30 maggio 2006 - Pietro Orsatti
Di seguito alcuni brani degli atti ufficiali della Commissione Bicamerale d'inchiesta sulle Ecomafie. Si parla di traffici internazionali di rifiuti illeciti, di tringolazioni con il traffico illegali di armi, di intrecci fra affari (e a volte politica) e criminalità organizzata.
Extracts from the Inquest into the Ecomafia. International traffic in toxic and radioactive waste, illegal arms, finance, politics and organised crime.
"La Commissione monocamerale d'inchiesta sul ciclo dei rifiuti istituita nella precedente legislatura si era occupata del fenomeno dei traffici internazionali di rifiuti pericolosi, anche radioattivi.
"The last inquest into the cycle of waste discovered an international traffic in toxic and radioactive waste.
Evidenti segnali di allarme si coglievano in alcune vicende giudiziarie, da cui peraltro era emersa una chiara sovrapposizione tra queste attività illegali ed il traffico di armi.
And what was even more alarming was the connection between this toxic and radioactive waste traffic and illegal arms traffic.
In particolare, l'inchiesta condotta dalla procura di Lecce aveva individuato il cosiddetto "progetto Urano", finalizzato all'illecito smaltimento in alcune aree del Sahara di rifiuti industriali tossico-nocivi e radioattivi provenienti da Paesi europei.
During the inquest the "Urano Project" came to light. This was concerned with the illegal dumping of toxic and radioactive waste from various European countries in the Sahara.
Numerosi elementi indicavano il coinvolgimento nel suddetto traffico di soggetti istituzionali di governi europei ed extraeuropei,
It soon became clear that Institutions and governments from Europe and beyond were involved in this illegal traffic.
nonché « di esponenti della criminalità organizzata e di personaggi spregiudicati,
as well as members of organised crime
tra cui il noto Giorgio Comerio, faccendiere italiano al centro di una serie di vicende legate alla Somalia
including the infamous Giorgio Comerio, Italian businessman who was involved in various business deals in Somalia
ed all'illecita gestione degli aiuti del Fai (oggi direzione generale per la cooperazione e lo sviluppo).
as well as being involved in the illegal management of aid to FAI (cooperation and development organisation)
Il progetto (già citato dalla precedente Commissione dinchiesta) prevedeva il lancio dalle navi di penetratori (cilindri metallici a forma di siluro), caricati con scorie radioattive vetrificate o cementate e racchiuse in contenitori di acciaio inossidabile che si depositavano sino a 50-80 metri al di sotto del fondale marino;
Giorgio Comerio was involved in a project to dispose of radioactive waste. The waste was to be mixed with cement or vitrified, then enclosed in steel containers, then sunk 50-80 metres deep on the sea bed.
in alternativa, si affondava la nave con l'intero carico pericoloso, simulando un affondamento accidentale e lucrando,
But instead of this entire ships were sunk "accidentally", a much cheaper way of disposing of the radioactive waste.
così, anche il premio assicurativo, il che è stato confermato dalle indagini aventi ad oggetto alcuni naufragi assai sospetti di navi assicurate dalla Lloyds di Londra,
So that he was able to claim the insurance on the ships, the inquest discovered, since they were able to trace various suspicious looking shipwrecks logged by Lloyds of London.
verificatisi nel Tirreno e nello Ionio, di cui diremo oltre.
These ships were sunk in the Tirreno and Ionian sea and beyond.
Il progetto contemplava anche la vendita di alcuni ordigni bellici (le telemine) ai Paesi del Medio oriente,
Giorgio Comerio also sold arms to various Middle East countries
da nascondere in profondita` marine mediante navi Ro-Ro - le stesse navi utilizzate per affondare le scorie radioattive - e col sistema appena descritto"(Relazione finale XIII legislatura).
These arms were hidden in the ships that he used to transport the radioactive waste, which went first to the middle east to offload the arms, then back to the coast of Italy to be sunk.
Questo tipo di traffici è stato per decenni strettamente connesso all'area ligure,
For decades this kind of arms and radioactive waste traffic was connected with the Ligurian coastline.
come riportano gli atti di una delle missioni conoscitive della commissione alla fine degli anni '90.
An inquest held towards the end of the 90s reported details of this.
Un caso emblematico il caso della discarica di Pitelli a La Spezia.
An emblematic case occurred at the Pitelli dump at La Spezia.
"L'attività illecita consisteva nella sistematica falsificazione di documenti di accompagnamento (tesi a consentire l'ingresso in discarica di materiali non autorizzati)
"the case involved the systematic falsification of documents (the documents that permit vehicles to bring non-authorised materials into the dump.)
e nella falsificazione di dichiarazioni di avvenuto smaltimento di rifiuti;
Documents declaring that toxic waste had been correctly disposed of were also falsified.
nella commissione di truffe a danno di enti pubblici e privati, ai quali venivano fatturati costi di smalti mento non affrontati;
Both public and private organisations ended up having to pay for the disposal of toxic and radioactive waste that had not been correctly disposed of.
infine, nel sistematico illecito smaltimento di rifiuti tossico-nocivi provenienti dal territorio nazionale e dall'estero.
Toxic and radioactive waste from Italy and abroad had been systematically dumped completely illegally.
Tali condotte illecite, cominciate nel 1975 (quando cioè nasce la discarica), erano agevolate dalla notevole capacità penetrativa dei soggetti coinvolti, tra cui il Duvia, negli enti pubblici di varia natura
This illegal dumping, which began in 1975 (when the dump was opened) was facilitated by various people in public administrative positions, including the Duvia.
preposti al controllo e proseguivano anche durante il periodo in cui la discarica di Pitelli era sottoposta a sequestro giudiziario. (...)
Even when there was a legal charge on the Pitelli dump, illegal dumping of toxic materials continued.
A prescindere da ogni valutazione sui profili squisitamente penali, sono innegabili alla luce dei numerosi elementi acquisiti dalla Commissione (...) le illegalità commesse dai vari organi amministrativi competenti al controllo (...)".
Clearly the admistration responsible for control of these toxic materials was corrupt.
