Franco Sebastio, chief prosecutor in the southern Italy city of Taranto, has stated that the turnoff process for blast furnace No. 5 of local steelmaker Ilva, a furnace which produces around 50 percent of Ilva's crude steel output, may start far earlier compared to the imposition by the Environmental Integrated Authorization (EIA) recently issued by Italy's environment ministry. "We are studying a solution which would allow us to resolve the situation definitively," Mr. Sebastio told the Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
According to the company's own plan, its blast furnace No. 5 will be switched off in H2 2015, while the Environmental Integrated Authorization foresees the switching of the furnace in H2 2014. According to unconfirmed rumors, the first steps to turn off the furnace could now be taken in a month or two.
Meanwhile, the Taranto prosecutor stressed that several critcal issues must be resolved in order to reach the goal of switching off the furnace. First of all, a company must be charged with undertaking the turnoff process following the new guidelines issued by the court authorities in Taranto. Ilva has named Luxembourg-based Paul Wurth - which is currently turning off the blast furnace No.1 - to switch off the BF No. 5 but only in 2015 after a long study of the plant's characteristics. Another issue is the cost involved, estimated at around €2.5 million, which should be paid in advance by the Italian government and then refunded by Ilva's owner Riva Group.
In August this year, prosecutors in Taranto had ordered Ilva to halt production and clean up its Taranto steelmaking complex in the south of Italy after an inquiry found that toxic emissions from the plant were harming workers and local residents.
Some 12,000 jobs at Ilva's Taranto facilities are at stake, as well as an additional 8,000 related jobs. Ilva produced nearly 8.5 million mt of steel in 2011, amost 30 percent of Italy's overall steel output.