Carabinieri from Grazzanise, supported by the regional environmental agency Arpac, have seized a private site of about 5,000 square metres in Santa Maria la Fossa where large quantities of special and hazardous waste had been deposited outdoors. Four co-owners of the land and buildings were reported to the judicial authorities while remaining free, accused of managing waste without authorisation.
The operation focused on an open-air deposit on ground described as lacking adequate waterproofing. Inside the same area, investigators found a building of about 1,275 square metres whose roof, made of asbestos sheets, had partially collapsed.
The seized area was placed under preventive seizure and entrusted to the mayor of Santa Maria la Fossa as judicial custodian. The available documents do not establish the final legal assessment of the case or subsequent remediation and cleanup responsibilities.
What investigators found
According to the validated reporting, the waste was stored outdoors in large quantities and included special and hazardous materials. The absence of adequate waterproofing is significant for readers because waste left directly on unprotected soil increases the risk that pollutants can reach the ground below during rain.
The second element of the seizure was the industrial-type building on the site. Its asbestos-sheet roof was partially collapsed, leaving the material exposed. The acquired documents describe the roof as asbestos sheeting but do not provide laboratory confirmation of its composition or measurements of any contamination.
Who carried out the controls
The controls were conducted by the Carabinieri station of Grazzanise, operating in Santa Maria la Fossa, with technical support from Arpac. Arpac's Caserta interventions page lists the waste-management controls in Grazzanise and Santa Maria la Fossa among its field activities, confirming the agency's supporting role.
The four people reported are identified only as co-owners of the area and building. Their names, the exact date of the operation, and any later court decisions are not established by the documents acquired for this article.
Not the first such report in the municipality
Earlier local reports show that concerns about illegal dumping and asbestos in Santa Maria la Fossa predate this seizure, although they concern different locations and operations and should not be confused with the newly seized site.
In June 2022, volunteers reported an open-air dump along the extension of Via Consortile, with abandoned construction-related materials and corrugated sheets believed to contain asbestos. In March 2015, the Guardia di Finanza seized a separate agricultural site of about 20,000 square metres in the Cancellone area, where hazardous waste including eternit, bituminous sheeting, drums, industrial scraps, tyres and cement had been found.
Taken together, these cases point to a recurring pattern of suspected or confirmed illegal dumping involving hazardous materials in the municipality, with enforcement involving Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza and environmental agencies at different times and places.
What happens next
For now, what is documented is the preventive seizure and the assignment of the site to the mayor as judicial custodian. Whether the waste will be characterised, removed and the site remediated, and what penalties if any the reported owners may face, will depend on subsequent judicial and administrative steps not documented in the research.
Readers following this case should look for updates from the judicial authority or the municipality on site safeguarding, environmental characterisation and any cleanup orders.