Ma per la Liguria non si parla solo del caso Pitelli,
In Liguria people are not just talking about the Pitelli case.
anzi: "le indagini che coinvolgono la città di La Spezia, in merito ai casi delle cosiddette "navi a perdere" e delle "navi dei veleni",
The inquest was also concerned with the toxic shipwrecks.
che proprio in quel porto sarebbero state caricate di rifiuti prima di essere le une affondate deliberatamente nel Mediterraneo
Many of the ships that ended up as shipwrecks in the Mediterranean set out from the Ligurian port of La Spezia
e le altre inviate nei Paesi in via di sviluppo per smaltimenti illeciti di rifiuti pericolosi.
Ships from La Spezia also took their toxic and radioactive waste to the third world.
Per quanto riguarda tali gravi fatti, anzi, si deve registrare il nuovo allarme che l'autorità giudiziaria ha ritenuto di esplicitare nel corso del recente convegno sul "Ciclo dei rifiuti in Italia" (...) a proposito della ripresa delle spedizioni di carichi illeciti verso l'Africa e l'America latina.
The inquest registered alarm when they discovered that some of this toxic and radioactive waste had gone to Africa and Latin America.
Si tratta di denunce di particolare gravità, sulle quali questa Commissione vigilerà con la massima attenzione".
The inquest declared that it would be watching the situation like a hawk.
Le segnalazioni di nuove spedizioni illecite di cui parlava la Commissione di Inchiesta, però, non avvenivano più da Spezia ma soprattutto da Genova
Now the inquest has discovered that new illegal traffic has been setting out from Genova, rather than La Spezia.
dopo che un noto armatore aveva trasferito il suo terminal dalla prima alla seconda città, armatore già conosciuto e coinvolto con sue navi direttamente nel caso delle navi dei veleni alla fine degli anni '80.
The inquest traced an arms dealer, known to them for his traffic in toxic waste, who transferred his activities from La Spezia to Genova
I traffici internazionali, sia di rifiuti che di armi o di triangolazioni fra scorie e forniture militari come ormai è dimostrato sia avvenuto a metà degli anni '90 in particolare in Somalia, sono proseguiti e proseguono tuttora,
International traffic in toxic and radioactive waste and illegal arms have continued ever since they were discovered in Somalia, and continue today.
garantiti anche da norme internazionali assolutamente incredibili come ad esempio quelle del "doppio registro", in cui scafo e contenuto possono battere due bandiere diverse a seconda delle convenienze degli armatori in relazione a sicurezza e carico.
This illicit traffic is facilitated by incredible international laws. For example a ship can sail under two different flags. The captain of the ship can choose which flag to fly according to which one matches the cargo he is carrying.
E allo stesso tempo le autorità marittime di controllo hanno sempre meno possibilità di incidere realmente nel fermare i traffici illegali,
Maritime authorities have less and less opportunities to stop this illegal traffic
sia per mancanza di personale che per direttive politiche.
They lack personnel and they lack political backing.
Ad esempio le Capitanerie di porto sono molto più impegnate a reprimere il fenomeno dell'immigrazione clandestina che quello dei traffici illeciti di scorie industriali.
The port authorities have to use a large proportion of their resources to stop illegal immigrants. So they do not have enough left to stop this illegal traffic in arms and toxic and radioactive waste.
Un esempio per tutti, la vicenda del mercantile albanese Korabi a metà degli anni '90. La nave parte da Spalato con un carico di materiali (rottami) ferrosi. Nello Ionio la Capitaneria di Reggio Calabria effettua un'ispezione.
The Albanian ship Korabi in the middle of the 90s set out from Spalata with a cargo of scrap iron. In the Ionian sea the port authorities of Reggio Calabria decided to carry out an inspection.
Non si sa per quale ragione gli ispettori utilizzano anche un contatore geiger – probabilmente grazie a qualche "soffiata" – e riscontrano radioattività nel carico.
Then, maybe because someone tipped them off, they decided to use a geiger counter. They discovered that the cargo was radioactive.
Non succede nulla, perché non si capisce, e la nave viene lasciata proseguire per Palermo dove è diretta.
Nothing was done to stop the boat, which continued on its journey to Palermo.
L'unica iniziativa dell'autorità calabrese è quella di informare dell'anomalia la Capitaneria siciliana che, dopo aver effettuato anche lei un'ispezione con tanto di contatore geiger, non autorizza la nave ad entrare in porto.
The Calabrian port authority informed the Sicilian port authority who went out with a geiger counter to inspect the ship. They too found that the cargo was radioactive, so they stopped the ship from entering the port.
Tre giorni dopo, al largo delle coste calabresi, la nave viene ispezionata dalla Capitaneria di Reggio e, sorpresa, non c'è più traccia di radioattività a bordo.
Three days later, off the coast of Calabria, the Reggio port authority inspected the ship again. This time, amazingly, they did not find any trace of radioactivity.
Quindi, o nelle due precedenti ispezioni le autorità italiane si sono sbagliate oppure il carico fra Palermo alla Calabria (e la nave ricordo avrebbe impiegato tre giorni per fare un tragitto di poche ore) è finito tranquillamente in mare.
Three days had passed between the ship setting out from Palermo and it reaching Reggio. This was a journey that should have taken a few hours. What had happened to the cargo during those three days?
Quello della Korabi non è un caso isolato.
And this is not an isolated case.
Si ipotizza (sempre la commissione bicamerale) che davanti a Capo Spartivento (la zona presenta una fossa marina fra le più profonde del Mediterraneo) fra gli anni '80 e '90 sarebbero state affondate almeno 40 navi cariche di scorie.
The inquest thinks that off the coast of Capo Spartivento (where there is a deep marine ditch) between the 80s and the 90s at least 40 ships full of toxic and radioactive waste were sunk.
Più che nave carrette, contenitori di scorie per lo smaltimento illecito. Una di queste, la Rigel, è stata anche individuata grazie a un'indagine promossa dalla stessa Commissione e dalla magistratura competente. La ricerca è stata possibile grazie alle coordinate esatte (riportate accanto alla dicitura "la nave è affondata") ritrovate in un'agenda del capitano di un'altra nave naufragata e arenata sempre coste calabre: la Rosso, già Jolly Rosso appartenente all'armatore Fratelli Messina è molto conosciuta negli anni '80 come una delle "navi dei veleni" insieme alla Zanoobia e alla Karin-B implicate in un traffico internazionali di rifiuti fra Africa, Libano e Genova.
