Criminal trials in Italy charging asbestos billionaire with causing deaths of Eternit employees and people in surrounding communities

Note: The latest report on the criminal trials in Italy charging asbestos billionaire with causing deaths of Eternit employees and people in the surrounding communities by longtime  Casale resident and journalist Silvana Mossano must be seen in the backdrop of the hearing in the three trial courts of these cases in which Schmidheiny, the asbestos billionaire has been convicted  and sentenced him to various jail terms, all of which are being appealed to the Court of Appeal and then the Court of Cassation.

A lawyer well familiar with these matters reacted with shock to the delay by the Court of Cassation in sending the Naples case back for further litigation, possibly dooming the case to dismissal under the statute of limitations for manslaughter.  The statute of limitations 'clock' keeps running, under the law in Italy, even after guilty verdicts have been issued by the trial and appeal courts.  The legal expert said the Court of Cassation's refusal to decide the case now appears corrupt.

Dr. Barry Castleman, the author of "Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects"

ETERNIT BIS – The delicate issue of the causal link, expert witnesses return to court: Silvana Mossano

Mr Schmidheiny, your own defence team and expert witnesses recognise that asbestos fibres cause mesothelioma, but they blame those who came before you for spreading them and say that the tragic fate of the 392 victims listed in the trial (but there are many more!) cannot be attributed to the time when you were the head/owner of Eternit. The question is: if the fibres that were in circulation before you were deadly, can you really believe that the asbestos that was in circulation between 1976 and 1986 had no effect at all? That it didn't cause illnesses? The legal arguments are left to your defence team, the scientific ones to your expert witnesses. Ethics, on the other hand, is your responsibility: can you possibly rule out that the asbestos circulating in the air in ‘your’ decade caused an indefinite number of victims even if you don't know their names? There is, morally, a way to make amends, Mr Schmidheiny: find the cure.

Having reached the final stages of the Eternit Bis trial, before the Court of Assize of Appeal in Turin, closing statements focused on three crucial issues: the position (posizione di garanzia) of the defendant Stephan Schmidheiny (i.e. whether he was the effective head in charge of Eternit), the subjective element (i.e. whether he acted with malice or with guilt, whether or not he was aware) and the causal link (i.e. the correlation between the deaths from mesothelioma of the 392 victims listed in the charge and the spread of asbestos fibres that occurred in the decade 1976-1986, when Schmidheiny was the boss). The defendant is charged with the voluntary manslaughter (with eventual intent) of all these people.

SUMMARY

@ The role of science in court and the causal link

@ The prosecutor's expert witness

@ The defence's expert witness

@ Epidemiology in sentencing

@ From epidemiology to individual cases

@ Upcoming hearings

@ Cavagnolo and Napoli Trials

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN COURT

The third issue – the causal link – is essential. The court will have to adopt one a position and issue the verdict (expected on March the 19th ), but will have to motivate it after having evaluated the causal relationship on a case-by-case basis.

It is a delicate and complex trial that essentially relies on scientific pillars to be combined with legal criteria. Even more than in the Eternit One case for crime of environmental disaster, science has entered the courtroom with a central pivot.

After listening to the first part of the arguments presented by the prosecutor, the civil parties and the defence, and after reviewing the impressive number of expert reports, studies and judgements, the Court of Assizes of Appeal required further investigation.

THE PROSECUTOR'S EXPERT WITNESS

At the hearing on Monday 17 February, the prosecutor called Prof Corrado Magnani, a doctor, epidemiologist, researcher and author of numerous studies; he is qualified as one of the two authors who, worldwide, have had the highest number of studies published (the other was Dr Dario Mirabelli, also a prosecutor's expert witness in the Eternit trials, who died prematurely a couple of weeks ago).

On Monday, Professor Benedetto Terracini, former director of the Reference Centre for Epidemiology and Oncological Prevention in Piedmont (CROEP), was in the audience. He was the ‘Teacher’ of that group of Piedmontese researchers (including Magnani and Mirabelli) who initiated numerous epidemiological studies related to asbestos exposure.

Professor Corrado Magnani, expert witness for the public prosecutor

Dr Cristina Domaneschi, Chief Justice, and the Court listened to Prof Magnani, and then to the defence expert, Prof Canzio Romano. Dr Gino Barbieri, the expert witness for the plaintiffs, was also present and agreed with Prof Magnani's presentation. He had already submitted his report to the court, as had Dr Bai, also for the plaintiffs.

The causal link is a complex and thorny issue, so the presiding judge made a special recommendation: ‘We are not experts in medicine or statistics. We kindly ask you to adapt your language to our ability to understand’.

Professor Benedetto Terracini (on the right, wearing a blue pullover) in conversation with the PPs, on Monday during a break in the trial. At the back of the photo, consultants Prof Corrado Magnani and Dr Gino Barbieri

And that's what the scientist did: for four hours, standing up, as if he had returned to his university classroom in front of students, he endeavoured to respond to the Court's requests for clarification, balancing the appropriate scientific language - without oversimplifying it -.

