On Tuesday (23/02/2010), an ecological disaster occured in the small town of Villasanta near Milan. A sabotage in what used to be a petrol refinery, led to a leakage of over 1,000 cubic meters of petroleum in the Lambro, a small tributary of the Pô. The toxic waste started streaming down towards the main river in what was going to be one of the major ecological disasters in Italy in the recent years. What is even more shocking is that this was done purposely by someone whose intentions were far from being environmentally-friendly. Strangely, this did not have much media coverage although the impact on the environment has already been evaluated as "dramatic". Below is a little selection of photos describing the scene.
Several tons of petrol escape from the former Lombardi Petroli refinery into the Pô.
Hundreds of wild birds and ducks could be found lying dead on the river banks, covered in petrol.
Despite floating barriers and efforts from the military to stop it, the petrol reached the main river.
Tubes were trying to absorb the petrol.
Armed with pumps and nets, people were trying to remove as much as the oil as possible.
The cleaning efforts will last for 5 days (far less than needed I reckon).
Find the original pictures on the French website
Le Figaro.
