Dr. Maria Grazia Serra’s patients have been “breathing, eating and drinking” toxins from Taranto’s steel mills for decades, but the conflict over the vast Italian steel mills has finally led to their ecological consequences. There is a possibility that a transformation of the system will be observed.
Italy’s far-right government will decide this week whether to nationalize the debt-ridden former Ilva factory in a bid to save production and thousands of jobs in a region where unemployment is severe.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni considers the site a strategic asset, but experts, authorities, residents and doctors are urging her to look beyond short-term measures to keep it alive. There is.
Taranto’s mayor, Rinaldo Melucci, told parliament last week: “If we want to restart production in accordance with European policies, we have no choice but to cut off the sources of pollution and fundamentally transform the technology of our factories.”
The steel mill, founded in the 1960s and one of the largest in Europe, has been embroiled in a legal and political battle since 2012 over its deadly emissions, with experts calling it one of the largest. 1,000 deaths have been linked to exposure to pollutants.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, took control in 2018 and vowed to increase production to 8 million tonnes in 2025 while cleaning up sites along the coastal city.
Among other measures, huge shrouds were installed over huge stockpiles of iron ore and coal, designed to prevent toxic red and black dust from being blown towards homes, parks and schools.
But relations between ArcelorMittal and Rome soured in 2019 when the then-government removed an existing legal shield that granted executives immunity from prosecution for environmental disasters.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
The once pure white exterior is now reddish with dust and is seen as a symbol of ArcelorMittal’s failures, Serra said.
She is one of 150 doctors who last month appealed to the government not to waste the opportunity to finally rebuild the factory.
“Every day we are forced to treat an ever-increasing number of more serious and disabling diseases than ever before,” Serra told AFP.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
In addition to increases in birth defects and cancer, a 2021 study found alarming declines in IQ among children born or living near factories.
Promised production increases have also not materialized.
Production in 2023 fell below 3 million tons due to soaring energy prices and a slump in the global market.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
The government and ArcelorMittal have accused each other of not honoring their commitments.
Italy is Europe’s second largest steel producer. Taranto is the last site producing primary steel rather than recycled steel, but experts say keeping the coal blast furnaces is not a viable option.
Energy consultant Alex Sorokin said: “The existing 50-year-old facility in Taranto has reached the end of its natural lifespan and requires significant investment for urgent modernization.”
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
“Investing in outdated coal-based technology will be a huge waste of money,” he told AFP.
Transitioning from using coal to natural gas and electricity reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lowers costs.
According to the European Central Bank, the costs associated with renewable energy within Europe are already lower than the costs of fossil fuels.
Dirty energy costs will also rise as EU rules require steel mills to pay for their carbon emissions in full by 2034.
Taranto will later be able to replace natural gas with clean hydrogen. The technology is currently very expensive, but it is already being used in some European steel mills.
Chiara di Mambro, head of decarbonization policy at Italian climate think tank ECCO, told AFP that construction of the gas- and electricity-powered facility in Taranto to produce 8 million tonnes of steel per year would require an estimated He said it would cost 2.5 billion euros.
The site can be powered from the grid and can utilize surplus electricity from renewable sources. The transition to green hydrogen will cost an additional 6 billion euros.
The EU has allocated around 800 million euros for green initiatives in the city of Taranto as part of the Green Transition Fund.
But Rome last year rejected 1 billion euros from another post-pandemic EU recovery fund for hydrogen conversion at the plant, saying the 2026 deadline was too strict.
Industry group Federaccia pointed to Germany and France, where Thyssenkrupp and ArcelorMittal secured €2 billion and €850 million in decarbonization funds respectively from public coffers, in calling for government subsidies.
Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso has vowed “drastic intervention” to make the factory “competitive with green technology”, but cash-strapped Italy remains unwilling to invest in the transformation. is not shown.
Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and environmental studies at the University of Cambridge, said it was unlikely that Rome would find a private company to fund the transition on its own.
“The global steel industry cannot make large-scale capital investments because profit margins are so low,” he told AFP.
Modifications to the site will only take place if Italy has the “political will” to support the costly transformation.
“But as we move towards more renewable energy, that becomes the only sensible future for steel manufacturing.”