(Bloomberg) -- ArcelorMittal said its Taranto plant in Italy, the biggest in Europe by capacity, will continue operations beyond this week's deadline amid tensions over the mill's pollution.
Two months ago, the world's top steel producer said it would be impossible to operate the site after a state decree annuls its criminal immunity before a planned cleanup upgrade is completed in 2023. Late Wednesday, ArcelorMittal said that while the decree has been published, its permanence is a subject to ratification by Italy's Parliament within 60 days.
“As a result of this development, ArcelorMittal Italia will continue operations” beyond Sept. 6 while monitoring the situation, the company said. The Italian unit said that means operations can continue “at least for now.”
The stricter environmental rules in Italy have been a setback for ArcelorMittal, which was forced to cut production in Europe this year amid poor demand and dwindling profits. Emissions from the former Ilva plant, which the company acquired for 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) from the state last year, have long been scrutinized and have been linked to higher cancer rates.
ArcelorMittal is in talks with Italy on what safeguard measures could be introduced for the Taranto site after its criminal immunity from environmental charges ends, a government official and a person with knowledge of the talks said last month.
There's also an issue over capped capacity. The company was ordered in July to halt one of its blast furnaces where a fatal accident occurred in 2015 before ArcelorMittal purchased the asset. While the company has filed a request to the Taranto court, the issue is still unresolved.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elena Mazneva in London at emazneva@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin, Liezel Hill
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