A 38-year-old blast furnace worker
at the former ILVA steel plant run by ArcelorMittal at Taranto
on Friday had a heart attack and died before going onto the job
there.
Francesco Tomai was in the changing room at the sprawling plant
putting on his work clothes when the cardiac arrest struck,
local union sources said.
An attempt to revive him proved vain.
UILM union leader Rocco Palombella said the death had come at
"such a difficult time for the future of the ex-ILVA plant",
which is Europe's largest steel plant employing over 25,000
workers.
AreclorMittal has appealed against a recent court ruling
ordering it to close down the blast furnaces at Taranto because
of the harmful impact of emissions on the health of local
residents.
Emissions from the factory have been linked to a higher than
normal rate of cancers in the area, especially child tumours.
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