The Breath of Biancavilla

The Breath of Biancavilla

In Biancavilla (a municipality of around 23.000 inhabitants located on the slopes of Mount Etna) there were no chemical companies or other sources of industrial pollution, but in 1996 a high mortality rate for mesothelioma was observed in the town.

Mesotheliona is a highly lethal tumour (life expectancy of less than a year after diagnosis) with a long latency period, related to exposure to asbestos.

Site investigations led back to a similar asbestos mineral found in the local quarry (Cava di Monte Calvario), from which building material widely used in the construction of the city’s structures was obtained.

For more than 50 years, the population of Biancavilla has been exposed to high concentrations of asbestos-like fibres derived from the quarry material.

The name given to the mineral, which originated from a lava formation dating back around 15.000 years, is fluoro-edenite.

Biancavilla was declared a Site of National Interest (S.I.N.) by Ministerial Decree 468/2001, and in 2001 the first remediation operations began, thanks to which the spread of these fibers was significantly reduced: the quarry was fenced off, some of the unpaved roads were asphalted, and the quarry face was made inert with cement mortar castings.

Even today, the incidence of mesothelioma in Biancavilla is higher than in the Region of Sicily. Remediation activities are still in progress.

Not all the people are informed and the younger ones have also lost memory of the quarry’s history. It is necessary to raise everyone’s awareness in order to make use of the necessary support, research progress and the hoped-for remediation and limit the damage to the health of the entire population.