Icmesa
Icmesa S.pA was a chemical factory in Meda near Milan . It became known through a severe chemical disaster , the so-called Sevesoung accident , in which large quantities of highly toxic substances leaked on July 10, 1976 and caused long-term damage to people and the environment.
The park Bosco delle Querce and a sports field are located on the site of the demolished factory . Only the street name Via Privata Icmesa is reminiscent of the former chemical factory.
Company history
Icmesa was founded in Naples in 1918 for the manufacture of synthetic fragrances and was headed by the Swiss chemist Paul Wenner from 1920 to 1929 as Industrie Chimiche Meridionali Società Azionaria . In 1929 the Wenner family's business was liquidated and taken over by Givaudan Geneva. In 1943 the factories in Naples were destroyed by the Second World War and production was relocated from Naples to Meda near Milan.
In 1946 it was re-established under the name Industrie Chimiche Meda Società Azionaria . The acronym Icmesa was retained and the company headquarters moved from Naples to Meda near Milan.
In 1963, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG from Basel , founded in 1896, bought the fragrance and flavor manufacturer Givaudan SA from Vernier near Geneva as part of the Icmesa shareholder.
Givaudan acquired a majority stake in Icmesa in 1965. After buying the remaining shares, Icmesa began producing trichlorophenol , an intermediate in the manufacture of hexachlorophene , in 1969 . Hexachlorophene is a disinfectant that was used in the Roche Group's medicinal soaps.
The misfortune
Coordinates: 45 ° 39 ' N , 9 ° 9' E