The Land of Poisons

For more than two decades, Campania, the southern region of Italy where Naples is located, has witnessed the ongoing practice of illegal dumping of toxic material in rural and inhabited areas. Since the nineties more than 5000 illegal trash sites have been located by environmental activists where hazardous waste have been buried underground or incinerated via the usage of bonfires. The area so-called ‘Land of Poisons’ is emblematic of the struggles of an economy dependent on the illegal production and disposal of waste. In these lands, where high levels of dioxin and toxic micro-dust are released into the atmosphere, environmentalists and doctors are struggling to fight against the increase of cancerous diseases. The urgency of the message about the repercussions from the savage exploitation of the environment, as experienced in the land of poisons, is a strong message that needs to be heard worldwide.