The environmental rehabilitation of the former Ilva in Taranto is not yet completed even if we are on the right track as Ispra and the Ministry of Ecological Transition have found, however the school year that begins on September 12 will be a normal year for children attending schools of the Tamburi district, known for being attached to the iron and steel industry. Even when there are the days of Wind Days, with the wind that lifts and carries iron powders into the houses and streets of the Drums, the children will no longer have to finish classes early, at 12.30, but will observe normal school hours. The schools will in fact remain regularly open. The mayor of Taranto, Rinaldo Melucci, ordered this with an ordinance, on the eve of the restart of the lessons, in the face of the new new environmental framework provided by Arpa Puglia and Asl Taranto. “The measure that provided for the early closure of the structures at 12.30 on days characterized by strong winds from the north-west is revoked by another ordinance – said the mayor -“.
Early termination, precautionary measure
The early closure of lessons was a precautionary and protective measure put in place a few years ago against a prolonged stay of pupils in classrooms with closed windows. This is to prevent the dust from the factory pushed by the strong wind from entering the school environments. In the meantime, schools close to the steel industry have been equipped with mechanical ventilation systems, tested in recent months. Furthermore, the mineral parks, where the raw materials were stored outdoors for years, and which were the primary source of dust, have for some time now been fully encapsulated by two large arched roofs. And before the summer, Mite said that “the interventions planned for the adaptation of the plants have been almost all completed and certified” and that “the execution of the remaining interventions is in line with the schedule”. It was then estimated “the post-operam emission scenario (ie the scenario following the implementation of the planned interventions) and related to an annual production of 6 million tons of steel” and it emerged “a significant reduction in dust emissions compared to the scenario ante-operam “. For its part, the former Ilva, now Acciaierie d’Italia, announced that it had invested approximately 700 million in the environment in recent years and in May 2023, President Franco Bernabè announced, the interventions of the integral environmental authorization, included in a Dpcm of September 2017, will all be completed (the deadline set by The Hague is August 2023).
For the mayor Melucci, “the studies and updates conducted by Arpa and Asl have allowed us to proceed in this direction and restore the right to regular attendance to the students. We were also able to do this thanks to the construction of the ventilation systems in the neighborhood schools and their complete testing ”. “However, attention remains high – says the mayor – on the evolution of the picture described by the same studies, which invite us to monitor some pollutants, and on the behavior of large industry for which absolutely nothing changes”. No revocation, in fact, with respect to the measures envisaged for large industry, which will have to continue to comply with all the requirements ”, specifies the mayor of Taranto.
In four schools there is mechanical ventilation
Before the new ordinance, Peacelink, one of the most active environmental associations on the factory front, had written to Melucci asking to “continue to include in the next ordinance, in addition to prescriptions to reduce industrial production in those days, also effective measures to protect the health of the citizens of the Tamburi district of Taranto ”. This “even though there are no resolutive measures in the face of Ilva pollution until the hot area is stopped”. The drum schools where mechanical ventilation has been installed are Deledda, De Carolis, Gabelli and Vico. The work cost about 1.9 million. Previously, the schools had undergone other refurbishment interventions for an amount of 8-9 million. All these actions were carried out by the government commissioner for the reclamation of the Taranto area.