On September 5 officials nominated by the court of Taranto ordered the halt of iron ore and coal supplies to the Taranto-based Italian steelmaker Ilva with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of its steelmaking facilities. Iron ore and coal dust carried by wind is considered to be among the main factors which have resulted in increased rates of illness among the inhabitants of Taranto. Just a few hours before the notification, Ilva had announced that it would proceed to the continuous spraying with water of its iron ore, coal and slag yards in order reduce the volumes of dust carried by wind to nearby inhabitated areas.
Meanwhile, Ilva told labor unions it would ask for a delay of the measure in question in order to allow previously booked cargos reach the port and to allow the unloading of raw materials. At the time of the court announcement, two vessels were unloading 117,000 mt of iron ore and 47,000 mt of coal at the steelmaker's docks.
Labor union officials at the plant have also expressed strong concerns over the proposed measure, while also indicating that the plant currently has enough iron ore supplies to guarantee just 15-20 days of production. As reported by local newspaper Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno, the worst-case scenario is that Ilva will not be able to dispatch an order received in August for 700,000 mt of galvanized coils for the automotive and white goods sectors, and that, in this context, the company could choose to idle at least one or two blast furnaces, the related coke oven batteries and finishing facilities.
At the end of August, Bruno Ferrante, chairman of Ilva, stated that the company's steel production facilities were operating at 70 percent of their capacity.
A court decision had previously ordered the partial shutdown of the steelmaking facilities at Ilva due to the environmental impact of the plant on its surrounding area. Subsequently, the board of directors of Ilva approved a €146 million environmental plan aimed at reducing pollution in the Taranto area.
Ilva produced 8.5 million metric tons in 2011, nearly 30 percent of Italy's total steel output. It is one of the few big industrial plants in southern Italy.