In an effort to safeguard some 20,000 jobs at a time of rising unemployment,
the Italian government has taken an unprecedented step. It has reversed a court order that called for the partial shutdown of Europe's biggest steel plant because it is spewing cancer-producing dioxins.
The ILVA steel factory in the southern port city of Taranto pits the government versus the judiciary in a battle over health issues and the need for economic revival.
Taranto's skyline is dotted with giant cranes and the red-and-white striped smokestacks of the plant, which belchs dark clouds of polluting smoke for miles around.
Outside the port, some 30 cargo ships have been at anchor for weeks, waiting to load ILVA's court-impounded products.
Workers' representative Antonello Piccolo says trade unions have above all defended job security. He's worried about the court ruling's possible repercussions.
"The court's insistence on a shutdown could leave 20,000 people jobless," he says. "And the government knows it would have grave consequences for the entire economy."
In July, a court ordered the plant's partial shutdown and the arrests of seven managers, including owner Emilio Riva, on charges they are causing an environmental disaster. An international arrest warrant was also issued for his son Fabio, who is believed to be in London.
But the government reversed the shutdown order, saying that ILVA is of strategic importance, and that its closure would have a ripple effect on other steel plants and would drain more than $10 billion annually nationwide.
While the judicial showdown continues, Taranto's air is heavy with the smell and taste of metal.
Tests Reveal Dangerous Particles
But until recently, there was little awareness of the acute health hazards caused by the plant, which is the main employer in a region with 14 percent unemployment.
Court-ordered medical tests revealed high levels of carcinogenic particles –- including dioxins and PCB's in the air and soil. A municipal ordinance bans children from playing on dirt lots.
Dr. Patrizio Mazza, head of the hematology department at Taranto Hospital, has long been raising the alarm about the city's high cancer rates.
“ I know I'm putting dioxin on our dinner table, but this is our dilemma. They've poisoned our air, our land and our sea. If I start throwing out mussels, I have to throw out milk, cheese, and lettuce. The poison is everywhere."