The prosecutor’s office in Taranto in the south of Italy has ordered the seizure of the steel products produced by locally-based steel producer Ilva in the last four months. The seizure order pertains to both finished and semi-finished products stockpiled at Ilva’s premises and at its port warehouses in Taranto. The order issued by the prosecutor’s office is due to the continued production activity at Ilva’s Taranto steel complex despite a Taranto court decision on July 26 this year ordering the shutdown of selected blast furnaces and coke oven batteries due to the environmental impact of Ilva on its surrounding area.
Some of the abovementioned products (slabs and coils), production of which has been carried out against the law, were due to be sold, while some of the products were due to be sent to finishing lines located at other Ilva sites.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office in Taranto has issued a negative view of the request made last week by Ilva for the restitution of upstream facilities which were seized during the summer of the current year. The answer to Ilva’s request by the examining magistrate in the case, Patricia Todisco, is expected in the coming days.
Ilva had made the request for the restitution of its upstream facilities following the green light given by the Italian environment minister Corrado Clini to the intervention plan presented by Ilva within the framework of the ministry’s Integrated Environmental Authorisation (EIA) issued at the end of October.
Ilva had stated that, without the full availability of its plants, it would be unable to implement its planned environmental upgrade measures.