Workers in the German city of Hamburg have been told to stop processing Italian hospital waste after finding high levels of radioactivity in it.

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The waste in question came from the Italian region of Campania, which includes the city of Naples.

Waste problems there have been blamed on illegal dumping by the local mafia.

Hamburg says it will not accept any more waste from Campania until it receives written guarantees from the Italian authorities that all rubbish will be checked thoroughly to ensure it is safe before being transported to Germany.

For their part, the Italians say the transfer of rubbish will continue as normal, with more trains due to leave for Germany next week.

The commission set up to tackle the continuing refuse crisis in Naples says it has already given ample guarantees and details of the measures out in place to check waste.

If other German cities were to follow Hamburg's lead, it could have grave consequences.

Campania does not have enough dumps to process its own rubbish.

The local mafia, the Camorra, makes a mint from illegal dumping.

Exporting waste to Germany seemed one of the few fail safe ways of dealing with the still unresolved crisis of refuse on the streets of Naples.

(BBC)

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