One of the largest asbestos class action trials in history is currently ongoing in Europe. In the Court of Justice at Turin, Italy, 2052 victims who worked or lived near Eternit’s factories between 1952 to 2008 are suing for compensation.

Eternit is blamed for releasing airborne asbestos into communities near its locations. Exposure to airborne asbestos has been repeatedly and conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma has no known cure. The disease typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, and the majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.

The public prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello says that Eternit caused a “permanent, intentional environmental disaster”. Earlier this month, Nicola Pondrano, the first witness called by the public prosecutor, spoke out against the unhealthy working conditions in Eternit factories.

"The dust was everywhere, that was the first impact you had of the plant but nothing hinted the risk of getting sick of cancer…It was shocking to see all the obituaries on the notice board in the plant," stated Nicola. "From 1979 to 1986 we denounced more than 600 cases of professional diseases. In 1976 we organized the first strikes. Dust was the main problem in this plant. I’ve got a cough and I can’t breathe.”

The public prosecutor hopes that this trial will expose how the entire chain of command at Eternit was complicit in the asbestos problem. He argues that all of the upper management at Eternit should be held responsible for the thousands of people who have died over the years after being exposed to asbestos that originated at Eternit.

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