‘We are asking for clarification on the so-called accelerator effect,’ Dr Domaneschi began. ’We are interested in the comparison between two groups of subjects who contract the disease: those who at a certain point ceased exposure and those who continued to be exposed.’

One should remember that ‘all the cases of mesothelioma considered in this trial are caused by exposure to asbestos: this is a certainty’ emphasised Magnani. Then we consider the intensity and duration of exposure, and the effects in terms of a shorter life expectancy.

The professor explained that ‘people suffering from mesothelioma die earlier than the general population’.

A group of Afeva activists at the Eternit trial.

How can we interpret the differences between two groups of subjects who have different degrees of exposure?

Prof Magnani presented some graphs that represent a Cartesian plane. On the horizontal x-axis is indicated the latency period (from the beginning of exposure to diagnosis) and on the vertical y-axis is marked the frequency of the disease.

‘In the group with greater exposure, the frequency of mesothelioma is higher, and the cases begin to appear earlier than in the less exposed group. This is the anticipation of the disease": it means, in essence, that “with less exposure to asbestos, those deaths would not have occurred or would have occurred later”. Prof Magnani referred to a large cohort study he coordinated, carried out after the National Conference on Asbestos in 2012. ‘We included 50,000 people who worked in 43 Italian companies, half of them in about twenty companies in the asbestos-cement sector. Three groups were formed, based on the amount of cumulative exposure.’ What was the outcome? ’In the group with intermediate exposure, deaths from mesothelioma occurred less frequently and at a later stage than in the group with the highest exposure.’ Similarly for the comparison between groups with ‘minimal’ and ‘highest’ exposure’. The study was published in an authoritative scientific journal and, years later, has not been the subject of contrary observations, therefore maintaining the approval of the international scientific community.

Prof Magnani quantified the reduction in life expectancy as fifteen to twenty years.

Regarding the shorter life expectancy, the prosecutor's expert witness also illustrated an important study conducted on laboratory mice, published in 2024. ‘The genetic heritage of the mice was altered so that they were destined to die of pleural mesothelioma. Then, the mice were divided into two groups: one was also given asbestos, the other was not. When the survival rate was compared, it was seen that the mice in the group exposed to asbestos became ill and died starting 90 days after the beginning of the experiment, compared to 170 days in the group subjected only to genetic manipulation. Conclusion: the addition of asbestos brings forward the onset of the disease. At autopsy, it was found that the mesotheliomas were more extensive in the mice exposed to asbestos.

Court's question: ‘Can a longer duration of exposure produce a greater accelerating effect?’

Prof Magnani cited a study conducted on workers in the sector. ‘The people who had a lower acceleration had worked in the company for less time or in departments less polluted by asbestos. Those who, on the other hand, had a greater cumulative exposure to the fibres, in terms of intensity and duration, had a greater acceleration’. To say that “if the workers had changed job or department earlier, they would have suffered less from the accelerating effect”. Among other things, continuous and additional exposure inhibits one of the defence mechanisms that our body uses to remove fibres, through macrophages, i.e. the ‘scavenger cells’ responsible for absorbing the ‘garbage’ that we somehow ingest.

Another issue on which the Court requested clarification is the so-called ‘preclinical phase’.

This is the time between when the disease has already irreversibly taken hold in the organism and does not require further external (exogenous) carcinogenic stimuli (i.e. stimuli from external agents such as asbestos) and the moment of diagnosis. In this phase, with the diagnostic tools available today, mesothelioma is not yet recognisable. It is only a question of understanding when it will reach a size at which it can be diagnosed. Professor Magnani reported studies that estimate the duration of the ‘preclinical phase’ to be between 9 and 11 years; in general, it is agreed and agreed upon that the average duration is ten years.

To the Court's precise question: ‘Is the ten-year period recognised by the scientific community?’ Professor Magnani's answer was: ‘Yes’.

Dissenting voices? ‘One study - Greengard O. et. al., 1987 - that quantifies this phase as 22 years. However, it is a study that has shown many limitations in materials and methods’ so much so that, in almost forty years, it has not been replicated. What does this mean? That the number of citations in subsequent studies is an indication of the authority of the published work: the higher the number, the more the study is worthy of consideration, and vice versa.

The president of the court also asked why it is important for science to establish the duration of the preclinical phase. The prosecutor's consultant explained that, in addition to the medical-legal interest, it can be of considerable importance, for example, for preventive purposes: ‘If mesothelioma could be diagnosed earlier, therapeutic strategies could be identified and anticipated as is the case for other forms of cancer’. Another topic: the risk of exposure in relation to distance from the source, which the consultants identified in the Eternit production plant in Ronzone (to be clear: one kilometre away from the Duomo, i.e. the heart of the city). How many kilometres away from the source are we at risk? Professor Magnani explains: ‘The distribution of fibres does not seem to reach more than eight or nine kilometres from the source, as the crow flies, but we must take into account that a person does not stay in one place, they move from one place to another, they even change residence’.

