Local union sources reported an incident on the night of 21-22 January at ArcelorMittal Italia in Taranto. According to a note from the factory coordinators of Fiom and Uilm, three explosions occurred in steel mill 2 of the plant, which ripped apart the pipes of the suction pipe for gas recovery. No workers were injured, but for the union the explosion shows that the imminent increase in the load on steel mill 2 following the idling of steel mill 1 is unsustainable.
The halt in steel mill operations had been announced by the company earlier this week, with a consequent layoff for 250 people (out of the current 477). However, according to the factory coordinators Francesco Brigati and Gennaro Oliva, "steel mill 2 cannot sustain the increase in production to three converters and the last episodes prove this." The unions therefore ask in a note that ArcelorMittal "will retrace its steps and immediately suspend the unilateral choice to stop the steel mill 1 since the continuous postponements and delays on ordinary and extraordinary maintenance determine, in case of production increase, dangerous situations both from the point of view of safety and of the environment."
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, ArcelorMittal Italia will halt its steel mill 1 in Taranto from Thursday, January 23, until the end of March.