Environmental protection law approved

(ANSA) - Rome, May 19 - The Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a significant environmental protection law that creates new crimes regarding environmental pollution and disasters.
    "After years of waiting and delays the draft bill...is finally law," said Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso in a post on his Twitter feed. The bill was passed by a vote of 107 yeas to 20 nays and 21 abstentions and establishes culpable felonies against the environment, trafficking and abandoning radioactive material, and the crime of impeding environmental controls.
    Several high-profile environmental scandals have made headlines in Italy in recent years, including problems linked to the so-called 'ecomafia', responsible for the illegal burial and burning of toxic waste in the so-called Land of Fire's area of Campania around Caserta.
    The new legislation "responds to the great need for justice and environmental protection from all over our country," Grasso, a former anti-mafia magistrate, said recently.
    He added the measures should help to ease "the pain" of many Italians particularly those connected to the Land of Fire.
    Other cases have related to polluting industries and companies blamed for creating toxic conditions that have contributed to the deaths of workers.
    The number of environmental problems created by industry in Italy has threatened to mar the country's international stature and reputation as a beautiful destination for visitors from around the world.
    The Eternit case involving hundreds of workers' deaths by asbestos poisoning was cited by politicians as giving extra impetus to the new measures.
    Another high-profile case of environmental damage involves Europe's largest steel plant, ILVA, located in the southern port city of Taranto where it has employed some 20,000 people and been blamed for decades of health and environmental degradation.