Then, to complicate and aggravate the environmental context of Casale there was the dust factor, widely used everywhere: ‘A widespread use that makes your skin crawl!’

The prosecutor's consultant recalled the story of a young woman born in 1976 who died of mesothelioma. From her personal file it emerged that ‘as a child she often went to play where there was a lot of dust. But if her parents had known what a serious danger it was, would they have let her go and play there?’ The professor realises he has overstepped the scientific mark, but he couldn't help himself: ‘Sorry, this isn't my subject, but behind every researcher there's a man too!’ As for the distribution of the dust (containing the terrible blue asbestos or crocidolite) used in and around the city for so-called ‘improper uses’ (insulation of attics and levelling of courtyards, playing fields, roads, etc.), the defence insisted that, when Schmidheiny arrived, a ban had been imposed. Why? ‘Because he knew it was highly carcinogenic. Deadly,’ the prosecutor observed. Yes, Schmidheiny knew. “He knew everything.” But then, faced with this precise awareness, what did the defendant do? The prosecutor was indignant: ’He did not warn the population, nor the public and health authorities, to share his knowledge and warn them. He said nothing, on the contrary he engaged in a massive propaganda campaign of mystification about the use of asbestos.

THE DEFENCE 

The defence expert witness, Prof Canzio Romano queried Professor Magnani's arguments and reiterated his arguments already set out in a robust and detailed report.

Professor Canzio Romano, defence expert witness (Photo Archivio Silmos)

The main points: ‘Malignant mesothelioma is still a disease characterised by large grey areas that depend on the specific characteristics of this disease’. One of these grey areas, Prof Romano pointed out, is ‘the very long time between the exposure and the onset of the clinical manifestation of the tumour. The median latency, according to the mesothelioma (Renam) Registry, is 48 years’. Latency is the time between the beginning of exposure and diagnosis. Furthermore, ‘mesothelioma is described as a very aggressive tumour and, from this statement, one would deduce that it grows particularly quickly. But, if it is true that once the tumour has manifested itself clinically the survival rate is very low (even if it has increased a little), this could depend not on the natural aggressiveness of cell development, but on the fact that, by the time it is diagnosed, the mesothelioma is already very extensive and invasive’. Professor Romano, however, considers this a mere hypothesis, because, ‘in reality, we can say that we know nothing about the time it takes for this tumour to develop from the first altered cell until diagnosis’. The defence consultant insisted that ‘it is a neoplasm with large areas of uncertainty’. For example, ‘two apparently contrasting phenomena coexist: on the one hand, low levels or even short periods of exposure are sufficient for the disease to develop; on the other hand, as exposure increases, so does the risk. In my opinion, this means that how asbestos acts is largely unknown today’. He therefore maintains that ‘it is not possible to construct a plausible biological model’.

However, there are epidemiological studies. ‘It's not that epidemiological investigations are useless for individuals’, he concedes, ‘but they are useful in terms of policies and preventive regulations, not for the specific case’ he insists. ‘Epidemiology provides statistical results’ which, in the opinion of the defence counsel, “cannot be used in terms of causality for the individual”. In other words, he is convinced that epidemiological results cannot explain, “beyond any reasonable doubt”, when and how that subject became ill in the face of a certain exposure, with certain characteristics of intensity and duration. He reiterates: ‘We should understand if the subjects affected by mesothelioma developed the pathology earlier than it would have happened if Eternit had not been active between 1976 and 1986’, that is, the time when the defendant was the responsible manager. ‘The question has no answers because, in his opinion, “there are no answers. Magnani answered on logical, not factual grounds”. ‘To argue that all cases are anticipated and that the duration of the anticipation is the same for everyone is a hypothesis that has no biological or even epidemiological support’ was Professor Romano's inflexible conclusion.

EPIDEMIOLOGY IN JUDGMENT

The Court of Assizes of Novara has already had to face this question. In the grounds for the sentence, which fill over a thousand pages, it ruled as follows: ‘In the absence of a universal law of coverage, which would allow all events of a certain type to be traced back to a specific cause (a very rare eventuality), it is necessary to resort to a law of statistical coverage, according to which certain events can be related to specific causal antecedents with a high degree of probability’. Having made this premise, the judges of Novara, in considering ‘correctly usable the models deriving from statistical laws such as epidemiological ones’, affirmed that ‘one cannot simply apply the data to individual cases’, but ‘due attention must be paid to the presence of biological information which, synergistically with the statistical data, can explain that causal relationship that epidemiology itself has deduced from the probabilistic relationship’.

