Second hearing of deposition: Bruno Pesce draws the scenario, the worker Buffa colours it. New defence's attempts to block the trial and transfer it

The 9th session of the great Eternit trial hosted today (26/04) the second deposition hearing. But first the defendant's lawyers went back up the issue of the nullification of the charge and the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of Torino (cf. FIELD REPORT day 7#) trying to stop the trail again. The judge firmly reacted, stating that the decision had been already taken and it is unchallengeable. Casalbore also ironically argued: "that's maybe why the criminal trial is based on three stages, if you don't like the decision of the judge of the first degree, you can always count on the judges of the others degrees".

After the cross-examination of the first witness, Nicola Pondrano (his deposition started two weeks ago), it's time to hear the second deposition. When Bruno Pesce entered the crowdy maxi courtroom it's the acme of the quest of justice started more than thirty years ago.

In front of the judge, the lawyers and two hundred Casale's citizenens, Bruno shaped the picture of the sociale tragedy related to the presence of an Eternit plant in Casale Monferrato, his effort as trade unionist (CGIL) to get rid of this production, the engagement in the decontamination and in favour of the victims as leading spirit of the local victim's association. Bruno reminded that Eternit haven't contribute at all to the huge decontamination of the plant and the surrounding territory that taked palce after the banckruptcy in 1986 and ended in 2006 with the demolition of the plant.

Instead of encouraging the knowledge of the asbestos hazard among the workers and increase the safety standards, the Eternit leadership decided to hire in the late 80s a local freelance, the accountant Maria Cristina Bruno, to spy the moves of the victim's association and the union. The freelance, using the excuse of writing articles on the case, used to peep into the different activities, repeatedly asking about their strategy and everything could directly interest Stephan Schmidheiny.

Through her "we're sure", affirmed Sara Panelli (prosecutor with Raffaele Guariniello) "that the Eternit leadership were aware of the situation, considering the many reports filled by the freelance on different aspects". They knew that also the citizens of Casale were dying of mesothelioma (the cancer caused only by the asbestos), a bank employee and a teacher were the first cases that schocked the community and spreaded the dread of getting sick.

The campaign for the minimization of the risk culminated in 1979 when a local executive of Eternit, Emilio Costa, affirmed at the Rothary Club of Casale, during a meeting on asbestos, that the blue asbestos (Crocidolite) isn't carcinogenic. "A real swearword in the church" concluded Bruno Pesce.

The former worker Ezio Buffa, age class 1933, has 75% of asbesostis: he has problem in sleeping and his voice is a whisper. He started at Eternit when he was 19 and resigned in 1978 because of his health problem. When the prosecutor asked him if he did know about the risk of an asbestos exposure, Ezio reacted as if he had been cutted to the quick: "Can you imagine? If I would know the hazard I would go to work to the Eternit? Impossible, I would prefer to work in the country. I've never heard that asbestos provoke mosothelioma, otherwise I would say them a' t' salut>> (bye bye). Nobody ever spoke about the risks for health. It was a taboo, it wasn't permitted to talk about it, everything was clean and nice".

Mr Buffa told about the scrap: they use to throw a slag heap to the nearby river Po. This was normal and happened every time they made a cleaning. Guariniello underlined that the morphological aspect of the river had drastically changed according to the aerial pictures from 1975 to 1986. "We'll show in the next hearing that the gravel bed of the river became a dumping ground of asbestos debris".

On next Monday, May 3th, beside the expert that will talk about the dump in the river, the prosecutor summoned the local institutions representatives (towns and Piedmont region) and a second Eternit worker.

(By Asbestos Victims Families Casale, Asbestos in the dock, 26/04/2010)