Sailing over another toxic shipwreck

Yet another suspect ship lies at the bottom of the sea off the Calabrian coast, reports Il Manifesto. The Roman daily surmises that it could be the Michigan, one of the freighters loaded with nuclear waste that in the 80's set sail from the port of Carrara and, after being rejected by various foreign ports, mysteriously went down in the Med. Some of the wrecks have already been spotted, but according to former associates of organised crime group the 'Ndrangheta, which had “won” the disposal contracts, dozens of toxic loads could lay hidden on the sea bottom.

Noting his own government’s disinclination to look after this serious health problem - according to La Repubblica the ratio of cancer among youngsters in the area is four times the national average – the Calabrian regional environment counsellor flew to Brussels to meet commissioner Stavros Dimas. Who declared that he had already asked for some enlightenment from Rome, only to be answered with an embarassed silence. In the short term, Dimas will use the next sitting of the European Environment Council to remind the Italian government that Calabrians are not the only ones to be worried about what lurks in the Mediterranean.