‘Shadows of indifference’: EU faces heat over inaction on pollution from Italy’s biggest steel plant

Local residents and an MEP from nan Left Group successful nan European Parliament are coming (4 June) making an charismatic title to nan European Ombudsman astir nan Acciaierie d’Italia alloy mill, still known by its erstwhile sanction Ilva, successful nan confederate metropolis of Taranto.

Despite opening an infringement process against Italy successful 2013 for breaching biology laws astatine nan site, nan EU has grounded to escalate it appropriately, they say.

During that 12-year wait, residents are continuing to suffer nan consequences of air, ungraded and groundwater contamination successful Taranto, which galore studies person linked to higher rates of cancer and different diseases.

“Today, we move to nan Ombudsman pinch a consciousness of work but besides pinch heavy bitterness,” says Alessandro Marescotti, a Taranto resident and president of nan Associazione PeaceLink, an NGO which is besides listed arsenic a complainant connected nan archive seen by Euronews Green.

“We do truthful because we nary longer person overmuch assurance successful nan European Commission. The Commission had years to intervene. It received reports, studies, and appeals. Meanwhile, successful Taranto, galore group person fallen sick and died,” he says.

“The lawsuit of nan ILVA works successful Taranto has, unfortunately, remained successful nan shadows of organization indifference.”

Timeline of a ‘sacrifice zone’ successful Taranto

“Greetings from Taranto, nan only metropolis founded by nan Spartans successful 706 BC.” This is really Massimo Castellana from nan Taranto Parents Association (Genitori Tarantini) signs disconnected connected WhatsApp erstwhile I inquire astir nan contamination that has blighted his metropolis for decades.

It was described arsenic a “sacrifice zone” by a UN Special Rapporteur successful 2022 owed to contamination from llva, which has loomed complete nan Tamburi territory for nan past 60 years. But location is intelligibly a batch of pridefulness successful this metropolis connected nan Ionian Sea, and residents are not giving up without a fight. 

The Italian authorities knew Taranto was an area “at precocious consequence of an biology crisis” arsenic early arsenic 1990. In 2001, photos and technological grounds acquired by Marescotti revealed an alarming scene, “with heavy toxic fumes that resembled thing retired of Dante’s Inferno.” 

“According to analyses, nan fumes contained carcinogenic substances successful concentrations balanced to much than 7,000 cigarettes complete an eight-hour activity shift,” he says.

Despite nationalist outrage, Europe’s biggest alloy works was grindingly slow to travel EU rules; successful particular, nan Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) adopted successful 1996, which required each installations to person a licence by 2007. 

Italy yet issued an authorisation successful 2011, pursuing ineligible action from nan EU. But by 2012, mounting grounds of an ‘environmental disaster’ led to a section proceedings astatine which nan judge ordered Ilva’s astir polluting parts to beryllium seized and unopen down. 

Since then, however, successive governments person issued 18 alleged “Save-Ilva” decrees to alteration it to proceed operating, having specially introduced nan conception of a works of ‘strategic nationalist importance’.

“There is nary economic, occupational, aliases strategical logic that tin warrant specified fierce insistence from nan politicians (and nan unions, blameworthy of complicity) against nan health of nan Taranto people,” says Castellana. 

“If nan works has not yet been closed, contempt its threat being clarified astatine aggregate levels, it is owed to nan subservience of a depressing governmental people to alloy producers and industrialists, peculiarly successful bluish Italy.”

In 2013, pursuing complaints from citizens and NGOs including PeaceLink, nan Commission began an infringement process against Italy for violations of biology standards. 

Why is nan infringement process against Italy lasting truthful long?

This infringement process has now been unfastened for 12 years without immoderate important further action. A ‘reasoned opinion’ - nan adjacent measurement erstwhile a personnel authorities fails to comply - followed successful 2014, and then, bureaucratic silence. 

MEPs who many times questioned nan deficiency of advancement successful nan European Parliament (EP) were met pinch “vague and unsatisfactory answers”, according to nan complaint. 

For Valentina Palmisano, an MEP from Puglia, elected pinch nan Five Star Movement successful Italy, which is portion of nan Left Group successful nan European Parliament, this business is unacceptable. 

“European rule cannot beryllium applied selectively and Taranto cannot beryllium treated arsenic a rights-free zone,” she tells Euronews Green. 

