Minister Urso: 'Blast Furnace 1 is compromised, jobs and sales at risk'

The accident at Blast Furnace 1 has seriously damaged the structure and the time required to obtain the release of the seizure of the plant from the public prosecutor's office is too long to intervene and avoid structural damage.

The real risk is that there will be employment repercussions. The purchase of the plant could then fall through, or at least become less attractive, at a time when the negotiation was in the final phase with the commissioner structures of Acciaierie d'Italia in As and Ilva in As confronting the Azeris of Baku Steel.

"More than the negotiations in progress, the accident could compromise the recovery of the factories and employment. The plant is probably completely compromised", said the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso , who this morning had said he was waiting for a report from the commissioners to understand the situation. "They intervened too late, compared to what was requested on the basis of clear technical reports, they should have done it within 48 hours and unfortunately they did not have the authorization to do so - explained the minister - It is significant damage that will inevitably have immediate repercussions on employment".

The situation became clear in the afternoon when the company explained that at the time of the accident, the blast furnace was "full of melts" and "in these cases, it is necessary to intervene within 48 hours to avoid structural damage. In the case of managing the melts, it is necessary to lower the blast furnace charge and pour the molten materials remaining in the crucible". But the green light for the work, requested "to protect the integrity of the plant and not aimed at resuming production" did not arrive "in time". Only some activities were then authorised with a provision dated 10 May. In practice, "when they were to be authorised, today, more than 120 hours after the event, it is no longer possible to proceed with the casting of the melts, with the consequence that, in the event of restarting, extraordinary, complex procedures will have to be adopted, with absolutely uncertain outcomes".

This affects the restart schedule of the plant which, with one less blast furnace, will inevitably have to reduce its production capacity, which could potentially reach 6 million tons and which could now be cut by at least a third. With a certain impact on jobs but also with a possible lower valorization by the purchasing Azerbaijani group, which at this point could also decide not to proceed. Tomorrow, among other things, the employment aspect will be at the center of a discussion between the commissioners and the workers' representatives. Meanwhile, the political controversy is also rising. The senator from Puglia of Fratelli d'Italia, Filippo Melchiorre, attacked the prosecutor's office which "did not listen to the requests of the commissioners of the former Ilva after the accident at the blast furnace that occurred on Wednesday last week". "Moral - concluded the senator - now there is a serious risk that the blast furnace activity cannot resume quickly or can not resume at all, if not through extraordinary procedures with uncertain outcomes".