Today we talk about an activist who, for years, has fought with theNational Asbestos Observatoryin particular the Apulian section, to protect the rights of asbestos victims: Vito Vasiento.
Many of our readers will remember the film “Erin Brockovich” and the story of the enterprising law firm secretary who, driven by a deep sense of justice, investigated the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. This company had contaminated the groundwater of a Californian town with hexavalent chromium, a highly carcinogenic substance, causing cancer in residents.
Similar to Erin Brockovich, the central figure of an event that actually happened in the United States, Vito Vasiento fought tenaciously in Puglia for justice. The multinational involved is the Japanese Bridgestone Italia, formerly Firestone Brema, a global tire production giant.
While the tires, according to the advertising, were environmentally friendly, the factory turned out to be an ecological bomb. Documentations filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bari attest that it has caused over 100 deaths, more than 400 cases of asbestosis, pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer and over 800 requests for compensation for exposure to asbestos (data from 2010, the year in which the case exploded).
At Bridgestone they worked in close contact with asbestos, in the indifference of INAIL and the Labor Inspectorate
Vito Vasiento, a former employee exposed to asbestos, demonstrated that Bridgestone offered large sums to employees to encourage early retirement. In reality, the company offered money in exchange for silence about any health damage caused by the asbestos present in the factory.
In 2010, Vito Vasiento, together with his work colleague Vincenzo Aski, who was also exposed to asbestos, continued to investigate independently to boost judicial and investigative activities, demonstrating that Bridgestone workers worked in close contact with asbestos and other dangerous chemical substances, to the indifference of INAIL and the Labor Inspectorate.
Thanks to his commitment, the investigation opened in 2007 received new impetus in 2010. Vito brought former Bridgestone employees and family members of workers who died due to asbestos to testify in the Prosecutor’s Office. Later, a new investigative team completed the investigation, with the lawyer Ezio Bonanni who assisted several victims.
Prevention and awareness are fundamental in the fight against asbestos
In Bari, Vasiento, with the doctor Dr. Loizzi united the workers in a defense alliance, also creating a factory newspaper to give voice to often overlooked problems. Thanks to the collaboration with the Polyclinic, they were organized free and targeted screenings to monitor the health of workers, intervening early in the event of asbestos-related illnesses. For Vito, prevention and awareness were fundamental in the fight against asbestos, pillars of a new culture for the protection of human health and dignity.
Vito’s dedication exposed him to misunderstandings and enmities, but he never wavered. He saw himself as a moral fighter, driven by the belief that community strength could be transformed into real, tangible change. His colleagues remember him as an idealist and a dreamer who, with firmness and humility, acted for justice that respected human life.
I finally did it
Even when his health was in decline, he never stopped. These are his words, which he wrote to our editorial staff, because he was no longer able to speak, the last time he reached us.
«Good morning to all of you, I am Vito Vasiento, a member of ONA for many years. With Ezio (the lawyer Bonanni – ed.) and Luigi Giovannelli from Bari, we were activists for the Bridgestone Group. I wanted to inform you that I was the first to be recognized by INAIL as suffering from an asbestos-related pathology, during a medical examination, assisted by the ENCAL patronage. After years and years of complaints and collecting fundamental elements for the recognition of the disease, I finally did it, I was included as an Asbestos Victims subject. Recognized during the visit without going to court, they awarded me 30/% for an adenocarcinoma: finally and compensated. Now I would like Ezio’s help to continue the compensation action. At the moment I am admitted to neurology (due to a Glioblastoma, probably caused by exposure to asbestos but there is not yet 100% certified medical literature) – ed.) of the Bari polyclinic for tests and I can barely walk. I have 100% disability with accompaniment. Kind regards, Vito.”
Vito left us on October 11, 2024
(in the cover photo, from left, Vito Vasiento, the lawyer Ezio Bonanni and Luigi Giovannelli, secretary of ONA Puglia)