Palmisano believes nan Commission’s prolonged inaction is politically motivated. “On nan 1 hand, it shields itself from work by pointing to nan truth that an infringement process has been unfastened since 2013, arsenic if this absolves it from nan ongoing wellness and biology consequences of ILVA’s operations. 

“On nan different hand, it avoids referring Italy to nan CJEU (Court of Justice of nan European Union) because alloy accumulation remains politically delicate and strategically important successful nan discourse of EU business policy.”

There is concerted unit wrong nan EU to boost domestic alloy production - successful consequence to Trump’s tariffs, Chinese alloy dumping, and nan protector of warfare crossed Europe. 

On 7 May this twelvemonth - nan aforesaid time 1 of Ilva’s 2 blast furnaces exploded - nan Commission “decided to nonstop an further missive of general announcement to Italy.” For campaigners, it was again acold excessively little, acold excessively late. 

In fact, nan title from Palmisano and PeaceLink describes it arsenic a backwards measurement successful nan infringement process. They opportunity nan Commission has grounded to guarantee ineligible enforcement and must now yet return Italy to nan CJEU. 

“Taranto has been sacrificed connected nan altar of economical interests, astatine nan disbursal of health, dignity, and nan basal authorities of its inhabitants,” says Marescotti.

Residents bring their ain lawsuit to European Court of Justice

Alongside this administrative approach, Taranto residents, spurred connected by nan premature deaths of family and friends, person pursued corporate action to stem Ilva’s pollution.

A report by Sentieri, an epidemiological monitoring group, recovered that betwixt 2005 and 2012, 3,000 deaths were straight linked to vulnerability to pollutants from nan works - including benzene, dense metals, and dioxins. Cancer and excess wide mortality are good supra location averages, pinch puerility leukaemia astir 50 per cent supra expected levels. 

A lawsuit brought by members of nan Taranto Parents Association, including Castellana, was referred by nan Milan territory tribunal to nan CJEU for clarification. In a landmark ruling connected 24 June past twelvemonth - applicable to tens of thousands of sites successful nan EU - nan apical tribunal said that operations must beryllium suspended wherever location are superior threats to nan situation and quality health.

This ruling was brought backmost to nan Tribunale di Milano for a proceeding connected 22 May, but nary last determination has been reached yet. Castellana remains hopeful, but nan Ombudsman title describes nan lawsuit arsenic being stuck successful nan bureaucratic hinterland that seems to situation Ilva.

In short, nan complainants write, “The lawsuit remains pending, nan ILVA alloy works continues to run and pollute, and nan ILVA infringement process is still ongoing.”

Ongoing biology contamination successful Taranto

The alloy plant, which coats Taranto successful good reddish robust ore dust, appears to person near its people connected each surviving things. 

The nutrient concatenation has been corrupted, Castellana claims. A decade ago, nan effect connected livestock was a awesome concern, pinch thousands of sheep and goats culled aft food made from their beverage was recovered to incorporate dioxins supra ineligible limits.

Now, a root pinch knowledge of nan rumor says, mussels are nan astir enduring bearers of dioxins successful nan environment. They turn successful Mar Picolo (‘Small Sea’), an enclosed coastal lagoon wherever nan select feeders accumulate dioxins successful their bodies that are stuck successful nan sediment. 

Air contamination has fluctuated and improved complete nan years, notably astir 2013, nan root says, but Taranto is still awaiting remediation of its air, soil, and water. 

In its telephone for buyers of Ilva, which remains nether typical administration, nan Italian authorities stipulates that nan caller proprietor must decarbonise nan works successful statement pinch nan EU’s goals. 

Palmisano, however, thinks it should beryllium nationalised; successful bid “to align business accumulation pinch existent ecological transition, based connected green hydrogen, not gas, and yet undertake nan basal remediation of nan ILVA site.” 

“No modulation is reliable without first addressing nan biology and wellness devastation already caused,” she says.

Other campaigners want to spot Ilva closed altogether, and its workers supported to transition into different sectors, bringing a soiled section to an end. 

Their determination endures. Marescotti has antecedently said he owes his spot to ever spell connected to his father, who was a partisan successful nan anti-fascist guidance against Mussolini.

Castellana says he would ne'er move distant from Taranto, “because Taranto is my mother. And a mother should not beryllium abandoned.”

“We request justice,” he says. “We beryllium it to nan small Tarantinos who are nary longer here, to those who are suffering today, and to early generations that we want to beryllium capable to unrecorded successful wellness and bask nan sublime beauty of Taranto.”

The European Commission and nan Italian authorities person been contacted for comment.