FROM EPIDEMIOLOGY TO INDIVIDUAL CASES

And Professor Magnani highlighted and confirmed that in the reports prepared by the consultants and delivered to the judges, the indications provided by the epidemiological studies were scrupulously applied to individual cases, taking into account, for each one, the circumstances of exposure to asbestos that characterised the lives and habits of those lives; moreover, and were confirmed, in the end, in the manifestation and evolution of the pathology described in the medical records. The result of this work is contained in the respective 392 files. These 392 files tell the story of 392 lives cut short, the names and surnames of men and women who lost fifteen or twenty years of loved ones, relationships, hopes, roles, falls and rises. A vital ribbon ruthlessly severed by invisible fibres that should not have circulated in such a reckless and illicit manner.

Court and Popular Judges (Jury) 

UPCOMING HEARINGS

On Wednesday 26 February, from 11 a.m., the closing statements will be made by the for the prosecution (Dr Sara Panelli, prosecutor for the Attorney General's Office, Dr Gianfranco Colace and Dr Mariagiovanna Compare, prosecutors for the Turin and Vercelli Public Prosecutor's Offices). On Wednesday 5 and Wednesday 19 March, from 9 a.m., the Court will hear the closing statements of the defence lawyers Astolfo Di Amato and Guido Carlo Alleva. The verdict of the Court of Assizes of Appeal, i.e. the reading of the sentence, is expected on that the day, while the reasons for the verdict will be filed later.

THE CAVAGNOLO AND NAPOLI CASES

Meanwhile, the hearing in the Court of Cassation for the Eternit Bis case in Cavagnolo has been set for 21 March. The defendant Schmidheiny has already been convicted in the first and second degree for manslaughter: 1 year and 8 months, for the death, due to asbestosis, of a worker. The appeal sentence had already reached the Court of Cassation that had ordered a postponement, requesting more precise reasons on the issue of the causal link. The second Court of Appeal of Turin integrated it with further legal-scientific arguments.

The same happened for the Eternit Bis case in Naples. Stephan Schmidheiny had been sentenced to 3 and a half years for manslaughter, found guilty of a death by mesothelioma. The statute of limitations had instead been triggered for six cases, and he had been acquitted for one. On Wednesday 19th February, the Court of Cassation quashed the verdict and ordered a referral to the Court of Appeal on the same issue of the causal link.

Written by longtime  Casale resident and journalist Silvana Mossano, translated by Vicky Franzinetti

https://www.silmos.it/eternit-bis-la-delicata-questione-del-nodo-causale-gli-scienziati-tornano-in-aula/

P.S.: Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) has documented that in India, Eternit was originally known as Asbestos Cement Ltd. when it was founded in 1934 in Maharashtra. In 1983, the company changed its name to Everest Building Product Ltd. and went public on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

The order dated December 23, 1994 by K. Sankararaman, Member, Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal-Delhi recorded that "the name of the appellant company has been changed from M/s. Everest Building Products Ltd. to M/s. Eternit Everest Limited. The fresh certificate of incorporation consequent on change of name issued by the Addl. Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra, Bombay confirming the change of name of Everest Building Products Ltd. to Eternit Everest Limited was submitted along with the application. We accordingly allow the application. The cause title of the appeal should accordingly be changed to read M/s. Eternit Everest Limited instead of Everest Building Products Ltd.. The company registered and incorporated in India and engaged in the manufacture and sale of asbestos cement products." Madras High Court's order dated 25 June 25, 1996 by Justice D. Raju has recorded that Eternit Everest Ltd is "in the business of manufacture and sale of asbestos cement products for the last more than 50 years and carrying on their manufacturing activities at four factories situated at Kymore in Madhya Pradesh, Mulund in Bombay, Podanur in Tamil Nadu and Calcutta in West Bengal." 

Notably, Indian government lowered import duties for asbestos by 68% during 1995-2000, giving asbestos imports a decided advantage over polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers, whose duties are at about the levels that asbestos was in 1995. This was one reason because of which attempts by (Belgium’s) Etex affiliate Eternit Everest to replace asbestos in corrugated roofing with PVA failed in 2001. 

ETEX sold its subsidiary to an Indian company in 2001, shortly before asbestos production was completely banned in Belgium. 

Significantly, the company had converted a plant in Maharashtra and announced plans to do likewise with 3 other plants, making PVA-cement roofing and flat cement sheets using coir fiber. But in recent months, Etex’s 52% share in Eternit Everest was bought out by ACC, a large cement firm that had previously owned a 26% share. The Maharashtra plant was reconverted to use asbestos.

In 2003, the company took its current name, Everest Industries Limited. The subsidiaries of the former British company Turner and Newall PLC and the Belgium company ETEX (Eternit) dumped asbestos waste on 600,000 square metres of land on or near which more than 3000 people currently live in Kymore, Madhya Pradesh. The Kymore based factory  is currently owned by Everest Industries Limited.  It is situated in Vijayraghavgarh tehsil in Katni district in central Madhya Pradesh, Kymore has population of around 20,000 people. An environmental report by a Canadian company, ECOH found that there was one million tonnes of asbestos-contaminated surface soil in two different sites around the factory; at some places there was 70% asbestos concentration in the soil. Its estimate suggested that it is likely to cost at least $52 million to remediate the site.