Si è parlato per almeno due decenni del triangolo Genova, La Spezia e Livorno per il traffico illecito di scorie e armi. Con infiltrazioni della mafia – ricordo che secondo la stessa magistratura uno dei settori di maggior guadagno del latitante Provenzano fossero i rifiuti e il loro smaltimento illecito -, implicazioni a tutti i livelli di istituzioni e imprese. Ricordo ad esempio che a Spezia si è arrivati al coinvolgimento addirittura di alti ufficiali della Marina Militare (un ammiraglio) che a quanto pare avrebbe dato in uso come area di stoccaggio provvisorio dei rifiuti in transito strutture dell'Arsenale spezzino.
Da questo quadro non stupisce la definizione fatta alla fine degli anni '90 dai comitati locali e dalle associazioni ambientaliste (Wwf e Legambiente in prima fila) della Liguria come piattaforma di interscambio per i traffici illeciti internazionali.
E oggi? La situazione, anche se sempre meno adeguatamente monitorata, prosegue a destare preoccupazione. Come preoccupa l'opposizione inusuale da parte di alcuni settori militari al dragaggio del canale d'ingresso al porto di La Spezia, dragaggio che, sia per le attività commerciale che quelle militari nell'area dell'arsenale viene definito come indispensabile.
And today? The situation is not being properly monitored, but there is serious cause for concern. They have been dragging the canal at the entrance to the port of La Spezia.
Pietro Orsatti
Showing posts with label radioactive shipwrecks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radioactive shipwrecks. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Monday, 28 December 2009
Old blog moved from Celtic Herbs site!
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Mass Protest against radioactive shipwrecks
Il Manifesto 25 October 2009 Tonino Perna.
The Revolt of the population of Calabria http://www.ilmanifesto.it/archivi/commento/anno/2009/mese/10/articolo/1698/
ON SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A MASS PROTEST AT AMANTEA IN CALABRIA, SOUTHERN ITALY, AGAINST THE MAFIA.
Over the last few days the Quotidiano della Calabria has collected more than thirty thousand signatures in protest against the inertia of the government. The protestors want the government to clean up the seabed around Cetraro, Vibo and Capo Bruzzano, where they know that there are shipwrecks with cargoes of toxic and radioactive waste. They are also demanding that proper research be carried out to find the other shipwrecks with toxic and radioactive cargoes in their holds.
Trades Unions from Alto Tirreno, Calabria have gone to Rome to protest. Hundreds of Trades Unionists from all over Calabria will go to Amantea to take part in the mass protest. There has never been such an angry rebellion in Calabria.
Neither the seven hundred people killed by the ‘ndrangheta in 1985 and in 1992, nor the hundreds of kidnappings that have affected many local professionals, nor the tens of scandals that have involved most of the Calabrian politicians have caused such an angry reaction from the people of Calabria. Not even the Fortugno murder, which resulted in the movement of young people “now kill us all”, succeeded in involving all the people of Calabria.
Whoever transported these tens of ships with cargoes of toxic and radioactive waste, has produced an ecological disaster that looks as if the consequences for the food chain could be as bad as Cernobil. ‘Ndrangheta got involved in this and they look really bad now, but they were only the workmen for a vast criminal organisation.
The real people responsible are the multinationals, the managers of nuclear power stations, important people in Government and secret services. The network of people involved goes way beyond what we can imagine.
Powerful people from many countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Russia are involved in this.
Experts such as Umberto Santino and the attorney for the Republic of Italy, Piero Grasso, have been talking about “borghesia mafiosa” rather than mafia, camorra and ‘ndragheta.
This is the first time there has been an conflict with the mafia, who are doing everything they can to cover up, to block the investigation, stop the inquest, prevent any more shipwrecks being found. It is an unequal fight.
But this time, you can be sure that the people of Calabria will not run away and hide in the mountains.
This is not just a local problem. This is a national and international problem that must be resolved because the sea cannot be contained within national borders.
Posted by Angela Paine at 04:23 0 comments Links to this postThe Revolt of the population of Calabria http://www.ilmanifesto.it/archivi/commento/anno/2009/mese/10/articolo/1698/
ON SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A MASS PROTEST AT AMANTEA IN CALABRIA, SOUTHERN ITALY, AGAINST THE MAFIA.
Over the last few days the Quotidiano della Calabria has collected more than thirty thousand signatures in protest against the inertia of the government. The protestors want the government to clean up the seabed around Cetraro, Vibo and Capo Bruzzano, where they know that there are shipwrecks with cargoes of toxic and radioactive waste. They are also demanding that proper research be carried out to find the other shipwrecks with toxic and radioactive cargoes in their holds.
Trades Unions from Alto Tirreno, Calabria have gone to Rome to protest. Hundreds of Trades Unionists from all over Calabria will go to Amantea to take part in the mass protest. There has never been such an angry rebellion in Calabria.
Neither the seven hundred people killed by the ‘ndrangheta in 1985 and in 1992, nor the hundreds of kidnappings that have affected many local professionals, nor the tens of scandals that have involved most of the Calabrian politicians have caused such an angry reaction from the people of Calabria. Not even the Fortugno murder, which resulted in the movement of young people “now kill us all”, succeeded in involving all the people of Calabria.
Whoever transported these tens of ships with cargoes of toxic and radioactive waste, has produced an ecological disaster that looks as if the consequences for the food chain could be as bad as Cernobil. ‘Ndrangheta got involved in this and they look really bad now, but they were only the workmen for a vast criminal organisation.
The real people responsible are the multinationals, the managers of nuclear power stations, important people in Government and secret services. The network of people involved goes way beyond what we can imagine.
Powerful people from many countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Russia are involved in this.
Experts such as Umberto Santino and the attorney for the Republic of Italy, Piero Grasso, have been talking about “borghesia mafiosa” rather than mafia, camorra and ‘ndragheta.
This is the first time there has been an conflict with the mafia, who are doing everything they can to cover up, to block the investigation, stop the inquest, prevent any more shipwrecks being found. It is an unequal fight.
But this time, you can be sure that the people of Calabria will not run away and hide in the mountains.
