[Greenstones mining is a risk for public health?]

This article refers to the decision 3195/2012 issued by the State Administrative Council which maintains that operating in a greenstone quarry with consequent extraction and grinding of asbestos containing minerals can cause unacceptable risks to the public health. Therefore, the refusal to authorize the emissions into the atmosphere is highly justified, if properly motivated. The judgment states that the emission of the asbestos fibres into the atmosphere should be assessed from the health standpoint, and not just from the environmental one. Moreover, making reference only to the «release index» is not sufficient nor determining. The decision acknowledges the soundness of the criteria used by Local Health Unit of Chiavarese (Liguria, Northen Italy) in evaluating the danger caused to the human health and appreciates the reference made to the EU regulations on precaution and prevention, that state that well-grounded reasons are needed to postulate harmful consequences for the human health and the environment. This implies that the detailed data presented by the Local Health Unit can be considered «well-grounded reasons».