At present, Everest Industries Limited has 5 manufacturing units at Kymore (Madhya Pradesh), Kolkata (West Bengal), Podanur (Tamil Nadu), Lakhmapur (Maharashtra) & Bhagawanpur (Uttarakhand). The unit at Podanur (Near Coimbatore) which is popularly known as Podanur works was established in the year 1953. Podanur works is roughly 10 km Coimbatore Coimbatore Town and it is in-between the road connecting Coimbatore and Pollachi. The site is located in the eastern direction of this road. The nearest railway station is Podanur. It's manufacturing process of fibre cement product is based on classical wet Hatschek process where in the Chrysotile Asbestos Fibre, Pulp is mixed with Portland Cement and Fly Ash in aqueous condition. The raw materials that are used in the manufacture of asbestos cement products are Chrysotile Asbestos Fibre, Ordinary Portland Cement, Fly ash, Pulp & Hard Ground Waste of broken and solid wastes. The entire Chrysotile Asbestos Fibre requirement is imported and received in ships at Cochin Port. 

‫‬‬‬‬

Epidemiologist Dr Dario Mirabelli, former head of Piedmont’s Mesothelioma Register is no more

Statement from Silvana Mossano

Dr Dario Mirabelli, epidemiologist and former coordinator (head) of Piedmont’s Mesothelioma Register (Renan), died in Turin, Italy on February 9, 2025. He was 71 years old.

He was an expert witness in many trials and his testimony focused on asbestos and the onset of mesothelioma. In particular, the Turin Prosecution relied on his expertise both in the Eternit Uno maxi-trial and in the Eternit Bis trial, the appeal of the Court of Assizes being currently underway.

A serious illness led to his death extremely quickly, in a matter of just a few weeks. In mid-January he suffered the first symptoms, was diagnosed, and his condition quickly got worse.

The news of his death, which circulated on Sunday afternoon, was made public on February 10, 2025 in Turin’s courtroom 6 where one of the hearings of the Eternit Bis trial was taking place, now in its final stages before the Court of Assizes of Appeal.

The Court decided to interrupt the hearings because, it felt it necessary to further investigate medical-scientific aspects before reaching a verdict. Professor Corrado Magnani was summoned for this purpose, and Dr Dario Mirabelli had not died, he too would have returned to the trial on Monday 17 February, 2025 alongside his colleague. Together they had worked and presented the results of their studies in the first trial and before the Court of Assizes of Novara, in November 2021.

Dr Mirabelli and Prof Magnani were born in the same year –1953- had studied together at university and had become epidemiologists carrying out studies under the guidance of their ’ teacher and master’, Prof Benedetto Terracini, at the time director of what was then called the Servizio di Epidemiologia dei Tumori Convenzionato (Service of Cancer Epidemiology for the Health service) of the University of Turin and San Giovanni Battista Hospital, now CPO (Centre for Epidemiology and Oncological Prevention in Piedmont), which Prof. Terracini directed until his retirement in 1999.

Dr Mirabelli arrived at the CPO at the beginning of the 2000s, after a long period of experience at Spresal in Settimo Torinese.

He participated and carried out many scientific studies: the list of his papers is very long, many together with Professors Terracini, Magnani and other internationally recognised scientists in the field.

During his professional experience at the CPO, he was in charge of the Regional Operations Centre (COR) for Piedmont of the National Register of Mesotheliomas, which he followed meticulously, aware of how much the carefully gathered data, can contribute to scientific research aimed at finding a cure for malignant cancer caused by asbestos.

What can we say about Dr Dario Mirabelli the scientist? A well-prepared, curious, scrupulous researcher with the sort of self-effacement that makes the most authentic men of science aware of how small they are faced with the major issues. It was this intelligent and rigorous modesty that guided him in his constant activity of analysing in depth and comparing, with serious intellectual honesty and authoritative objectivity.

What can we say about Dr Dario Mirabelli as a person? The scientist, the countless studies, the valued consultations, the several scientific reports at conferences or in courtrooms give the measure of his professional skills, but as a man all we can say is that it has been a privilege to have known him.

He made himself understood with simple words, even when he had to explain difficult concepts. When challenged by his opponents, he reacted with the calm strength, courtesy and respect, with which he ended up determining the tone of the dialogue to his interlocutor.

Respectful of the thoughts and lives of others, deeply generous, a tireless worker who never jostled for limelight, Dario Mirabelli guarded his own feelings with modesty,  expressed with a kind smile, without complaining about a fate that had been cruel to him and his wife Claudia when, just over ten years ago, they lost their only son, Luca, to a very rare disease when he was very young.

