soils were excavated and treated elsewhere. Health effects were immediately recognized as a consequence of the disaster and victims were compensated. A long-term plan of health monitoring has been put into operation. Seveso victims suffered from a directly visible symptom known as chloracne (see picture), but also from genetic impairments.

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 was a central guideline for European countries for managing industrial safety.

The most remarkable feature of the Seveso accident was that local and regional authorities had no idea the plant was a source of risk. The factory existed for more than 30 years and the public had no idea of the possibility of an accident as it occurred in 1976. The European Directive was created to prevent such ignorance in the future and to enhance 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.