Italy beach contamination – We report, You decide

Okay Divers, it has finally come to that point where I feel the need to present both sides of the story in regards to the Naples beach contamination levels.

THE CONTAMINATION SIDE:

Italy’s beaches are mostly vacant after bacteria warnings

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, July 18, 2009

NAPLES, Italy — Summer is in full swing, but the once-popular beaches in southern Italy are jarringly vacant.

That’s because of repeated warnings of higher-than-acceptable bacteria levels that have polluted more than 37 miles of coastline in the Campania region, prompting regional environmental officials to declare the ocean off-limits to swimmers.

…

According to the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale della Campania, the regional equivalent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, biweekly tests of the regional waters have turned up higher-than-acceptable levels of total coliform, fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria, the latter of which can cause strep throat, flesh-eating disease and a variety of other infections.

…

The U.S. Naval Hospital Naples reported that no one has sought medical treatment related to beach visits, base spokesman Lt. Paul Macapagal said.

Italian media outlets have reported some beaches have been plagued recently with worms and sand fleas. High contamination levels have been recorded in Mondragone, Castelvolturno, Licola, Pozzuoli, Portici, Castellammare di Stabia and along the Salerno coastline.

Levels of fecal coliform registered in waters between Lido le Ancore and the NATO beach in Giugliano in Campania, for example, were 1,200 times more than the Italian maximum contaminate level, according to testing documents posted on ARPAC’s Web site. The pollution is caused by illegal dumping of sewage and inefficient water purification plants, agency officials have said.

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Italian investigators are probing reports of toxic dumping of untreated water along the Phlegean coastline west of Naples by the plant, according to several Italian news agencies.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

(Thanks Chris B. for the news link)

THE “IT’S ALL PROPOGANDA” SIDE:

According to the ARPA Campania (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale) reports bi-weekly on the quality of the water. Their report (which is too lengthy and detailed to quote here) shows that almost all of the beach dive sites are perfectly fine for diving. Contamination levels are either non-existent or well within the “norm” for Naples.

One site that is grossly out of acceptable levels is Pozzuoli.

The report can be downloaded here: ARPA Campania Report

The report only takes a second to figure out and is pretty self explanatory.

THE “LEWIS’S PERSONAL OPINION” SIDE:

I have lived in Naples since 2004. Since then I have seen the local people misled on many things. Either the news was telling only half the truth for effect or simply outright making stories up.

One thing most recent for the American people living in the Campania region is the health of the water. When the “water” issue first started becoming a topic in the news in Casal di Principe the American people were told that the problem was with all the water in the region. Our landlords told us the news stations were saying the problem was isolated to only the Casal area. The only facts that could be found in that whole story was that no one knew where the problem started or ended. I went to the American Housing office a week ago to see if the water problem had improved so that I could look at property in that neighborhood and was told that now the problem was “political” and had very little to do with the water from the beginning.

So we arrive today with the contaminated ocean issue. Just the other day I was told by a local Italian friend that I was “pazzo” or crazy for diving in the local waters because of someone he had heard about getting a white worm infection under his skin from the contamination. Now you should know that I am a natural born skeptic. So I immediately turned to my trusted Google homepage and searched for this story. This is what I found:

POLLUTED SEA IN NAPLES IS PSYCHOSIS

IN CLOSING:

In my opinion the news, and I include any news reporting outlet in that general name (CNN, FOX News, Rai Uno), will always trim down the information for greatest shock value. I look at contamination in the Naples bay to be another case of this shock value news reporting. I read the environmental reports released by the ARPA Campania for myself and I survey a dive site while planning a dive and before executing my dive plan.

Contamination in our worlds’ oceans is a serious matter. I try to reduce my carbon footprint at home and when I dive I try to leave nothing behind and take only pictures and octopus left-overs (clam shells). I always encourage my dive buddies to do the same.

In regards to diving locally, well, I’ve bumped into things that I wish I never made physical contact with but that to me is just “Naples”. If you see the trash on the sides of the road why would you expect that none of that would end up in our oceans?

What do you think? Do you think the pollution levels in the water is just Italian propaganda? Do you believe that the water is truly unsafe and that a white worm and sand flea infection has taken over?

Share your opinion in the comments section or step over to the forum and post in the environment forum or stop in here and leave a comment!