Having retired a few years ago, Dr Mirabelli had never stopped studying and researching. This absence will be felt.

He loved the people of Casale Monferrato and shared their human suffering. For the people of Casale, it is a sad moment: they knew how much they had received from him and had great affection for him.

The funeral will take place on Wednesday 12th February at 10.30am at the city cemetery in Turin, at 135 Corso Novara.

Prof. Benedetto Terracini remembers Dr. Dario Mirabelli (Source:CPO website)

Dario Mirabelli passed away on Sunday 9th February, at the age of 71. He had retired a few years ago, but was very much present in the daily life of the CPO - Reference Centre for Epidemiology and Oncological Prevention in Piedmont.

Dario had approached cancer epidemiology as a student in the 1970s. From the Ipca tragedy in Ciriè he had perceived the role of the working environment on health. After graduating, he worked for over a decade as manager of SPreSAL (the Workplace Prevention and Safety Service) of the Local Health Authority of Settimo Torinese, maintaining excellent relations with the Department of Cancer Epidemiology and participating in several research projects, one of which measured the risk of work-related lung cancer in the Turin outskirts.

In 2000, he moved to the Piedmont CPO (Cancer Prevention Organisation), where he was in charge of the mesothelioma register. For the twenty years that followed, Dario and Corrado Magnani the responsibility of studying the effects of asbestos in Piedmont, both as scientific contributions and as expert witnesses in court, right up to the trial at the Court of Novara in 2021-2023 for the 392 deaths from mesothelioma in Casale Monferrato (the appeal trial is underway in Turin).

Under the headings ‘Mirabelli’ and ‘Asbestos’, Medline has 109 citations of publications with Dario as author. First and foremost, his work confirmed the notion that carcinogenesis - including that caused by asbestos – as a multistage process. A fair number of citations are letters to magazines, commenting on and criticising other people's publications, sponsored by industry, intended to pass off questionable scientific concepts, which could be used in court to exonerate those responsible for the exposures.

In Casale Monferrato, Dario played a key role in four different population case-control studies on mesotheliomas, which contributed to fine tuning the definition of the dose-response relationship between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma risk. For these studies, his ability to create a relationship of mutual sympathy and trust with the population of Casale was important, also in obtaining the cases and (above all) controls to be interviewed.

Furthermore, in the Balangero studies, Dario confirmed that chrysotile (white asbestos) can cause mesothelioma, disproving a concept favoured by producers (and often reported in magazines financed by them).

Some of Dario's literature reviews are a ‘must’ to understand the tortuous mechanisms of production of ‘fake scientific news’ which - unfortunately - can no longer be ignored by those who do research in epidemiology and public health.

Dario was also an important international researcher with numerous connections to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, where he contributed to important projects and consortia. On a national level, he made a significant contribution to the development of the Mesothelioma Registry and the Nasosinusal Tumour Registry.

I had the privilege of working with Dario for over 40 years. We shared a model of scientific rigour and moral standards. Over time, our original teacher (me)/student (him) relationship was reversed: he taught me many things in recent years.

Dario (together with his wife Claudia) has faced painful experiences with courage and generosity. An example for all of us.

Statement from AFEVA (Association of Asbestos Victims and their Families) (Casale Monferrato)

‘To the family of our dear Dario, our deepest condolences and sympathy, from all the asbestos victims, the unions and all the active citizens of communities of Casale Monferrato and surroundings. Dr Dario Mirabelli has left us far too soon. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for his great and very valuable work in carrying out the most important epidemiological investigations into deaths caused by asbestos and other causes, including those in Casale, with the first ones in 1985-87 led by Prof. B. Terracini.

Great gratitude also certainly for the work he carried out together with a group of equally talented colleagues, for the Prosecutors in the Trials for the enormous massacres, such as for Eternit and others. A wonderful example of the choice of rigorous consistency in the work aimed at researching the causes and dimensions of workplace and environmental disasters, with the consequent scientific results. All this, always with a sensitive and friendly approach to human relationships and feelings. The way he was, as a scientist and as a man, gives us relief and hope in the face of the suffering and injustices that we often encounter in life.

Goodbye Dario, and thank you. 

Dr. Barry Castleman's Statement

Dario Mirabelli, one of the leading scientists documenting and analyzing mesothelioma deaths in Italy, has died. Dr. Mirabelli contributed a great deal to the criminal prosecutions of asbestos billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, as an expert witness.  His studies of deaths at the mine in Balangero documented the potential of chrysotile asbestos to cause mesothelioma. I always enjoyed seeing Dario, he was so knowledgeable, kind, and modest.  He will be missed greatly, by many of us.

