Italy should shut down production at
the troubled Acciaierie d'Italia (AdI) steelworks in Taranto if
the plant poses a threat to human health and the environment,
the EU Court of Justice said in a ruling on Tuesday.
The court said operations at the facility must be suspended
"where there are serious and significant threats to the
integrity of the environment and human health".
The Court of Justice said the Milan court that referred the case
to it should decide if this is actually the case in relation to
a petition presented by local residents.
The Milan court had asked for a decision on whether the Italian
legislation and the special derogating rules applicable to the
steelworks in order to ensure its continuity contravene the EU
directive on industrial emissions
The former Ilva steelworks, which has some 11,000 employees, was
recently put into special administration and AdI declared
insolvent as the multinational ArcelorMittal's term as the
majority stakeholder ended acrimoniously.
It has been the subject of legal battles over its impact on the
environment and on local people's health for many years.
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights found that the
steelworks had a significant negative impact on the environment
and the health of local residents.
The Court of Justice said measures to reduce its impact have
been provided for since 2012, but the deadlines for their
implementation have been repeatedly extended.
Previous owners the Riva family were convicted of causing higher
than normal cancer rates in Taranto, especially among children.
In March former AdI CEO Lucia Morselli was put under
investigation in Taranto for alleged environmental and
health-and-safety felonies along with former plant director
Alessandro Labile
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