This is not just a local problem. This is a national and international problem that must be resolved because the sea cannot be contained within national borders.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Map of toxic ships
The Calabria ora daily paper published a map showing thirty odd toxic ships in this italian style bermuda triangle
http://notizie.irgilio.it/cronaca/dove_si_trovano_veleni.html
http://notizie.irgilio.it/cronaca/dove_si_trovano_veleni.html
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Radioactive Shipwrecks
Radioactive Shipwrecks in Italian Waters
By Angela Paine
Nov 14 2009
On 25th October 2009, twenty thousand people marched in Amantea, in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy, in protest against the Calabrian Mafia (’ndragheta), who they say have been deliberately sinking ships carrying toxic and radioactive wastes along their coastline.
During the preceding week, trade union representatives from Alto Tirreno, a Region in north Calabria, petitioned the Rome government to deal with these toxic and radioactive shipwrecks. They met with little success.
The Quotidiano della Calabria newspaper collected more than thirty thousand signatures protesting the government’s inertia. The protestors demanded the government to clean up the seabed around Cetraro, Vibo and Capo Bruzzano, (near Brancaleone) the sites of known shipwrecks with radioactive and toxic cargoes. They also demanded the government search for other shipwrecks with radioactive and toxic cargoes, but the ’ndragheta are understood to be blocking investigations in order to prevent more shipwrecks being found.
The radioactive shipwrecks have unleashed a political storm in Calabria. Fisheries and tourism are the two major industries of Calabria, so the contamination of fish and the reduction of tourism threaten the livelihoods of many in this poor Italian region. Interestingly, the seven hundred people killed by the ’ndragheta between 1985 and 1992, the hundreds of ’ndragheta kidnappings, and the scores of ’ndragheta scandals involving most Calabrian politicians, appear to have caused less anger than the alleged radioactive shipwrecks, as this is the first time Calabrians have raised their voices en masse against ’ndragheta.
It is feared that the sinking of ships has gone on for many years, but the issue came to a head on the 12th October, when a wreck was discovered 14 miles off the coast of Cetraro, near Amantea, Calabria. On October 20, an ’ndragheta boss, Francesco Fonti, confessed in an interview published by L’Espresso magazine that he had sunk the Cunski exactly where the wreck was found and that its cargo was radioactive waste. He told L’Espresso that he took orders from multinational corporations to dispose of radioactive waste sent to him in ships.
The Italian government has been aware of shipwrecks containing deadly cargos around its southern coasts since 1994, when Legambiente, an Italian environmental organisation, started an inquest in Reggio Calabria. According to Lloyd’s Shipping Register, 39 ships were sunk in the Ionian sea between 1979 and 1995. Fonti has stated 30 were sunk by the local ’ndragheta.
The inquest first focussed on the ship, Rigel, which sank on 21 September 1987, 20 miles from Capo Spartivento, in the municipality of Brancaleone, near Reggio Calabria. It was believed that the captain, Giorgio Comerio, a go-between for arms dealers, mine manufacturers, and various ‘ndragheta clans, played a pivotal role in the nuclear waste dumping business. This ship was probably carrying radioactive waste, as raised radioactivity levels were found in the sea near the wreck.
The Marco Polo, which sank in the Straits of Sicily between Calabria and Sicily, was carrying a cargo of containers, some of which were found in 1994 along the coast of Campania, the region to the north of Calabria. Scientists found increased levels of radioactive thorium 234 in environmental samples. Presumably the ship was carrying radioactive waste when it sank. The Koraline sank near Ustica, a small island, 53 kilometres north of Capo Gallo, Sicily. Its containers were highly contaminated with thorium.
After months of investigation, the Legambiente inquest began to realise the extent of the contamination of the south Italian coast. However as the evidence of radioactive waste dumping mounted, the Environment Ministry brought the inquest to an abrupt halt and refused to allow the authorities in Reggio Calabria to investigate the ships sunk near Capo Spartivento.
The inquest at Reggio Calabria found contracts in connection with some of the sunken ships. It appears that some European governments may have sent radioactive waste to ’ndragheta clans through intermediaries. The contracts stated that waste should be inserted into steel tubes, inside steel containers with sonar systems, so that they could be found if necessary in the future. The containers were to be deposited 50-80 metres deep in the sea or buried deep on land. The ’ndragheta clans appeared to have decided to avoid all this work and simply sink the ships in the Mediterranean, with the ship-owners subsequently claiming the insurance.
Fonti told L’Espresso “For years, no-one wanted to listen to what I had to say in court. I always admitted that I was involved in dumping this waste in shipwrecks, both toxic and radioactive. I told them where to find the shipwrecks along the coast of Cetraro, and indeed on 12th September, the Calabria Region government ... found one of the ships, the Cunski, exactly where I told them to look.”
A robot operated mini submarine was sent down to photograph the wreck and its cargo. The video showed the old ship with a hole in its hull, through which several barrels could be seen, one of which was empty.
Francesco Fonti explained to L’Espresso how he sank three ships, including the Cunski in 1992. “I put dynamite inside a big lump of concrete on board the ships with a long fuse, then I blew them up. It was easy." He and members of his ’ndragheta clan also sank the Yvonne A at Maratea in the Gulf of Policastro, and the Voriais Sporadais at Melito Porto Salvo near Reggio di Calabria. All three ships were carrying toxic and radioactive cargoes. Fonti said that ’ndragheta had carried out these sinkings for the arms dealer, Ignazio Messina. He added “I sank 3 ships but I know from ’ndragheta bosses that at least 3 other ships were sunk between Scilla and Caribdes, another one near Tropea and others near Crotone. I can’t remember exactly where they sunk the others.”
Fonti said that he worked for various Italian politicians, including De Stefano, Dc Ciriaco de Mita and Riccardo Misasi. Misasi would tell him whether to dump the waste on land or at sea, and Dc Ciriaco de Mita asked him to dispose of waste for the state. “We could get between 4 and 20 billion lire for dumping a load. The money was deposited in a Swiss Bank in Lugano, or in a bank in Cyprus, Malta, Vaduz or Singapore. We did it all through the banker Valentino Foti.” These politicians deny involvement, but the absences of investigation and media coverage are notable.