-- 

 

India continues to import more of toxic white chrysotile mineral, despite banning its mining, lessons from excesses and malpractices of National Emergency forgotten

Nikkei Asia has published an investigative report entitled "India's appetite for asbestos undaunted by global bans:Expert says 'commercial interests' drive the trade of deadly fibers in South Asian nation". India's insatiable appetite for asbestos has been undaunted by a global push to ban the deadly fiber and warnings from experts over the health risks to millions in the world's top consumer. It states: "Though India banned asbestos mining in 1993 by ceasing to issue new licenses, it continues to import more of the toxic mineral than any other country. In 2023, the country accounted for 56.7% of the world's asbestos imports, with Brazil and Russia as its primary suppliers, according to World Bank trade data." 

Nikkei Asia story is linked to what Navin Chawla, said as the Secretary, Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs in 2004, when he was asked about his failure to ban asbestos laden consumer products. He said,"if his ministry had the power to ban asbestos ridden products, he would have banned it. Ministries of commerce, chemicals and health can ban it." Chawla passed away on February 1, 2025. 

Notably, the Superintendent of Tihar Jail had deposed before the Justice J. C. Shah Judicial Inquiry Commission stating that Chawla had asked him to throw political prisoners in asbestos cells and “bake” them. He wanted him to construct asbestos roof tops in some cells, so that hardcore political leaders could be kept there during the hot summer. 

The Shah Commission of Inquiry, led by retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Shah, was convened by the union government on May 28, 1977, under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to inquire into the transgressions, violations, and violence committed during the national emergency. The commission submitted its evaluative findings on the grave conditions during the emergency in three parts in August 1978. The Commission held 100 sittings in open session. It submitted two interim reports.

Photo:Shah Commission of Inquiry, Interim Report I, March 11, 1978, Chapter 1, "Ministry of Home Affairs Notification” (1978, Page 1) 

At page no. 246 of the Commission's report, it is recorded:"Though Shri Navin Chawla had no position in the jail. hierarchy, he was exercising extra statutory control in jail matters and sending instructions on all matters including the treatment of particular detenus. Shri Chawla had suggested the construction of some Cells with asbestos roofs to 'bake' certain persons. (Para 11.47).

In the third part of its report, it observed: "The Commission has viewed with concern the evidence relating to the enormous power that was wielded by the lower functionaries like Shri R. K. Dhawan, Shri R. C. Mehtani, Shri Navin Chawla and some others; It is necessary for the Government to appreciate the need for defining the various functions and powers of the several lower functionaries who are in close proximity to the seats of power. The Commission views the developments in this regard with great concern, for power came to be exercised by some of these lower functionaries without the requisite authority and the accountability that goes with it. Power and responsibility must generally go together. During the emergency, the political component of Government in quite a few important cases came to be divorced from the channel of communication. The result was that powers came to be wielded by the Special Assistants or the Private Secretaries in the name of and on behalf of the Ministers, and the people at the receiving end of, the orders were left with no option but to carry out their orders without even having any facility or the desire to verify the authenticity and the authority of the orders emanating from the lower functionaries attached to the Ministers. This. style of functioning at higher level of the Administration has indeed taken a toll of the liberty and careers of countless people. The Government should define as precisely as it is possible, the circumstances under which the personal staff including Special Assistants and the Private Secretaries attached to the Ministers could convey orders. The Government should also provide checks and safeguards to ensure that in the event of doubt or difference of Opinion the levels receiving the orders from the Ministers are in a position to check back and satisfy themselves that the orders in, fact had emanated from the source in whose name the orders were issued. Unless every level of the Government starting with the political component and going down the line is animated by one and the only desire to function within a democratic set up with the ultimate aim and object being only to be able to look after the interest of the common man, there is no hope that we in this country will be able to graduate ourselves from mere words, to the real core of democracy". (p.230-231)  

The Shah Commission Report was presented to Parliament on August 3, 1978. It suggested a periodic review of all laws by the legislatures to ensure that the powers conferred on public servants are not abused or misused as had happened during the dark days of the emergency. In its final report presented to Parliament it has observed that unless public servants work for and establish a reputation of "political neutrality", the citizens will have no confidence in the impartiality and fairness of the services. 

 

 

 

Complaint filed in National Human Rights Commission for complete stoppage of ongoing exposure of Indians to carcinogenic asbestos fibers

A complaint was filed on January 27, 2025 in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for prevention of continuous exposure to carcinogenic asbestos fibers from abandoned asbestos mines. The complaint is addressed to Justice V. Ramasubramanian, the new chairperson, NHRC drawing on Commission’s order dated May 6, 2024, and its mandate to save environment and health. 

