REPORT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

In the first strong legislative response to the dumping crisis in the southern region of Campania, President Giorgio Napolitano signed an emergency law on Thursday to tackle environmental crimes and the damage produced by the illegal dumping or burning of waste. Under the new law, burning garbage without authorization is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. In the vast area north of Naples where the Camorra mafia has buried toxic waste for decades, health and environmental authorities will have to carry out tests on the agricultural fields to measure the toxicity levels in the soil. Parliament allocated about $676 million for the cleanup, and police officers or soldiers will conduct antidumping patrols. The law includes measures to clean up the environmental damage produced by a steel plant in the southern city of Taranto.