Eternit Asbestos Executives Condemned!

[Laurie Kazan-Allen]

The verdict handed down on February 13, 2012 by the Turin court was a historic indictment of the behaviour of corporate executives who sanctioned the use of dangerous working parties in the pursuit of profit.

Stephan Schmidheiny and Jean-Louis de Cartier de Marchienne were found guilty of crimes which led to the asbestos-related deaths of thousands of Italians.

After waiting for over three decades to see justice done, the verdict – 16 years in jail and penalties amounting to millions of euros  – was warmly received by asbestos victims, grieving relatives and members of the public from Casale Monferrato and other Italian towns poisoned by Eternit operations. Commenting on the day’s events, Public Prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello said that the verdict has given us all “the right to dream that justice can be done and must be done.”

In recognition of Guariniello’s pivotal role in this case, a copy of the new book: Eternit and the Great Asbestos Trial was presented to him on the day of the verdict.

This monograph, produced by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat in collaboration with civil society partners, is the first book to be published in English which documents the epidemic of asbestos deaths caused by Eternit. The eighteen chapters in this text reveal a consistent pattern of behaviour amongst Eternit companies, subsidiaries and holdings which prioritized corporate profits no matter what the cost to workers, family members and communities.

Eternit and the Great Asbestos Trial can be accessed on the IBAS website at: http://ibasecretariat.org/index.htm