Italy has begun the trial of the scientists who failed to predict the earthquake at L'Aquila in 2009. They are accused of manslaughter of the 309 people who died in the earthquake. The trial is both criminal and civil with potential penalties of 15 years in jail and about $70,000,000. The basic charge is "negligence and imprudence... of having provided an approximate, generic and ineffective assessment of seismic activity risks as well as incomplete, imprecise and contradictory information".
The scientists were members of a panel charged with assessing the risks after months of low-level seismic activity. They concluded that it was unlikely that the risks were great, however they also said that one could not predict a major earthquake. Furthermore, they advised that improvements be made in building construction. The court claims that those who listened to the panel studied indoors, those who didn't stayed outside. Just about all of the deaths were of people who stayed inside.
Should the scientists be convicted, what will be the effect on Science in Italy?
No comments:
Post a Comment