The Seveso Disaster - 1976

2 July 2026

13 mins 25 secs

Season 1

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the seveso directive sodium trichlorophenate ethylene glycol sodium hydroxide chemical plant plant pharmaceuticals cosmetics chemical reactor chemicals toxic dioxin hazardous industries environment environmental pollution pollutant industrial safety toxic cloud 5-trichlorophenol 4 2 seveso the seveso disaster italy meda icmesa

About this Episode

In this episode we journey back to 10th July 1976, when a chemical reactor explosion at the ICMESA plant in Meda, Italy, tore through the community and beyond. The plant, producing 2,4,5-trichlorophenol for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, experienced a catastrophic chain reaction that unleashed a cloud of toxin dioxin over an 18-km2 area.
Residents exposed to the toxic cloud suffered from nausea, headaches, and skin lesions, with 19 children requiring hospitalisation. The aftermath included alarming rates of animal and plant casualties, along with nearly 200 cases of chloracne among residents.
Join us as we uncover the devastating impact the Seveso Disaster had on the environment and its inhabitants, and the legacy it left in creating a safer environment for hazardous industries and their surrounding populations.