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Italian court hands down prison sentences for PFAS pollution from chemical plant

Italian court hands down prison sentences for PFAS pollution from chemical plant

NHKa day ago

An Italian court has sentenced former executives of a chemical manufacturer to prison terms of up to 17 and a half years for polluting groundwater.
The court in the northern city of Vicenza on Thursday handed down the sentences to 11 officials out of 15 defendants who were executives at the company. The remaining four were acquitted.
The 11 officials were found guilty for their roles in contaminating groundwater with PFAS from a chemical plant.
PFAS are a group of organic fluorine compounds, some of which are considered potentially harmful.
The 11 convicted officials' prison terms range from two years and eight months to 17 years and six months.
Three of the 11 are Japanese from Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, which was a parent company of the chemical maker. Two of the three were reportedly sentenced to 16 years in prison and the other was given 11 years.
Local media say the chemical company was making products including PFAS chemicals from the 1960s until it went bankrupt in 2018, and that water from its plant polluted groundwater.
Mitsubishi Corporation says it will refrain from making comments on the ruling as they would be related to the ongoing legal proceedings. The trading house says it will continue to respond sincerely to debate in the judicial arena.

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Italian court hands down prison sentences for PFAS pollution from chemical plant
Italian court hands down prison sentences for PFAS pollution from chemical plant

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Italian court hands down prison sentences for PFAS pollution from chemical plant

An Italian court has sentenced former executives of a chemical manufacturer to prison terms of up to 17 and a half years for polluting groundwater. The court in the northern city of Vicenza on Thursday handed down the sentences to 11 officials out of 15 defendants who were executives at the company. The remaining four were acquitted. The 11 officials were found guilty for their roles in contaminating groundwater with PFAS from a chemical plant. PFAS are a group of organic fluorine compounds, some of which are considered potentially harmful. The 11 convicted officials' prison terms range from two years and eight months to 17 years and six months. Three of the 11 are Japanese from Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, which was a parent company of the chemical maker. Two of the three were reportedly sentenced to 16 years in prison and the other was given 11 years. Local media say the chemical company was making products including PFAS chemicals from the 1960s until it went bankrupt in 2018, and that water from its plant polluted groundwater. Mitsubishi Corporation says it will refrain from making comments on the ruling as they would be related to the ongoing legal proceedings. The trading house says it will continue to respond sincerely to debate in the judicial arena.

Three Japanese nationals found guilty over PFAS pollution in Italy
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An Italian court on Thursday found three Japanese nationals, including an ex-executive of a former subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., guilty over polluting water with PFAS, often referred to as "forever chemicals." The three were among 11 defendants sentenced to prison terms of between two years and 18 years over their roles in the PFAS contamination. According to media reports, two of the Japanese nationals were each sentenced to 16 years in prison, while the remaining national was given 11 years behind bars. A total of 15 people were indicted in the case. Four were found not guilty. The former Mitsubishi Corp. unit Miteni, which went bankrupt in 2018, produced PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at its plant in the province of Vicenza in Veneto starting in the 1960s. Leaks of waste from the plant are believed to have led to widespread water and soil pollution. In 2013, the Italian government alerted Veneto about worrying levels of PFAS in its water supply, prompting the region to notify judicial authorities. The court also recognized the civil liability of individuals and corporations involved in the pollution, ordering the payment of over €60 million (about ¥10.2 billion) in total damages to citizens, the region and the central government. Veneto President Luca Zaia said that the court's recognition of environmental damage and water pollution was a step toward justice.

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3 Japanese Found Guilty over PFAS Pollution in Italy

News from Japan World Jun 27, 2025 18:08 (JST) Paris, June 26 (Jiji Press)--An Italian court on Thursday found three Japanese nationals, including a former executive of a former subsidiary of Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., guilty over polluting water in the northern Italian region of Veneto with PFAS, which are potentially carcinogenic chemicals. The three were among 11 defendants sentenced to prison terms of between two years and eight months and 17 years and six months over their roles in the PFAS contamination. According to media reports, two of the Japanese nationals were each sentenced to 16 years in prison, while the remaining national was given 11 years behind bars. A total of 15 people were indicted in the case. Four were found not guilty. The former Mitsubishi Corp. unit Miteni, which went bankrupt in 2018, produced PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at its plant in the province of Vicenza in Veneto from the 1960s. Leaks of waste from the plant are believed to have led to widespread water and soil pollution. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press

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