Although it is tempting to point a finger at the Mafia, Camorra and ’ndrageta in Italy, these perform just the dirty end of a business that originates in other parts of Italy, Northern Europe and other parts of the world. For example, some of these ships were carrying waste for international arms dealers who were paid for the disposal of radioactive waste and who collected money fraudulently from insurance companies when the ships sank. Fonti named some of the arms dealers, including Saud Omar Mugne from Somalia, but Fonti has not yet revealed the origin of all the waste, perhaps because he does not know. He added that ’ndragheta stopped dumping toxic and radioactive waste off the coast of Italy several years ago and started sending ships to Africa, mainly to the coast of Somalia.
Of course, Fonti may not be a credible witness since he is a member of ’ndragheta, under house arrest for drug trafficking offences. But he is not the only person to indicate a link between the radioactive waste business and illegal arms dealing. The Italian journalist, Ilaria Alpi, discovered a link between toxic waste dumping by the Mafia and arms traffic in Somalia. She was killed in March 1994 in Somalia. Her death certificate has disappeared, but a photocopy was found on the property of the arms dealer Saud Omar Mugne. He is suspected of buying and selling arms between East Europe, Italy and Africa. According to Fonti and Ilaria Alpi, he was also involved in the toxic and radioactive waste disposal business. Several secret service operatives from various countries, who were trying to get to the bottom of this affair, were also killed in mysterious circumstances.
The inquest started by Legambiente in 1994 discovered a web of international financiers from big banks involved in a money-laundering programme called the “Roll Programme.” Fonti also points to the involvement of international financiers in the toxic and radioactive waste disposal business, with its links to the arms trade.
Silvestro Greco, a Calabrian Environment Councillor, who attended an emergency meeting at the Environment Ministry in Rome on 22nd October, said the shipwreck discovery should not just be considered a problem for Calabria. ‘‘There are perhaps another 30 ships still missing that were used to hide toxic, harmful and radioactive waste,’’ he said. ‘‘This pollution is a problem for all areas, not just those along the coast, because illegal trafficking in waste knows no international boundaries’’. He pointed out that ‘‘the entire Mediterranean, from the Adriatic Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and from the Straits of Sicily to the Aegean Sea’’ was damaged by the sinking of toxic waste ships. ‘‘Cleaning and removing the load will be particularly complex in terms of financing, given that a vast area is involved,’’ Greco added. ‘‘In our opinion, the European Union should get involved, as well as the Italian government”.
Mario Pirillo, a Calabrian Member of the European Parliament, together with seven other MEPs, filed an official request with the European Commission on Tuesday asking for its assistance. The request pointed out that Italian investigators believed the Cunski was sunk by an international criminal network involved in Europe-wide illegal waste disposal. It is important to recall that Italy only ever had one small nuclear power station. So though some of the radioactive waste in these shipwrecks may have originated in Italy, most almost certainly did not.
Then suddenly, on the 29th Oct, the environment minister, Stefania Prestagiacomo, held a press conference in Rome to announce that the shipwreck found at Cetraro was not a ship carrying a cargo of radioactive waste. It was the Catania, a passenger ship, which sank in 1917. The attorney Grasso then announced that the inquest into the Cetraro shipwreck was closed.
This, however, was not the end of the story. L’Espresso, once again, delving into the matter, interviewed Pippo Arena, the pilot of the remotely operated vehicle. He said that when he inspected the shipwreck near Cetraro in September, he saw two hulls and they were full of barrels. “Full of what I don’t know, but full” he said. This is in sharp contrast with the results of the other inspection, carried out from the ship, Mare Oceano, also off the coast of Cetraro. The shipwreck Catania that they found here had empty hulls. The two videos showed shipwrecks of different sizes, and the coordinates of the first shipwreck and those of the Catania demonstrated that they were about three and a half miles from each other. It was beginning to look as if there were more than one wreck off the coast of Cetraro.
This was born out by evidence recently leaked from the unpublished minutes of a meeting in the Italian parliament on 24th January 2006, to discuss the iniquitous waste recycling business. It emerged from this document that there were three shipwrecks off the coast of Cetraro, not one. None of the measurements of the three ships corresponds to the measurements of the Catania, the wreck found by the Mare Oceano. At the time, the MP Franco Greco told the commission that the fishermen of the area had found some barrels in the sea. So many questions have been raised that the WWF has entered the fray:
“There are inconsistencies between the declarations of the Environment Minister and the Region of Calabria and the report of the pilot of the ROV, who said that the two hulls of the boat during the first inspection were full whereas the Dda of Catanzaro talked about one ship with one empty hull,” a WWF spokesperson said.
So the WWF, which on the 2nd of November already officially requested a public comparison of the two inspections, repeated their request to Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo and the head of the national antimafia organisation Piero Grasso. They asked to be allowed to choose experts to compare the two videos made by the ROV. They also want the coordinates to be taken into consideration, and the technical details of the ships that were found. The Environment Minister responded by putting the two videos on the website “for complete information, transparency and so that the public can make comparisons.”
Clearly the mystery surrounding the toxic and radioactive shipwrecks off the coast of Calabria remains. The Italian Government, despite continued calls from the Green Party and many other MPs to get to the bottom of it, appear to be dragging their feet. But since there are clear indications that the waste business is international, Italy should not be left to deal with this problem on her own. The European Union should be involved, both to provide funding and expertise.
(URLs as of 11 Nov 2009)
http://unoenessuno.blogspot.com/2009/10/blu-notte-navi-perdere.html
This blog talks about the book The Lost Ships. Police detective Commander Natale de Grazia died suddenly while investigating shipwrecks carrying nuclear and toxic waste. There is a picture of the red ship, Jolly Rosso, that landed on the beach. It had a cargo of nuclear waste, which was spirited away. The ship was broken up and taken away in lorries. No one knows where the nuclear waste went, but a quarry near the beach is now radioactive.
http://current.com/items/90187321_le-navi-dei-veleni.htm
This discusses 30 ships that disappeared. Some were found and observed to have increased levels radioactivity near them, but there is no political will to remove their cargoes.
