Asbestos Crime and Punishment in Italy 2025
People continue to die from asbestos-related cancers and diseases more than thirty years after asbestos was banned in Italy. The incidence of mesothelioma, the signature cancer associated with asbestos exposure, is rising in regional hotspots such as Alessandria Province, home to Italy’s most notorious asbestos-cement factory.1 Production ceased at the Eternit plant in Casale Monferrato in 1986 but former workers and local people are still paying a deadly price for hazardous exposures.
 Stylized image of the Casale Monferrato Eternit asbestos plant in the 1920s. AFeVA archive, page 31. |
More mesothelioma cases were diagnosed in Alessandria Hospital in 2024 than in 2023. Pointing out that the peak incidence of mesothelioma which was predicted for 2020 never materialized, oncologist Federica Grosso, head of the Mesothelioma and Rare Tumours Unit at the University Hospital of Alessandria, suggested that a more likely date would be between 2025 and 2050. Even then, she said:
“I don't expect the curve to drop immediately after that… because new exposures, previously unknown, are always emerging. Unfortunately, mesothelioma will not disappear, asbestos is everywhere, not only in Casale, and there will be epidemics elsewhere, especially in developing countries.”2
To whom do the injured and bereaved look for justice? For decades, victims’ associations, trade unions, community groups and public prosecutors in Italy have sought to hold negligent parties to account for the damage done. One defendant who has been indicted and convicted in multiple jurisdictions is Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, former owner and a director of the Swiss Eternit company and the main shareholder of the now defunct cement production company Eternit Italia.3 None of the legal proceedings against him were straightforward, with twists and turns at every stage. Behind closed doors, offers were made; some were accepted, others were not.
 The English translation of the caption of the images above is Mr. Stephan Schmidheiny you belong in jail. |
During decades of litigation, a few defendants – including the Belgian asbestos entrepreneur Baron de Cartier de Marchienne – died; sadly, many more of the injured lost their battles against mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung and other cancers.
The latest chapter in the Italian asbestos saga was the long and complex trial of Schmidheiny in the Turin Court of Appeal. The defendant was charged with aggravated manslaughter over the asbestos deaths of hundreds of people from Casale Monferrato. The ruling handed down at 4:48 p.m. on April 17 reduced the 2023 penalty imposed by the Novara Court of Assizes of 12 years in prison for 392 asbestos deaths to 9 years and six months for 147 deaths. Citing the statute of limitations, the Turin Court acquitted the defendant of charges over 199 deaths; there were a further 46 acquittals due to the “absence of a causal link between the deaths and asbestos exposures.”4
While the conviction was generally welcomed by campaigners, the mixed verdict must have been a disappointment. Commenting on the ruling Bruno Pesce, co-founder of the Association of Relatives of Asbestos Victims (AFeVa) – many of whose members were amongst Schmidheiny’s victims – said:
“The confirmation of the sentence is the most relevant fact; 9 or 12 years, little changes. Justice has taken a step forward. We are waiting for the reasons for the sentence to understand the exclusions, but now we hope that the sentence will also hold up in the Supreme Court.”5
Within hours of the verdict being announced, Schmidheiny’s defence team confirmed that it would be appealed to the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court).6
April 25, 2025
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1 Di Leo, G. Mesotelioma, è record di nuovi casi all’ospedale di Alessandria: “Finora nel 2024 sono 66” [Mesothelioma, record number of new cases at Alessandria hospital: ‘So far in 2024, there have been 66’]. November 14, 2024.
https://www.lastampa.it/alessandria/2024/11/14/news/mesotelioma_record_diagnosi_66_nuovi_casi-14804039/
2 Ibid.
3 Editors: Allen, D. & Kazan-Allen, L. Eternit and the Great Asbestos Trial. 2012.
http://ibasecretariat.org/eternit-great-asbestos-trial-toc.htm
Kazan-Allen, L. Landmark Jail Sentence for Swiss Asbestos Magnate. June 15, 2023.
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka-landmark-jail-sentence-for-swiss-asbestos-magnate.php
4 Eternit trial bis, reduced sentence for tycoon Stephan Schmidheiny. April 17, 2025.
https://www.notizie.it/en/Eternit-trial-bis-reduced-sentence-for-magnate-Stephan-Schmidheiny/
5 The full content of the decision will be released 90 days after the promulgation of the Turin Court of Appeal’s ruling.
Eternit bis, condanna confermata: Schmidheiny a 9 anni e 6 mesi per le vittime dell’amianto [Eternit bis, sentence confirmed: Schmidheiny to 9 years and 6 months for asbestos victims]. April 17, 2025.
https://www.lanotteonline.it/2025/04/17/eternit-bis-condanna-confermata-schmidheiny-a-9-anni-e-6-mesi-per-le-vittime-dellamianto/
6 Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths. April 18, 2025.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/life-aging/swiss-businessman-gets-prison-term-for-asbestos-deaths/89183101
