700,000 people were affected by illegal discharge of polluted groundwater by Italian laboratories.

　　The court in teramo, located in central Italy, recently announced that after investigation, it was confirmed that 10 senior executives of the National Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Gransaso, Italy, were suspected of illegally storing and handling dangerous goods, and their dereliction of duty caused the groundwater in teramo to face irreversible serious pollution risks.

　　In August 2016, Gransasso Laboratory discharged 50 liters of toxic chemical solvent dichloromethane into groundwater, which caused groundwater pollution in 32 cities in Telamo province and affected the water safety of 700,000 people. After the incident, the Italian government invested 80 million euros to improve the polluted water resources.

　　Gran Sasso National Laboratory is located in the deep mountain 120km away from Rome, the capital of Italy, and it is one of the four national laboratories under the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics. This laboratory is one of the most important physical research centers in Italy and the world.

　　Italy prohibits the storage of dangerous substances within 200 meters from groundwater and drinking water sources, but the laboratory bluntly said that its research is not within the scope of the law. At present, the Italian government has ordered the laboratory to carefully review its research activities and norms to reduce the risk of water pollution.

　　Groundwater pollution has always been a big problem for the Italian government. In the report on the collection and analysis of geological water samples recently released by the European Union Environment Agency, the groundwater source pollution in Italy is serious, and the excellent groundwater source is only 58%, far below the average level of 74% in the EU member States.

　　Italian media pointed out that the water pollution incident and its investigation process exposed some structural problems in this field in Italy, such as lax management and lack of emergency plans. While promoting the smooth development of scientific research, it is an important task to fulfill public responsibilities such as ensuring people’s health and social security.

　　The continuous fermentation of groundwater pollution has caused Italian people to question and worry about the existence of greater security risks in this laboratory; Environmentalists complained bitterly about the pollution incident and worried that it would have a greater impact on the environment in the future. "It’s not that we don’t support scientific research, but we can’t sacrifice people’s health, and relevant institutions must be responsible for all research activities."

　　The investigation and trial surrounding the pollution incident put Gran Sasso National Laboratory in a dilemma. At present, 1100 scientists from 29 countries are engaged in major scientific research and experimental activities such as nuclear physics and particle physics in this laboratory. After the incident, in addition to the challenge of reputation and trust, a large number of scientific research in the laboratory was forced to be interrupted or even suspended, and the investment in scientific research funds will be blocked. According to the latest article in Science magazine, this lawsuit may affect the future research work of the laboratory and have a negative impact on research in related fields.

　　Italy’s Ansa commented that the accident should not evolve in the extreme direction of "anti-science", but the national scientific research institutions, environmental protection departments and judicial institutions should shoulder the responsibility together and make promises and guarantees to the people.

　　(Rome, October 15 th, our reporter in Italy, Han Shuo)