What is Seveso disaster?
[[File:SEVESO-1976.jpg|275px|thumb|A [[Carabinieri]] in a biohazard suit installs signs warning of toxic chemicals.]] The '''Seveso disaster''' was a [[chemistry|chemical]] [[accident]] on 10 July 1976, at the small [[Italy|Italian]] town of Meda, 20&nbsp;km from [[Milan]] in [[Lombardy]]. There was an leak at a [[chemical]] factory which released a lot of the [[toxic]] [[poison]] [[dioxin]], ''TCDD'', into the air.<ref name=seveso>{{cite web |url=http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu21le/uu21le09.htm |title=4 Seveso: A paradoxical classic disaster |publisher=www.unu.edu |accessdate=2009-05-23 |last= |first= |archive-date=2010-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527175648/http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu21le/uu21le09.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The cloud of [[poison]] gas covered an area 6&nbsp;km long and 1&nbsp;km wide. It was named after the municipality of [[Seveso]].<ref name=seveso/> It resulted in the highest known exposure to [[2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin]] (TCDD) in residential populations <ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ehponline.org/members/2003/6573/6573.html|title=Relationship of Serum TCDD Concentrations and Age at Exposure of Female Residents of Seveso, Italy|journal=Environmental Health Perspectives|authors=Brenda Eskenazi, Paolo Mocarelli, Marcella Warner, Larry Needham, Donald G. Patterson, Jr., Steven Samuels, Wayman Turner, Pier Mario Gerthoux, and Paolo Brambilla|volume=112|issue=1|date=January 2003|access-date=2011-10-08|archive-date=2007-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011124147/http://www.ehponline.org/members/2003/6573/6573.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> There were many studies and new regulations after the accident. The [[European Union]] directive covering the protection against such accidents is known as [[Seveso-II-directive]] today. The company where the accident happened was called [[Icmesa]]. It was owned by [[Givaudan]], who is owned by [[Roche]]. Icmesa produced [[Trichlorophenol]], which is used to produce the [[disinf