Here in White Beach, on the Tuscan coast, many tourists are amazed by the landscape. Most of them take the opportunity to take pictures and post them on Instagram, which is why this beach is called ‘the most Instagrammable beach in Italy.’ At first glance, this place is without a doubt heavenly and beautiful.
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But the white sand and the transparent sea hide a real ecological nightmare. On Twitter, Frenchwoman Marie Causse has published a thread, retweeted several times since, which reveals a hidden side of this beach. The reason the sand is so white and the water so transparent is because of the Solvay factory (which manufactures chemicals) located close to the beach, which pours all kinds of toxic substances directly into the water.
Fewer regulations than other countries
According to a survey made by the newspaper Il Tirreno, thousands of kilos of the following products are thrown into the sea each year: arsenic, chromium, copper, mercury, nickel, lead, zinc and cadmium. These heavy metals can be found in the water but also in the sand. However, swimming here is not prohibited.
In Italy, regulations on where you can swim are much less strict than elsewhere. In Italy, only water contaminated with E.coli bacteria and intestinal enterococci are taken into account, nothing else.
Since there are none of these bacteria in White Beach, swimming is therefore allowed, but we strongly advise against it. Cancer cases in this region are more numerous than in other parts of the country.
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