Winner 2025 Sisam Prize
Prize for the best monograph in Environmental History, Italian Society for Environmental History
The American government, the military, and industry long considered ocean incineration the safest and most efficient method to destroy hazardous chemical waste. From the late 1960s, toxic substances such as PCBs and other harmful industrial byproducts were incinerated at sea in specially equipped ships with high-temperature incineration chambers and smokestacks.
This practice led to great public outrage due to the exposed environmental and health risks, after which ocean incineration was banned in the early 1990s.
Contents of Smoke on the Water
This book traces the rise and fall of ocean incineration and highlights the transnational environmental movement that challenged the boundaries of American political and economic power. Dario Fazzi examines the anti-ocean incineration movement on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and shows that it was successful by connecting local activists with international action.
- Key role of women, migrants, and other vulnerable groups
- Scientific research and evidence gathering by environmental organizations
- Influence on international discussions and environmental regulation
Smoke on the Water offers new insights into the transnational aspects of environmental policy, the role of non-state actors in international history, and the development of environmental and social justice movements.
Language and application
This publication is written in Dutch and suitable for higher education, research, and self-study.
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