ILVA says mayor's ordinance illegitimate

(ANSA) - Rome, February 28 - Steel group ILVA on Friday branded "illegitimate" Taranto Mayor Rinaldo Melucci ordinance demanding the steelworks in the Puglia city stop its polluting emissions within 30 days.
    ILVA, which is being run by commissioners after ArelorMittal pulled out of a deal to revamp it last year, said the ordinance was "illegitimate, inappropriate and disproportionate".
    Pollution from the works, Europe's largest, have been linked to higher-than-normal cancer rates in Taranto.
    Melucci ordered ILVA to identify the plant responsible for the pollution and stop the emissions within 30 days, or face closure by fiat.
    ILVA said the ordinance "affects the operations of a plant of strategic national interest".
    It urged a resolution to the row via "ordinary instruments" and not by bans, indicating that it will resort to legal action if the mayor goes ahead with his threat.
    ILVA is by far the biggest single employer in Taranto, with over 8,000 jobs and thousands more in ancillary firms.
    It is going through an environmental clean-up aimed at cutting emissions while saving jobs.