The ILVA steel plant in Taranto, Italy – the largest in Europe – is seen in this Aug. 5, 2012 photo. Italian group ILVA said it might have to close the plant after judges ordered the seizure of steel and semi-finished products as part of a corruption probe that saw several managers arrested on Monday. The arrests come after reports of an elevated incidence of cancer in the area possibly related to emissions from the plant.Stringer/Italy/Reuters
Workers participate in a rally outside the the ILVA plant in Taranto Nov. 27, 2012. Workers who turned up for work on Tuesday morning found the gates locked, and several thousand stormed the facility and began a sit-in.Lapresse/The Associated Press
Over a thousand workers at an ILVA processing plant near Genoa in northern Italy, which workers say will last just four days without supplies of steel from the southern plant in Taranto, blocked a motorway into the city in a protest march against its closure.Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
A company logo is seen on a worker’s uniform during the protest in Genoa. The Italian government will have a plan to save the ILVA steel plant in time for a meeting with management this week, environment minister Corrado Clini said on Tuesday.Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
Workers gather on a highway in Genoa to protest the closing of the plant in Taranto. ILVA produced 8.5 million tonnes of steel in 2011, nearly 30 per cent of Italy’s total output.Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
Workers join the demonstration in Genoa, Nov. 27, 2012. Closure of the facility would be a blow to the Italian government, which has been working to keep the plant operating while addressing health concerns.Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
A worker from ILVA protests in Genoa against the southern plant’s possible closure, which puts 20,000 jobs at risk.Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
Workers participate in a rally outside the the ILVA plant in Taranto. ILVA denies its operations are connected with the elevated mortality rates in the region.Lapresse/The Associated Press
A worker looks at the ILVA plant from behind a fence in Taranto. Prosecutors on Monday ordered the arrests of seven people suspected of bribing officials to cover up environmental damage at the sprawling site.Lapresse/The Associated Press
The ILVA steel plant in Taranto is pictured at sunset in this Aug. 5, 2012 file photo.Stringer/Italy/Reuters