Latest news with #Miteni
Bloomberg
27-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Executives Get 141 Years in Prison for Italy PFAS Contamination
Eleven former executives of companies linked to Miteni SpA were sentenced to a combined 141 years in prison by an Italian court for one of the largest groundwater contaminations of forever chemicals in Europe. Parent company Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's biggest trading house, and Luxembourg-based International Chemical Investors Group were found to be liable along with the individuals for damage caused by pollution with per- and polyfluorinated chemicals, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals.
Japan Times
27-06-2025
- Japan Times
Three Japanese nationals found guilty over PFAS pollution in Italy
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.
Asahi Shimbun
27-06-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
3 Japanese sentenced to prison over PFAS pollution in Italy
The presiding judge, center, delivers the ruling in a case concerning chemical pollution at a district court in Vicenza, Italy, on June 26. (Kosuke So) VICENZA, Italy—Eleven individuals, including three Japanese nationals, were sentenced to prison here over chemical pollution caused by a former Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary that contaminated groundwater and rivers, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The district court in Vicenza on June 26 handed down prison terms ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 17 years and 6 months. Four Japanese, including board members of the former subsidiary, Miteni, were indicted in the case. Two of them received 16-year prison sentences while one was handed an 11-year term. The other Japanese suspect was acquitted. The chemicals released by the Miteni factory in northeastern Italy's Veneto region were polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as 'forever chemicals' because they are nearly non-degradable in nature. The court ordered the convicted defendants to pay a total of about 57 million euros ($67 million or 9.6 billion yen) to the Italian environment ministry. In addition, the court recognized Mitsubishi's responsibility for the water contamination and ordered the corporation to provide compensation to victims, including individual citizens, the Veneto region and the municipal government where the factory was located. The trial stemmed from an investigation by Veneto regional authorities in 2013, which identified the Miteni plant as the source of PFAS pollutants in the area. The factory, previously owned by Mitsubishi, produced the chemicals for textile and other industrial purposes. Italian authorities estimated that 350,000 people in three provinces were affected by contaminated tap and groundwater. Subsequent investigations found PFAS concentrations in blood samples of local residents far exceeded acceptable levels, and the pollution issue became a serious public health concern. Prosecutors in 2021 accused Miteni of failing to properly treat PFAS waste generated during the manufacturing process and allowing the chemicals to enter the groundwater. They also said Miteni attempted to conceal the problem after the pollution was discovered. Italian authorities indicted 15 individuals, including three Japanese who served as business managers of Mitsubishi's fluorochemical business division and one Japanese who was general manager at the division. Two of these Japanese individuals were also board members at Miteni before the subsidiary was sold in 2009. The factory has been shut down and Miteni has gone bankrupt. According to Marco Casellato, a lawyer representing the victims, the ruling represents the first time in Europe for corporate managers to be held criminal responsibility for PFAS pollution. 'This was a groundbreaking ruling that almost entirely recognizes corporate responsibility,' he said. Mitsubishi declined to give its opinion on the ruling. 'We will refrain from answering questions because our views on this ruling are deeply related to ongoing legal proceedings,' the company said in a statement. 'However, we will continue to engage sincerely in discussions through the judicial process.' PFAS is a collective term for organic fluorine compounds that are resistant to water, oil and heat. They have been widely used since the 1950s in waterproofing and firefighting foams. In recent years, PFAS contamination has been linked to health problems, such as kidney and breast cancer. (This article was written by Kosuke So, correspondent, and Shiki Iwasawa.)
France 24
26-06-2025
- France 24
Italy chemical plant execs jailed for pollution
Eleven executives from companies including Japan's Mitsubishi and Luxembourg-based International Chemical Investors (ICIG) were convicted for contaminating nearly 200 square kilometres (77 square miles) of drinking water as well as soil through the Miteni plant in the northeastern city of Trissino. The court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from two years and eight months to 17 years, in the case of two executives at now-folded Italian firm Miteni. Four other defendants were acquitted. PFAS -- or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- are a group of more than 10,000 human-made chemicals that repel heat, water, oil, and stains. Developed in the 1940s, they are still used in nonstick pans and stain-proof carpets, yet are now linked to hormonal disruption, immune suppression and cancers. Their ultra-tough carbon-fluorine bonds take millennia to break down in the environment. The now-shuttered plant produced PFAS from 1968 and was run by three companies until its closure due to bankruptcy in 2018. It leaked chemical-laced waste into a waterway, polluting a vast area between Vicenza, Verona and Padova, according to prosecutors. The trial opened in 2021. Prosecutors had requested cumulative jail terms of 121 years. The court's sentence was even tougher: a total of more than 141 years. Hundreds of civil plaintiffs joined the trial, including environmental group Greenpeace and local mothers who united after discovering their families had the chemicals in their blood. Greenpeace Italy representative Chiara Campione called the ruling "historic" in a statement. The individuals and companies involved were sentenced to pay more than 6.5 million euros ($ 7.6 million) in damages to the Veneto region -- a ruling welcomed by regional leader Luca Zaia. They will also have to pay 58 million euros in damages to the Italian environment ministry, according to media reports. In May, a court ruled the death of a worker at the plant who died of cancer in 2014 was caused by prolonged exposure to PFAS. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Verdict expected in Italy 'forever chemicals' trial
A verdict is expected Thursday in the trial of 15 managers of a chemical plant accused of knowingly contaminating the water of hundreds of thousands of people in Italy. The now-shuttered Miteni factory near the northeastern city of Vicenza is alleged to have polluted one of Europe's largest groundwater basins with PFAS, dubbed "forever chemicals" because they never break down. The prosecution alleges that the plant in Trissino, which produced PFAS from 1968 and was run by three companies until its closure due to bankruptcy in 2018, leaked chemical-laced wastewater into a waterway, polluting a vast area between Vicenza, Verona and Padova. Fifteen managers from Mitsubishi, International Chemical Investors (ICIG) and Miteni are charged with contaminating nearly 200 square kilometres (77 square miles) of drinking water, as well as soil. Prosecutors in the trial, which began in 2021, have called for the managers to be sentenced to a total of 121 years in jail, lawyer Edoardo Bortolotto told AFP Thursday. Over 200 civil plaintiffs have joined the trial, including Greenpeace and local mothers who united after discovering their families had the chemicals in their blood. PFAS have been used since the late 1940s to mass produce the nonstick, waterproof and stain-resistant treatments that coat everything from frying pans to umbrellas, carpets and dental floss. But chronic exposure to even low levels of the chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birthweights and several kinds of cancer. The contamination was discovered in 2013 after Italy's environment ministry ordered tests of the Po River following a 2006 European project assessing exposure to such chemicals in rivers. Of all the rivers studied, the Po had the highest concentrations of one specific PFAS called PFOA, a known carcinogen. Further investigation identified Miteni as the source. At the time, there were no Italian or EU thresholds for PFAS content in drinking water, according to a regional report by the World Health Organization (WHO). ide/giv