The complainant drew the attention of the NHRC towards a paper entitled "Understanding exposure risk using soil testing and GIS around an abandoned asbestos mine" published in Annals of Global Health, a journal by Ubiquity Press Ltd, London on January 22, 2025. The paper has been authored by Abhijeet V. Jadhav, Nilesh Gawde, Ramesh Veerapan, Yeyong Choi and Arthur L. Frank. The paper has found that out of 16 soil samples from residential areas, 12 residential areas around the abandoned asbestos mines are a potential source of environmental contamination and exposure for nearby residents at Birsingh Hatu, Roro, Singijari and Tilaisud villages of West Singhbhum district, Roro Hills, Jharkhand. The asbestos exposure risk persists even after the cessation of mining activity. The paper is available at https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/4624/files/67909e12a0727.pdf 

The study showed the presence of white chrysotile asbestos. The asbestos-containing areas had enlarged by around 20% over the years. It has concluded that "The evidence indicated the presence of asbestos in the soil of nearby residential areas around the mine, and this contamination has spread over the years. Similar studies at other mine locations are needed, and timely interventions are warranted to protect nearby residents." There was an asbestos mine that was operational from 1963 to 1983. The total population of these four villages was 2454 according to the 2011 census. The paper implies that the entire population of these four villages are exposed to asbestos in the soil. It has been established that contaminated soil is exposing people while doing routine activities.  

In the light of the findings of the paper, the National Mineral Policy, 2019 and the ‘Final Mine Closure Plan’ manual, 2022, there is an urgent need to ensure scientific and environmentally sound closure of the asbestos mine and disposal of hazardous asbestos waste (dust and fibres) to safeguard the life and health of villagers living in the vicinity of an old abandoned asbestos mine from exposure to carcinogenic fibres of asbestos.

It has been estimated that one person dies from mesothelioma for every 170 tons of asbestos consumed. WHO estimates we have 107,000 deaths worldwide per year from occupational exposure to asbestos. If non occupational exposure is added it reaches a figure of about 120,000deaths. Average world consumption/year 30-60 years ago was -- looks like 3/2 of what it is now (2 million metric tons/year). Give India its share of that based on its share of global consumption. At 300,000 tons in 2013, that's about 18,000 deaths (15% of 120,000). Asbestos diseases have a very long incubation period. So if you are exposed today to asbestos fibre, you are likely to get the disease in the next 10-35 years. Asbestos is like a time bomb to the lungs and Indians will suffer the most. If it is banned today that does not mean people will not suffer. Because of past usage people will continue to suffer from these diseases.

In this backdrop, the following documents are quite relevant:

1. Calcutta High Court’s verdict dated July 21, 2017 in Writ Petition (Civil). No. 14729 (W) of 2016, by the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty in Ashis Mitra vs. The State of West Bengal and Others drawing on Supreme Court's verdict of January 27, 1995 in Consumer Education and Research Center and Others Vs. Union of India & Others by the Bench of Justice K. Ramaswamy, Chief Justice A. M. Ahmadi and Justice M.M. Punchhi; 

2.  World Health Organisation (WHO)'s publication dated September 27, 2024 refers to the World Health Assembly Resolution 58.22 on cancer prevention urges Member States to pay special attention to cancers for which avoidable exposure is a factor, including exposure to chemicals at the workplace and in the environment. Eliminating asbestos-related diseases is particularly targeted at countries still using chrysotile asbestos, in addition to assistance in relation to exposures arising from historical use of all forms of asbestos. WHO, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and other intergovernmental organizations and civil society, works with countries towards elimination of asbestos-related diseases by: recognizing that the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos; providing information about solutions for replacing asbestos with safer substitutes and developing economic and technological mechanisms to stimulate its replacement;taking measures to prevent exposure to asbestos in place and during asbestos removal (abatement);improving early diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services for asbestos-related diseases; establishing registries of people with past and/or current exposures to asbestos and organizing medical surveillance of exposed workers; and providing information on the hazards associated with asbestos-containing materials and products, and by raising awareness that waste containing asbestos should be treated as hazardous waste;

3. World Bank's Asbestos Good Practice Guidelines-These Guidelines, as well as its earlier Environmental, Health & Safety General Guidelines, require that the use of asbestos must be avoided in new construction in projects funded by the World Bank around the world. The Guidelines also provide information on available safer alternatives to asbestos;

4. Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Good Practice Guidance for the Management and Control of Asbestos: Protecting Workplaces and Communities from Asbestos Exposure Risks, March 2022

5. Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects (2005), Barry I. Castleman, Stephen L. Berger,  Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands

The complaint pointed out that human biology is the same everywhere if asbestos is deemed hazardous in the developed countries; it must be deemed so in India as well.  There is an abundance of incontrovertible adverse health effects asbestos based plants and products which create a compelling logic for the phase out of all kinds of asbestos including white chrysotile to protect the lives of present and future generations.

Given the fact that there were 30 functional asbestos mines in India till 2001 and several asbestos mines were operational till 2014 in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, the complainant has asked the Commission to recommend study of the presence of asbestos, its spread, and exposure in nearby communities around such abandoned mines by the authors of the paper and Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects, and to recommend measures to protect citizens who are exposed to carcinogenic fibres.

It has sought Commission's urgent intervention to recommend complete stoppage of ongoing exposure of Indians to carcinogenic asbestos fibers.