Italian study shows massive sea pollution

Coast Italy Italian Sea Mediterranean Amalfi
Coast Italy Italian Sea Mediterranean Amalfi

The dire state of the Mediterranean due to pollution has been highlighted by a recent study by the Italian environmental organisation Legambiente. Its research ship, Goletta Verde (Green Boat) has reported that 40 percent of coastal seawater samples it tested from the 7,412-kilometre length of Italy’s coastline contained pollutants above legal limits.

The 40 percent of samples contained bacterial charges above legal limits, according to the Legambiente report.

The regions of Lazio, Campania, Calabria and Sicily were the worst effected, with Campania and Sicily accounting for 30 percent of the total of all tests.

Legambiente has said that waste at sea is a planetary emergency.

The report adds that the number of prosecutions against individuals for acts of pollution against the sea halved in 2017 when compared with 2016, but overall there has been a slight dip since 1999 in the number of cases of pollution reported off Italy’s coast.


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