ANSA reported that the parents of a five year old boy in Taranto who has suffered from leukemia since a toddler are suing the Italian state for over EUR 1.5 million for the alleged pollution from the state-controlled former ILVA steelworks in the southern Puglia port city, which has been linked to much higher cancer rates among the local population and especially high in children. The report quoted Jacopo's mother at the first hearing in the case as saying that “We want justice for our son's suffering.’ The case is adjourned until 20 April to allow both sides to gather and present further evidence. The ex-ILVA plant, once the largest in Europe and still southern Italy's biggest single employer, dominates Taranto and its fumes have long spread over the city's nearby Tamburi district, where Jacopo and his family live. The plant, which was taken over by the Franco-Indian ArcelorMittal consortium before being handed back to State-controlled Accaierie Italiane, has long been undergoing an environmental cleanup to cut its noxious emissions. An Italian court has sentenced the former owners of a steelworks company to prison for more than 20 years for allowing one of its factories to emit deadly pollution for in excess of half a century in May 2021. The Riva brothers, Fabio and Nicola, were handed 22 and 20 years respectively in jail for their part in letting the Ilva steel company's factory in the city of Taranto expel harmful quantities of pollutants, wrapping up a trial that has lasted for five years. The former head of the region Puglia, Nichi Vendola, was also sentenced to three and a half years, as well as a handful of other local politicians and company managers being punished.
ANSA reported that the parents of a five year old boy in Taranto who has suffered from leukemia since a toddler are suing the Italian state for over EUR 1.5 million for the alleged pollution from the state-controlled former ILVA steelworks in the southern Puglia port city, which has been linked to much higher cancer rates among the local population and especially high in children. The report quoted Jacopo's mother at the first hearing in the case as saying that “We want justice for our son's suffering.’ The case is adjourned until 20 April to allow both sides to gather and present further evidence. The ex-ILVA plant, once the largest in Europe and still southern Italy's biggest single employer, dominates Taranto and its fumes have long spread over the city's nearby Tamburi district, where Jacopo and his family live. The plant, which was taken over by the Franco-Indian ArcelorMittal consortium before being handed back to State-controlled Accaierie Italiane, has long been undergoing an environmental cleanup to cut its noxious emissions. An Italian court has sentenced the former owners of a steelworks company to prison for more than 20 years for allowing one of its factories to emit deadly pollution for in excess of half a century in May 2021. The Riva brothers, Fabio and Nicola, were handed 22 and 20 years respectively in jail for their part in letting the Ilva steel company's factory in the city of Taranto expel harmful quantities of pollutants, wrapping up a trial that has lasted for five years. The former head of the region Puglia, Nichi Vendola, was also sentenced to three and a half years, as well as a handful of other local politicians and company managers being punished.
