Even after death, she said, the adjacent steel factory, which since 1965 has been spewing noxious fumes alleged to have caused thousands of cancer deaths, is inescapable. “This factory kills everything.”The long-beleaguered steelworks, one of Europe’s largest and still a major employer in Italy’s under-developed south, is once again in the spotlight as Giorgia Meloni’s government scrambles to keep it afloat. For the first few decades, the ­factory brought prosperity to a city that previously survived on fishing and agriculture. Their dome-like roof coverings were an environmental measure intended to prevent toxic dust from blowing towards people’s homes and schools. His father, Angelo said: “We have so many natural resources in Taranto, so saying we can’t live without the factory is a mistake.

Source: The Guardian March 11, 2024 03:56 UTC