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Italy should not disregard Ilva steel plant health threats, EU court rules

A steel plant in the southern Italian city of Taranto must be closed down if it positions substantial dangers to the environment and human health, the European Court of Justice said on Tuesday.

The plant, which when had the biggest output in Europe, remains a major employer in a financially depressed part of southern Italy. It is greatly indebted and has faced legal difficulties over its ecological and health effects for many years.

Now known as Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI), however typically referred to by its old name Ilva, the website was placed under government administration in February, ending the involvement of ArcelorMittal and with the goal of discovering brand-new personal financiers.

Where there are serious and considerable risks to the integrity of the environment and human health ... the operation of the installation needs to be suspended, the EU court said in its judgment.

It did not call for the plant to be halted, saying that choice lay with the Milan district court that had asked the EU judges for a judgment.

The Taranto Parents Association, which is promoting the legal action versus the steelworks before the Milan court, hailed Tuesday's judgment, saying it exceeded their expectations.

It didn't work out, it went more than well, Maurizio Rizzo Striano, an attorney for the group, said in a Facebook video.

The EU court took Italy to job for repeatedly extending operations at the plant on the basis of foreseeable emissions, stating that if actual emissions prove to surpass acceptable limitations, output must be suspended.

The Court takes the view that, contrary to what Ilva and the Italian Government claim, the authorization reconsideration treatment can not be limited to setting limit worths for contaminating substances the emission of which was foreseeable, it stated.

Acciaierie d'Italia said in a statement the judgment referred to events of 2013 now mainly exceeded thanks to the huge financial investments made in environmental removal.

It included that the objective of brand-new management of the plant was to abide by environmental policies and that a recent health threat assessment, sent to national authorities, had encouraging elements.

Steps to reduce the health dangers postured by the plant have been planned because 2012, however implementation deadlines have been regularly pushed back.

The EU court pointed out that the close link in between the security of the environment and human health are essential goals of EU law.

(source: Reuters)