2009/10/20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfvu_r0FPQ0&feature=related
A spokesperson for the Italian environmental organisation, Legambiente, talks about the international traffic in nuclear and toxic waste. Many countries pay to get rid of their waste, which ends up being dumped by ’ndrangheta (the southern Italian equivalent of the Mafia)
2009/10/20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT90O1D7p5s&feature=related
This shows an interview with the former ’ndrangheta boss, Francesco Fonti, who confessed that he blew up three old ships carrying toxic and radioactive wastes, off the coast of Italy. He told the authorities exactly where to find them, and they found one, where he said. It had a cargo of radioactive waste. The Government sent down a mini submarine to take photos of it but don’t want to do anything about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSJHjMkx8I
This shows local fishermen protesting about the damage to their livelihoods. They ask how can we live when the fish are radioactive and tourists will not want to come to our beaches again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhtBxlGHYo&feature=related
This shows the people in charge of the inquest, and the two journalists who were beginning to uncover the link beween the illegal sale of arms and radioactive and toxic waste dumping in Somalia before they were murdered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj3lbBjz1BM&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ks8HRRJ5s&feature=related
These show the shipwreck found fourteen miles off the coast of Calabria, five hundred metres deep. There are holes in the side of the ship and you can see some of the barrels of radioactive cargo, one of which is empty. Calabria Region hasn’t got the money or the expertise to do anything about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwQztx0OVL8&NR=1&feature=fvwp
video-footage of a shipwreck 12 miles from Molfetta with a highly toxic cargo.
http://www.ilmanifesto.it/archivi/commento/anno/2009/mese/10/articolo/1698/
www.ANSA.it The main Italian press agency
http://www.regione.basilicata.it/osservatorioambiente/default.cfm?dir=45&doc=161&fuseaction=doc
Public enquiry on waste recycling for the Basilicata Region
http://www.camera.it/_dati/leg14/lavori/stenografici/sed491/aurg01.htm
Parliamentary Request by the foreign minister, the environment minister and the justice minister for an enquiry into the international network of toxic and radioactive waste traffic
http://www.parlamento.it/parlam/bicam/rifiuti/Sedute/02.htm
Public enquiry into the illegal disposal of toxic and radioactive waste.
Riccardo Bocca; "Naufragio radioattivo" (Radioactive Shipwreck); L’Espresso, 9 September 2004, page.34 onwards
Riccardo Bocca; Indagini Radioattive - colloquio con Paolo Russo (Radioactive Enquiry – interview with Paolo Russo); L’Espresso, 16 September 2004, page.76 onwards
Riccardo Bocca; Nella memoria si è aperta una falla - colloquio con Gianfranco Messina (There seems to be a crevasse opening up in the collective memory – interview with Gianfranco Messina.) L’Espresso, 23 September 2004, pag.76 onwards
http://notizie.virgilio.it/notizie/cronaca/2009/11_novembre/06/nave%20veleni%20%20min%20%20ambiente%20%20su%20sito%20visionabili%20filmati%20%20%20%20%20-2-,21515162.html
Toxic ships. The pilot of the robot operated submarine raises doubts about the second film. So the environment minister puts both films on the website.
http://www.radio.rai.it/GRR/view.cfm?Q_PROG_ID=421&Tematica=1&V_IDNOTIZIA=54884
Navi al veleno, buone nuove a Cetraro (Poison Ships, good news at Cetraro) by Paolo Poggio ROMA 29/10/09 - 20:13
http://magazine.quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com/ecquo/ecquo/2009/11/02/navi-dei-veleni-wwf-incongruenze-nei-punti-nave/
WWF asks for a new enquiry
By Angela Paine
Nov 14 2009
On 25th October 2009, twenty thousand people marched in Amantea, in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy, in protest against the Calabrian Mafia (’ndragheta), who they say have been deliberately sinking ships carrying toxic and radioactive wastes along their coastline.
During the preceding week, trade union representatives from Alto Tirreno, a Region in north Calabria, petitioned the Rome government to deal with these toxic and radioactive shipwrecks. They met with little success.
The Quotidiano della Calabria newspaper collected more than thirty thousand signatures protesting the government’s inertia. The protestors demanded the government to clean up the seabed around Cetraro, Vibo and Capo Bruzzano, (near Brancaleone) the sites of known shipwrecks with radioactive and toxic cargoes. They also demanded the government search for other shipwrecks with radioactive and toxic cargoes, but the ’ndragheta are understood to be blocking investigations in order to prevent more shipwrecks being found.
The radioactive shipwrecks have unleashed a political storm in Calabria. Fisheries and tourism are the two major industries of Calabria, so the contamination of fish and the reduction of tourism threaten the livelihoods of many in this poor Italian region. Interestingly, the seven hundred people killed by the ’ndragheta between 1985 and 1992, the hundreds of ’ndragheta kidnappings, and the scores of ’ndragheta scandals involving most Calabrian politicians, appear to have caused less anger than the alleged radioactive shipwrecks, as this is the first time Calabrians have raised their voices en masse against ’ndragheta.
It is feared that the sinking of ships has gone on for many years, but the issue came to a head on the 12th October, when a wreck was discovered 14 miles off the coast of Cetraro, near Amantea, Calabria. On October 20, an ’ndragheta boss, Francesco Fonti, confessed in an interview published by L’Espresso magazine that he had sunk the Cunski exactly where the wreck was found and that its cargo was radioactive waste. He told L’Espresso that he took orders from multinational corporations to dispose of radioactive waste sent to him in ships.
The Italian government has been aware of shipwrecks containing deadly cargos around its southern coasts since 1994, when Legambiente, an Italian environmental organisation, started an inquest in Reggio Calabria. According to Lloyd’s Shipping Register, 39 ships were sunk in the Ionian sea between 1979 and 1995. Fonti has stated 30 were sunk by the local ’ndragheta.
The inquest first focussed on the ship, Rigel, which sank on 21 September 1987, 20 miles from Capo Spartivento, in the municipality of Brancaleone, near Reggio Calabria. It was believed that the captain, Giorgio Comerio, a go-between for arms dealers, mine manufacturers, and various ‘ndragheta clans, played a pivotal role in the nuclear waste dumping business. This ship was probably carrying radioactive waste, as raised radioactivity levels were found in the sea near the wreck.
The Marco Polo, which sank in the Straits of Sicily between Calabria and Sicily, was carrying a cargo of containers, some of which were found in 1994 along the coast of Campania, the region to the north of Calabria. Scientists found increased levels of radioactive thorium 234 in environmental samples. Presumably the ship was carrying radioactive waste when it sank. The Koraline sank near Ustica, a small island, 53 kilometres north of Capo Gallo, Sicily. Its containers were highly contaminated with thorium.
