The Author reports some information regarding three recent accidents in Italy: the sinking of a freighter transporting lead tetraethyl and tetramethyl, an explosion in a tower of a chemical plant which resulted in a considerable outflow of arsenic dioxide, and the Seveso explosion with the consequent contamination by highly poisonous Dioxin of a large inhabited area adjacent to the factory.

Difficulties due to lack of knowledge, conflicting opinions, and contradictory ‘remedies’, are reported and discussed. It is concluded that the local populace and authorities should be informed of the nature of cargoes that are being carried across sea basins or through smaller channels, of the types of wastes that are eliminated regularly into the air or water by a factory, and what a factory is producing during its various working processes that could cause risks to employees or others around—also, what possible measures could remove or alleviate these risks.