ACNA (company)
| ACNA | |
Native name | Azienda Coloranti Nazionali e Affini |
| Industry | Chemical |
| Predecessor | Società Italiana Prodotti Esplodenti (1906-1925) |
| Founded | 1929 in Saliceto, Piedmont, Italy |
| Founder | Italgas |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
Area served | Italy |
| Products | organic secondary chemicals, pigments, dyes |
| Services | Chemical |
National Dyes Company and Affiliates (in Italian: Azienda Coloranti Nazionali e Affini), widely recognized as ACNA, was Italy’s pioneering major player in the chemical industry, operating from 1929 until 1999. Its principal manufacturing site was located in Cengio, alongside additional facilities in Cesano Maderno and Rho. The company’s roots trace back to 1882 under different names. ACNA became infamous due to severe environmental pollution caused by its dye manufacturing processes, earning the label "the poison factory" and triggering government regulatory actions.
History
The foundation of ACNA can be traced to the dynamite production plant Dinamitificio Barberi, established on March 26, 1882, in Cengio. In 1906, ownership passed to the Italian Society of Explosive Products, which supplied explosives for conflicts including the Italo-Ethiopian and Italo-Turkish wars. By 1908, the facility had diversified into manufacturing sulfuric acid, oleum, and TNT, initiating early environmental contamination concerns. In 1925, Italgas acquired the plant and consolidated it with operations in Rho and Cesano Maderno to create the initial ACNA entity, specializing in synthetic dyes for textiles and becoming Italy’s foremost producer.
In 1931, ACNA changed hands when Italgas sold it to IG Farben and Montecatini, who preserved the acronym while renaming it Azienda Coloranti Nazionali e Affini. The company resumed producing explosives and chemical weapons utilized during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and operations in Eritrea. ACNA encountered its first legal challenge related to pollution in 1938.
After Montecatini merged with Edison in 1966, ACNA discontinued weapons manufacturing to focus exclusively on synthetic dyes, including textile dyes such as indigo and naphthylamine.
Environmental controversy
ACNA was held accountable for extensive environmental degradation caused by improper disposal of chemical waste. This resulted in contamination of a groundwater reservoir exceeding one million cubic meters in volume and reaching depths of up to 20 meters, along with pollution of the adjacent Bormida river. These activities contributed significantly to Italy's infamous "triangle of death," a region notorious for illegal waste dumping. Regional authorities, including those from Piedmont, initiated legal claims against ACNA for damages.
The Genoa facility was identified as a source of chlorinated phenol pollution, generating 48 tonnes of waste per every 30 tonnes of product manufactured. Consequently, the Italian Minister of the Environment imposed a six-month temporary closure of this plant to mitigate hazardous conditions.
ACNA became subject to scrutiny by the Italian Chamber of Deputies through an investigative commission chaired by Carla Mazzuca Poggiolini. A report issued in 2000 disclosed that approximately 800,000 tonnes of waste from the Cengio plant had been deposited at the Pianura landfill.
Culture
Publications
- Andrea Dotta, La chimica a Cengio: storie di battaglie e conflitti dentro e fuori i cancelli, Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Chimici e Affini di Savona, 1997.
- Alessandro Hellmann, Cent'anni di veleno. Il caso ACNA. L'ultima guerra civile italiana, Stampa Alternativa, Collana Strade Bianche, Viterbo, 2005.
Films
- Il Caso ACNA: Storie di Lotte e Ordinari Inquinamenti, a documentary from 2005 focusing on pollution linked to ACNA.