After months of investigation, the Legambiente inquest began to realise the extent of the contamination of the south Italian coast. However as the evidence of radioactive waste dumping mounted, the Environment Ministry brought the inquest to an abrupt halt and refused to allow the authorities in Reggio Calabria to investigate the ships sunk near Capo Spartivento.
The inquest at Reggio Calabria found contracts in connection with some of the sunken ships. It appears that some European governments may have sent radioactive waste to ’ndragheta clans through intermediaries. The contracts stated that waste should be inserted into steel tubes, inside steel containers with sonar systems, so that they could be found if necessary in the future. The containers were to be deposited 50-80 metres deep in the sea or buried deep on land. The ’ndragheta clans appeared to have decided to avoid all this work and simply sink the ships in the Mediterranean, with the ship-owners subsequently claiming the insurance.
Fonti told L’Espresso “For years, no-one wanted to listen to what I had to say in court. I always admitted that I was involved in dumping this waste in shipwrecks, both toxic and radioactive. I told them where to find the shipwrecks along the coast of Cetraro, and indeed on 12th September, the Calabria Region government ... found one of the ships, the Cunski, exactly where I told them to look.”
A robot operated mini submarine was sent down to photograph the wreck and its cargo. The video showed the old ship with a hole in its hull, through which several barrels could be seen, one of which was empty.
Francesco Fonti explained to L’Espresso how he sank three ships, including the Cunski in 1992. “I put dynamite inside a big lump of concrete on board the ships with a long fuse, then I blew them up. It was easy." He and members of his ’ndragheta clan also sank the Yvonne A at Maratea in the Gulf of Policastro, and the Voriais Sporadais at Melito Porto Salvo near Reggio di Calabria. All three ships were carrying toxic and radioactive cargoes. Fonti said that ’ndragheta had carried out these sinkings for the arms dealer, Ignazio Messina. He added “I sank 3 ships but I know from ’ndragheta bosses that at least 3 other ships were sunk between Scilla and Caribdes, another one near Tropea and others near Crotone. I can’t remember exactly where they sunk the others.”
Fonti said that he worked for various Italian politicians, including De Stefano, Dc Ciriaco de Mita and Riccardo Misasi. Misasi would tell him whether to dump the waste on land or at sea, and Dc Ciriaco de Mita asked him to dispose of waste for the state. “We could get between 4 and 20 billion lire for dumping a load. The money was deposited in a Swiss Bank in Lugano, or in a bank in Cyprus, Malta, Vaduz or Singapore. We did it all through the banker Valentino Foti.” These politicians deny involvement, but the absences of investigation and media coverage are notable.
Although it is tempting to point a finger at the Mafia, Camorra and ’ndrageta in Italy, these perform just the dirty end of a business that originates in other parts of Italy, Northern Europe and other parts of the world. For example, some of these ships were carrying waste for international arms dealers who were paid for the disposal of radioactive waste and who collected money fraudulently from insurance companies when the ships sank. Fonti named some of the arms dealers, including Saud Omar Mugne from Somalia, but Fonti has not yet revealed the origin of all the waste, perhaps because he does not know. He added that ’ndragheta stopped dumping toxic and radioactive waste off the coast of Italy several years ago and started sending ships to Africa, mainly to the coast of Somalia.
Of course, Fonti may not be a credible witness since he is a member of ’ndragheta, under house arrest for drug trafficking offences. But he is not the only person to indicate a link between the radioactive waste business and illegal arms dealing. The Italian journalist, Ilaria Alpi, discovered a link between toxic waste dumping by the Mafia and arms traffic in Somalia. She was killed in March 1994 in Somalia. Her death certificate has disappeared, but a photocopy was found on the property of the arms dealer Saud Omar Mugne. He is suspected of buying and selling arms between East Europe, Italy and Africa. According to Fonti and Ilaria Alpi, he was also involved in the toxic and radioactive waste disposal business. Several secret service operatives from various countries, who were trying to get to the bottom of this affair, were also killed in mysterious circumstances.
The inquest started by Legambiente in 1994 discovered a web of international financiers from big banks involved in a money-laundering programme called the “Roll Programme.” Fonti also points to the involvement of international financiers in the toxic and radioactive waste disposal business, with its links to the arms trade.
Silvestro Greco, a Calabrian Environment Councillor, who attended an emergency meeting at the Environment Ministry in Rome on 22nd October, said the shipwreck discovery should not just be considered a problem for Calabria. ‘‘There are perhaps another 30 ships still missing that were used to hide toxic, harmful and radioactive waste,’’ he said. ‘‘This pollution is a problem for all areas, not just those along the coast, because illegal trafficking in waste knows no international boundaries’’. He pointed out that ‘‘the entire Mediterranean, from the Adriatic Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and from the Straits of Sicily to the Aegean Sea’’ was damaged by the sinking of toxic waste ships. ‘‘Cleaning and removing the load will be particularly complex in terms of financing, given that a vast area is involved,’’ Greco added. ‘‘In our opinion, the European Union should get involved, as well as the Italian government”.
Mario Pirillo, a Calabrian Member of the European Parliament, together with seven other MEPs, filed an official request with the European Commission on Tuesday asking for its assistance. The request pointed out that Italian investigators believed the Cunski was sunk by an international criminal network involved in Europe-wide illegal waste disposal. It is important to recall that Italy only ever had one small nuclear power station. So though some of the radioactive waste in these shipwrecks may have originated in Italy, most almost certainly did not.
Then suddenly, on the 29th Oct, the environment minister, Stefania Prestagiacomo, held a press conference in Rome to announce that the shipwreck found at Cetraro was not a ship carrying a cargo of radioactive waste. It was the Catania, a passenger ship, which sank in 1917. The attorney Grasso then announced that the inquest into the Cetraro shipwreck was closed.
