When it comes to influencing public opinion, he thinks the industry is nearly impossible to compete with. They have no way to navigate industry-related incidents, like spills and explosions, when they don’t know what to test for or what they are being exposed to.Ĭagginao is wary of the industry’s money and power to buy ‘experts’ and politicians. The Act requires that states “organize, analyze and disseminate information on hazardous chemicals to local governments and the public.” The lack of transparency places Caggiano and his fellow first responders in danger. “You don’t screw with the fracking.”Ĭaggiano says his fellow first responders and civilians are not being given the knowledge owed to them by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, also known as SARA Title III. “It’s the third rail of politics here in Ohio,” said Caggiano. Sil Caggiano, Senior Battalion Chief for the Youngstown Fire Department, blames the lack of awareness on the state’s protection of the industry. And while the Italian Navy was devastated by the war, its commissioned watch has had a long, glowing-in-the-dark afterlife.Despite efforts from environmental organizations to educate the public about the radioactive risks created by the boom in shale gas fracking since the early 2000’s, or documentaries from Public Herald like Triple Divide (2013), Triple Divide (2017), and INVISIBLE HAND (2020) that covered radioactive waste, some Ohioans remain unaware of the TENORM piling up in their own backyards. While the worn-by-the-Navy 47mm watches are no longer produced using radium, their defining style has been maintained and celebrated through pieces like the true to form “PAM448” Radiomir, and the more recent Radiomir 1940. Its grassroots, military-contracted past has been traded for a present informed by the luxury market: the watches now use smaller, in-house movements. Today, Panerai’s history influences the aesthetics of its current lineup, which includes several Radiomir models, though under the ownership of Richemont, the watchmaker is a different animal altogether. For 21 years, that remained the case-until 1993, when the brand shifted toward producing timepieces for civilian use. With the war over, the brand returned to the dedicated production of diving instruments. Throughout these several decades of production, all of Panerai’s watches and supply contracts were classified secrets, which were further classified after the war had ended-meaning the now-wildly popular line of timepieces was unavailable and unknown to the masses. The Royal Italian Navy, not one to turn down a chance to literally see in the dark, in turn commissioned Panerai to produce a similarly luminous timepiece for underwater use. Though highly radioactive (with exposure now known to result in anemia, bone fractures, and necrosis), the powdered substance was particularly useful for Panerai’s products, which needed to function in the gloomy depths of the ocean. Patented in France in 1916, the brand’s proprietary compound was called “Radiomir,” thanks to the fine, radium-based-powder that afforded its luminous properties. With ugly wars on the horizon, and the industrial revolution in full swing, Panerai shifted its efforts towards the production of precision instruments, including depth gauges and compasses.ĭiver’s instruments were by no means a Panerai invention, but the luminous material found on their dials was. Giovanni Panerai first opened the doors of Officine Panerai on Florence’s Ponte alle Grazie in 1860 evenutally, the business was taken over at the turn of the century by Guido Panerai, Giovanni’s grandson. If all of menswear history can be traced back to military uniforms, a certain portion of the watch world has a similar connection to Panerai's WWII-era inventions. Right out of the gate, the brand's Radiomir introduced new standards while literally glowing like a radioactive beacon, its long, thorny history shedding light on some of the gnarlier corners of the 20th century. And unlike other manufacturers, which evolved to eventually focus on hard-wearing timepieces, Panerai was from the beginning defined by deep-diving tool watch production, and the kind of out-there technological breakthroughs that industry requires. Forget James Bond-Panerai makes beefy, brawny watches worn by the beefier, brawnier likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Maybe the best way to explain the watchmaker Panerai’s appeal is by reference to the kinds of wrists its watches usually land on.
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