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Child cancer rate up in Italy's 'Land of Fires'

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Child cancer rate up in Italy's 'Land of Fires'
A protester joins a March in Naples in November 2013, against illegal waste dumping. Photo: Mario Laporta/AFP

The number of children suffering from cancer in Italy's "Land of Fires", an area where toxic waste has been dumped by the mafia, is significantly higher than elsewhere in the country, a new study has found.

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Focusing on the southern provinces of Caserta and Naples, the National Health Institute (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS) found the rate of child cancer significantly higher than average.

In the 23 provinces in Caserta, there was an “excess of hospitalization for leukemia” among children under the age of 14. In Naples’ 32 provinces the same age group suffered an alarming rate of tumours in the central nervous system, particularly among babies, ISS said.

Overall, the study found a higher than average death rate and “hospitalization for diverse illnesses and multiple causes”.

The poor state of health among the population - living in an area where the mafia has for years illegally dumped waste - was not restricted to children.

ISS found a higher number of cancers across all ages, including malignant breast, stomach and throat tumours.

The findings confirm previous studies into the impact waste dumping has had on the community in Italy’s Campania region. According to one study by the Pascale National Tumour Institute, cancerous tumours have risen by 47 percent in men and 40 percent in women.

Since the 1990s, ten million tonnes of waste have been illegally dumped in the area around Caserta and Naples, environmental organization Legambiente has said.

READ MORE: Toxic waste victims need doctors not soldiers'

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