Oct 16, 2008
Could the Diabetes Epidemic be Down to Pollution?
10 July 1976, a reactor at a chemical plant near the small town of Seveso in northern Italy exploded, sending a toxic cloud drifting into the summer sky. Around 18 square kilometres of land was contaminated with TCDD, a member of the notorious class of industrial chemicals known as dioxins. The immediate after-effects were relatively mild: 15 children landed in hospital with skin inflammation and around 3300 small animals were killed. Today, however, the accident casts a long shadow over the people of Seveso, who are suffering increased numbers of premature deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease and, perhaps surprisingly, diabetes.