Seveso, July 10, 1976. In a few days, the 48th anniversary of the Icmesa disaster in Seveso falls, which caused the release and dispersion into the atmosphere of a cloud of dioxin TCDD, an extremely toxic artificial substance. But in the “perfume factory” (officially it produced flavored products) things could have been even worse. It was lunchtime and Carlo Galante, foreman and supervisor at Icmesa, was at home having lunch. With him was only his youngest son, Maurizio, 15 at the time: Maria Grazia, a hairdresser, was at work, Piergiorgio was doing his military service and Elsa was on her honeymoon. Carlo suddenly heard a whistle coming from the plant. Having left his knife and fork there, he immediately ran to the company, where he grabbed a respirator on the fly, to enter the heart of the plant to activate the cooling water equipment, stopping the combustion, before it degenerated into an explosion and what is remembered as one of the most significant environmental disasters in the country turned into a catastrophe. A timely intervention that only a technician who grew up in the company and who knew every bolt could carry out so, instinctively. The prefect of Monza Patrizia Palmisani recently awarded her daughter Elsa the silver medal for civil valor in memory of her father.
Seveso (Monza and Brianza). 2 July 2024 – «They were the years of fear for health and worries for the future. In that period, after the disasterthere was no time or desire for celebrations or thanks for dad Carlo, the hero of Icmesa passed over in silence”. So Elsa Galante remember the father disappeared twenty years ago: she herself collected the document in the Prefecture in Monza a few days ago silver medal for civil valor to his memory. Father Carlo Galante in fact it is the hero worker who, by entering the “perfume factory” and turning off a tap, managed to prevent the explosion from becoming a firelimiting the already enormous damage caused by dioxin.
She was 25 years old at the time, what do you remember?
“In those days I was on my honeymoon in Veneto. My husband Giuseppe and I both worked at Icmesa, I as an administrative employee and Giuseppe as a forklift driver. We had met at the company. But that July 10th we didn’t listen to the news and news didn’t circulate as quickly on the internet as it does today.”
You’re left without a job…
“When we got home, Mom and Dad gave us the news: “A serious accident has happened at Icmesa, dear guys, we all have to find another job.” In reality, after the company was dismantled and 6 months at home, life started again. It was the 70s, Italy was growing and we immediately found, me in a large company in Milan, Giuseppe in the area.”
His father avoided the worst. Why not claim him?
“Dismay, anger and desperation reigned in the village for all those who had to immediately leave their homes in zone A, the contaminated one, without even taking a change of clothes. And then there were the miscarriages, the skin diseases. Even in zone B, the one not affected, where we live, it was forbidden to consume fruit and vegetables grown locally. In cascade it was a catastrophe for all the small businesses, for fear that the radiation had contaminated all the objects, carpenters and furniture makers saw their orders go up in smoke, as did the upholsterers and sofa manufacturers. Dad never wanted to talk about what had happened: he had a shy character, he had just acted. And then maybe he just wanted to forget. Maybe my children asked him something, but in general the subject was not touched upon at home. Some people asked him, but he diverted the conversation.”
His father knew the company well.
“Dad and his family came from Veneto, they had been in Seveso since 1948. With his high school diploma, he had started working at 16, so in 1976 he had already gained a lot of experience in the chemical sector, going through all the career steps in Icmesa: worker, department head, supervisor. He knew the company in every detail and everyone knew him”.
As a young woman, how did you experience the drama?
“There were no words to express the feelings, it all happened too quickly. In an instant everyone saw their life turned upside down. We just wanted to forget. I remember the health checks that continued for years: blood tests, medical visits, first every month, then every 2-3 and 6 months, for 5 years, recorded in a special health booklet. After 48 years, everything has been forgotten. The children know little, the grandchildren know almost nothing about the Icmesa disaster. They pass distractedly in the Bosco delle querce, between the municipalities of Seveso and Meda, a regional protected area created in the territory most polluted by the toxic cloud”.
Then, after years of silence, your family asked to bring this story out of the shadows. Why?
“In 2016 I started knocking on every door, the Municipality, the Region, the Prefecture, and higher up to the Presidency of the Republic and the Council of Ministers, because it was right that the gesture and the memory of my father should not fall into oblivion. In 2017 I received a call from an official of the Prefecture for the awarding of the honor in memory. Finally”.
