3 Japanese Found Guilty over PFAS Pollution in Italy

   Paris, June 26 (Jiji Press)--An Italian court on Thursday found three Japanese nationals, including a former executive of a former subsidiary of Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., guilty over polluting water in the northern Italian region of Veneto with PFAS, which are potentially carcinogenic chemicals.
   The three were among 11 defendants sentenced to prison terms of between two years and eight months and 17 years and six months over their roles in the PFAS contamination.
   According to media reports, two of the Japanese nationals were each sentenced to 16 years in prison, while the remaining national was given 11 years behind bars.
   A total of 15 people were indicted in the case. Four were found not guilty.
   The former Mitsubishi Corp. unit Miteni, which went bankrupt in 2018, produced PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at its plant in the province of Vicenza in Veneto from the 1960s. Leaks of waste from the plant are believed to have led to widespread water and soil pollution.

(2025/06/27-18:08)