As a young scientist undertaking research into natural hazards and disaster reduction, I found the decision yesterday to find a number of scientists guilty of manslaughter very worrying. The case against the scientists is centred on the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009 and argues that they were guilty of providing “inexact, incomplete and contradictory” information.
There is helpful analysis and descriptions of the case and the charges available on a number of sites including New Scientist (including comment by Roger Musson from the British Geological Survey) and Nature (by Willy Aspinall, Cabot Professor of Natural Hazards and Risk at Bristol University). Professor Aspinall speaks with real authority and experience, drawing on experience from his time as Chief Scientist at Montserrat Volcano Observatory. It seems futile to repeat aspects of his discussion here when they have been so eloquently put elsewhere!
L’Aquila Earthquake (2009): Source: Wikipedia
