Cyprus sees massive increase in cancer related to toxic emissions – sends warning to Eskilstuna: “Don’t open the factory”
Publicerad 2025-05-28, 05:00 Uppdaterad 2025-06-03, 16:02
Concerns are mounting in Eskilstuna, Sweden, as Chinese company Senior Material prepares to begin using the hazardous chemical methylene chloride in its newly built factory.
In Latsia, Cyprus, residents already know what it means to live with emissions of methylene chloride.
“Don’t start the factory. You’ll lose many lives,” says Elena, who lost her three-year-old daughter to brain cancer.
Click here to read DA:s original article about Senior in Eskilstuna.
Ionas Kailis offers coffee on his veranda. The view brings no joy. There stands the factory that caused so much suffering to him, his family, and many others in the nearby homes. He points toward the chimneys where toxic methylene chloride was released for over 30 years, spreading across the residential area.
– From 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., the factory ran. It stopped only four hours a day. The machines made the house shake.
The company was called Astrasol. The factory, which began operations in 1976, produced shoe soles for well-known Italian brands. It didn’t take long for Ionas to suspect something was wrong.
– My neighbor’s three-year-old son got leukemia. When his father took him to experts in Russia and the U.S., they said it was due to environmental pollution. He came to me and asked what it could be. I told him—it must be the factory.
Emissions of Methylene Chloride Led to a Surge in Cancer
When Astrasol launched production, they hadn’t disclosed that methylene chloride would be used. They claimed they would only work with shoe molds. But the hazardous chemical soon entered the production process.
– They said they would work with wood, but then they decided to do something else, says epidemiologist Michael Voniatis, one of the researchers who investigated the cancer cluster around the factory.
The boy next door survived after three years of treatment in the U.S., but one household after another around the factory began suffering from cancer. Ionas and other residents pleaded with the authorities to act, but they weren’t convinced. Toxic fumes continued to spread.
In 2000, Ionas’ wife Kyriaki was diagnosed with breast cancer.
– It became a nine-year battle before she passed. She was on chemotherapy, but she couldn’t even sit out here on the veranda. Methylene chloride was everywhere.
As protests grew, researchers Voniatis and Konstantinos Makris took interest.
“I Wanted to Kill Them All”
They focused especially on brain cancer—a rare type that appeared unusually common here. When their study was published it confirmed what many locals already suspected: the incidence of brain cancer was six times higher than expected. Only eight cases were found, but the link to methylene chloride was so strong that the study gained international attention.
Elena Kleovoulou’s three-year-old daughter Maria was the first to die from brain cancer.
– One day, when she was two, I called her—‘Mariamu, come here.’ I noticed one of her eyes was off-center. Soon after, she stopped eating and started vomiting. I took her to seven doctors before a scan showed something in her brain. That’s when they told me—brain cancer.
Elena only learned after Maria’s death that the cancer was linked to the factory emissions.
– I realized many others had died from the toxins. There were so many poisons, she says. …I wanted to kill them all.
Public Rage and a Historic Victory
Anger boiled over in the neighborhoods around Astrasol. Ionas, whose wife was now dying, became the protest leader. He himself was later diagnosed with prostate cancer and observed multiple diagnoses in many homes. Yet authorities still refused to act.
– The mayor came to my house and threatened to jail me for inciting people, says Ionas.
– But I told him I’ve seen prison cells in wartime and I don’t care.
When Kyriaki lost her battle in early 2009, residents launched direct action.
– I gathered people and we surrounded the factory for 18 days and nights. Eventually, they had to shut it down.
Support was now overwhelming. The Cypriot Medical Association issued a warning. Political parties backed the call to halt the factory’s operations.
– It was a historic moment, says Green Party MP George Perdikis.
– The people, backed by science, stopped the emissions.
A Legal Battle That Reached Europe
Once the factory was shut down, over 50 affected families sued the company and government authorities. The road was tough. Elena, who had lost both her daughter and her mother to cancer, was pressured by defense lawyers.
– They wanted me to change my testimony and made me feel like a liar, she says.
– I told them: ‘Do you think I’m here to win something? I lost a daughter and a mother. Give me my daughter back and I’ll say I was wrong.’ They stopped.
The researchers were also attacked.
– They tried to discredit our findings but failed, says Makris.
– People should never be exposed to methylene chloride. This was an unintentional experiment—and our study is the only one of its kind. They wanted us to look like liars. I am no lawyer, so that is hard for me to grasp. Especially when the accusations are made without evidence. But I suppose that is part of the legal game.
The families initially won—authorities and the company were ordered to pay €2 million. But the verdict was overturned on appeal. Cyprus’ Supreme Court claimed the link wasn’t sufficiently proven.
The case has now reached the European Court of Human Rights. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Loukis Loucaides—a former ECHR judge—expects a verdict soon.
– All submissions are due by June 10. I believe we may have a ruling by the end of July, he says.
– The Supreme Court’s ruling is absurd, Loucaides adds. They want to stay friendly with the government. But the government gets money from the company—not from the people.
Shock in Cyprus Over Swedish Factory Plans
Loucaides is shocked to hear about the factory plans in Sweden.
– I thought Sweden was a progressive country. You should be more sensitive to these issues.
Senior Material’s emissions in Eskilstuna are expected to exceed those from Astrasol’s twin chimneys. While Astrasol emitted 850 grams per hour, Senior Material is authorized to emit 125 kilograms per hour from 32 chimneys. The concentration per cubic meter will also be nearly double.
– With such high emissions, the dangerous zone doubles, says Voniatis.
– In his study, they analyzed cases within 250 meters of Astrasol’s plant.
Today, Astrasol’s factory is abandoned. In February, authorities removed leftover methylene chloride barrels. Doors and windows are sealed. A dead cat lies in the basement corridor.
On Ionas’ veranda, coffee and pastries are served. Voniatis confirms new brain cancer cases among the town’s 1,700 residents—further supporting their 2008 findings. But he says that any increase in other forms of cancer is unconfirmed.
Ionas is, however, certain that many new cases are also due to the factory, including his daughter-in-law, who is now being treated for lymphoma.
– That makes three out of four in my own house, he says.
– Across the area, I count 67 dead and 43 others affected.
A Message to the People of Sweden: “You Must Fight”
Lawyer Loukis Loucaides believes Sweden should at least wait for the ECHR ruling before allowing the factory to start.
– Let that ruling, if we win, be your weapon. You must fight. Make drama of it—because it is dramatic. You know what happens once your factory starts. When the first deaths come, more will follow. But then it’s too late.
Andreas Rocksén, David Lundmark