The Italian senate has approved a decree to keep troubled Taranto-based Italian steelmaker Ilva operating and its employees working while environmental clean-up and upgrading operations take place. The decree was approved by the Italian government cabinet on November 30 after the company had warned it risked imminent closure due to a criminal probe into an environmental scandal that saw several of the steel producer’s top managers arrested. The senate’s approval followed that of the lower house of Italy’s parliament earlier this week.
The Taranto plant's furnaces were placed under special administration in July following accusations that emissions from them caused abnormally high levels of tumors and respiratory diseases in the Taranto area.
The decree aims to end a tussle between central government and local magistrates over whether the plant should be shut down while the site is cleared up. If the plant closed, it could in turn trigger the closure of an Ilva plant in Genoa, which cumulatively could cause an €8 billion loss to the Italian economy, according to figures released by the government last month.