Three explosions were recorded
in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday at the altoforno 2
furnace of the ArcelorMittal steelworks in the southern city of
Taranto, union sources said Wednesday.
The sources said no injuries were reported although the
explosions caused extensive damage.
Unions said the accident was reported on the eve of the
switch-off of the altoforno 1 furnace at the plant, which will
lead to an increase of production for the furnace affected by
the incident, which requires maintenance work.
ArcelorMittal is set to lay off between 477 and 277 workers
at the former ILVA steelworks in the Puglia port city over the
closure of furnace 1 at the sprawling and highly polluting
plant, Europe's biggest steelworks.
Furnace 1 is set to remain closed for about two months, until
March 31, 2020, a move which unions are asking ArcelorMittal to
suspend over security concerns.
The French-Indian multinational has told unions that the new
organization of production is due to the "scarce supply of raw
material and the current production capacity linked to demand".
ArcelorMittal in November filed suit to get out of their
contract to take over the former ILVA steel works, including its
Taranto plant.
Government sources on Tuesday said Premier Giuseppe Conte
could meet with ArcelorMittal's management in Davos, Switzerland
as negotiations continue on a new industrial plan for the site
that employs around 8,200 workers in Taranto on the sidelines of
the World Economic Forum.
Conte is scheduled to attend the event on Thursday.
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