On June 19 over 1,000 chemical workers blocked the main railway to Venice in a protest against the threatened closure of the Porto Marghera petrochemical plant. The action came after a local prosecutor's decision to prevent the plant from disposing waste into the Venice lagoon.

The company, Enichem, has said that it is not in breach of any environmental protection laws, and is appealing the decision. It has warned that Porto Marghera's closure could shut down the chemical industry in northern Italy. Unions in the industry say that 20,000 jobs could be at risk.

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