This, however, was not the end of the story. L’Espresso, once again, delving into the matter, interviewed Pippo Arena, the pilot of the remotely operated vehicle. He said that when he inspected the shipwreck near Cetraro in September, he saw two hulls and they were full of barrels. “Full of what I don’t know, but full” he said. This is in sharp contrast with the results of the other inspection, carried out from the ship, Mare Oceano, also off the coast of Cetraro. The shipwreck Catania that they found here had empty hulls. The two videos showed shipwrecks of different sizes, and the coordinates of the first shipwreck and those of the Catania demonstrated that they were about three and a half miles from each other. It was beginning to look as if there were more than one wreck off the coast of Cetraro.
This was born out by evidence recently leaked from the unpublished minutes of a meeting in the Italian parliament on 24th January 2006, to discuss the iniquitous waste recycling business. It emerged from this document that there were three shipwrecks off the coast of Cetraro, not one. None of the measurements of the three ships corresponds to the measurements of the Catania, the wreck found by the Mare Oceano. At the time, the MP Franco Greco told the commission that the fishermen of the area had found some barrels in the sea. So many questions have been raised that the WWF has entered the fray:
“There are inconsistencies between the declarations of the Environment Minister and the Region of Calabria and the report of the pilot of the ROV, who said that the two hulls of the boat during the first inspection were full whereas the Dda of Catanzaro talked about one ship with one empty hull,” a WWF spokesperson said.
So the WWF, which on the 2nd of November already officially requested a public comparison of the two inspections, repeated their request to Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo and the head of the national antimafia organisation Piero Grasso. They asked to be allowed to choose experts to compare the two videos made by the ROV. They also want the coordinates to be taken into consideration, and the technical details of the ships that were found. The Environment Minister responded by putting the two videos on the website “for complete information, transparency and so that the public can make comparisons.”
Clearly the mystery surrounding the toxic and radioactive shipwrecks off the coast of Calabria remains. The Italian Government, despite continued calls from the Green Party and many other MPs to get to the bottom of it, appear to be dragging their feet. But since there are clear indications that the waste business is international, Italy should not be left to deal with this problem on her own. The European Union should be involved, both to provide funding and expertise.
(URLs as of 11 Nov 2009)
http://unoenessuno.blogspot.com/2009/10/blu-notte-navi-perdere.html
This blog talks about the book The Lost Ships. Police detective Commander Natale de Grazia died suddenly while investigating shipwrecks carrying nuclear and toxic waste. There is a picture of the red ship, Jolly Rosso, that landed on the beach. It had a cargo of nuclear waste, which was spirited away. The ship was broken up and taken away in lorries. No one knows where the nuclear waste went, but a quarry near the beach is now radioactive.
http://current.com/items/90187321_le-navi-dei-veleni.htm
This discusses 30 ships that disappeared. Some were found and observed to have increased levels radioactivity near them, but there is no political will to remove their cargoes.
2009/10/20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfvu_r0FPQ0&feature=related
A spokesperson for the Italian environmental organisation, Legambiente, talks about the international traffic in nuclear and toxic waste. Many countries pay to get rid of their waste, which ends up being dumped by ’ndrangheta (the southern Italian equivalent of the Mafia)
2009/10/20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT90O1D7p5s&feature=related
This shows an interview with the former ’ndrangheta boss, Francesco Fonti, who confessed that he blew up three old ships carrying toxic and radioactive wastes, off the coast of Italy. He told the authorities exactly where to find them, and they found one, where he said. It had a cargo of radioactive waste. The Government sent down a mini submarine to take photos of it but don’t want to do anything about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSJHjMkx8I
This shows local fishermen protesting about the damage to their livelihoods. They ask how can we live when the fish are radioactive and tourists will not want to come to our beaches again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhtBxlGHYo&feature=related
This shows the people in charge of the inquest, and the two journalists who were beginning to uncover the link beween the illegal sale of arms and radioactive and toxic waste dumping in Somalia before they were murdered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj3lbBjz1BM&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ks8HRRJ5s&feature=related
These show the shipwreck found fourteen miles off the coast of Calabria, five hundred metres deep. There are holes in the side of the ship and you can see some of the barrels of radioactive cargo, one of which is empty. Calabria Region hasn’t got the money or the expertise to do anything about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwQztx0OVL8&NR=1&feature=fvwp
video-footage of a shipwreck 12 miles from Molfetta with a highly toxic cargo.
http://www.ilmanifesto.it/archivi/commento/anno/2009/mese/10/articolo/1698/
www.ANSA.it The main Italian press agency
http://www.regione.basilicata.it/osservatorioambiente/default.cfm?dir=45&doc=161&fuseaction=doc
Public enquiry on waste recycling for the Basilicata Region
http://www.camera.it/_dati/leg14/lavori/stenografici/sed491/aurg01.htm
Parliamentary Request by the foreign minister, the environment minister and the justice minister for an enquiry into the international network of toxic and radioactive waste traffic
http://www.parlamento.it/parlam/bicam/rifiuti/Sedute/02.htm
Public enquiry into the illegal disposal of toxic and radioactive waste.
Riccardo Bocca; "Naufragio radioattivo" (Radioactive Shipwreck); L’Espresso, 9 September 2004, page.34 onwards
Riccardo Bocca; Indagini Radioattive - colloquio con Paolo Russo (Radioactive Enquiry – interview with Paolo Russo); L’Espresso, 16 September 2004, page.76 onwards
Riccardo Bocca; Nella memoria si è aperta una falla - colloquio con Gianfranco Messina (There seems to be a crevasse opening up in the collective memory – interview with Gianfranco Messina.) L’Espresso, 23 September 2004, pag.76 onwards
http://notizie.virgilio.it/notizie/cronaca/2009/11_novembre/06/nave%20veleni%20%20min%20%20ambiente%20%20su%20sito%20visionabili%20filmati%20%20%20%20%20-2-,21515162.html
Toxic ships. The pilot of the robot operated submarine raises doubts about the second film. So the environment minister puts both films on the website.
http://www.radio.rai.it/GRR/view.cfm?Q_PROG_ID=421&Tematica=1&V_IDNOTIZIA=54884
Navi al veleno, buone nuove a Cetraro (Poison Ships, good news at Cetraro) by Paolo Poggio ROMA 29/10/09 - 20:13
http://magazine.quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com/ecquo/ecquo/2009/11/02/navi-dei-veleni-wwf-incongruenze-nei-punti-nave/
WWF asks for a new enquiry
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