Facts about Tata Steel

The Roadmap Plus improvement programme comprises environmental investments worth hundreds of millions of euros. This approach mainly consists of the company's own ambitions that go beyond statutory obligations and have concrete objectives. The programme has halved PAH emissions compared to 2019 and will bring about a reduction in odour pollution by approximately 85%, approximately 70% less lead emissions and approximately 65% less dust in the environment within a short period of time.

The investments in Roadmap Plus come on top of earlier environmental investments. Since the emergence of environmental legislation in the 1980s and 1990s, we have continuously worked on reducing emissions and optimising business processes to reduce emissions per ton of steel. Emissions of almost all measurable substances have been decreasing for years. Emissions from Tata Steel (and its predecessors) have always been (far) below the legal maximum. This yields results. The air quality in IJmond is improving year on year and amply meets the applicable EUR standards (Source:www.luchtmeetnet.nl). This is not only due to Tata Steel, but also results from the fact that the air that blows over from other areas is cleaner and emissions from other sources in IJmond have been reduced. With the Roadmap Plus we contribute to further reducing emissions and improving the air quality in IJmond. In addition, we will switch to green steel production in 2030. As part of this, 1 blast furnace and Coking and Gas plant will be replaced by cleaner technologies. This will help reduce emissions further.

 

Footnote: * These figures are based on model calculations based on various assumptions. The calculations are made based on the most recent knowledge and choices (February 2023). Actual emissions after implementation may therefore deviate. The CO2 emission reduction depends on the availability of green hydrogen. The emission reductions for the other substances are based on steel production using natural gas.

The Coking and Gas plants must meet requirements in different areas, in terms of construction, emission of PAHs, environmental emissions, safety, depreciation value, and more. 

• PAHs
  For the emission of benzo(a)pyrene (this is the most representative indicator for the presence of all PAHs), the Coking and Gas plants comply with the Best Available Techniques. These are the most effective methods that are technically and economically viable to prevent emissions and wider environmental impact and have been established by the European Union.
  Source: InfoMil  (definition of Best Available Techniques)
  Source: European IPPC Bureau, BREF document, Iron and Steel Production | Eippcb (europa.eu)  
• Closing date and investments
  Even though we aim to close this plant by 2030 at the latest, we continue to invest in further improving its environmental performance. For example, also by incorporating new innovative techniques such as central furnace pressure control and thermocouples.
• Emissions at furnace doors
  Emissions at furnace doors have halved since 2019. According to initial measurements, odour emissions of this plant have decreased by approximately 75%.

 

Source:  Verificatie- en meetrapporten geur

• PAHs at furnace doors
  Because door emissions have decreased, it is also expected that the emission of PAH substances will have decreased further. This improvement has been embedded in the processes at Coking and Gas plant 2 and has led to a tightening of the permit by the North Sea Canal Area Environment Agency.
  Source: Ex officio amendment of environmental permit regulations, Article 2.31, second paragraph, under b, of the Environmental Permitting (General Provisions) Act (Wabo); emission indicator door emissions Coking Plant 2; letter of 29 October 2021, case number 10454095, document number 20474409.
• BaP emissions
  The immissions of benzo(a)pyrene at KGF2 are well below the statutory guideline value. There is an internationally accepted standard for the amount of benzo(a)pyrene in the air. RIVM determines this standard on the basis of data from the WHO*. All measurement stations in IJmond show that the measured values are well below the standard; in Wijk aan Zee, for example, it is about 7 times below this standard. The amount of PAHs present in the air – which comes from various sources, including from Tata Steel – therefore remains within the standard used by RIVM.
  Read more on the pageEmissions and air quality and the specific page on PAHs
  * The World Health Organization (Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie in Dutch) is the specialised agency of the United Nations that has a guiding and coordinating role in the field of health and wellbeing.
  Source: European Emission Authority website. Europe’s air quality status 2023 — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)
• Age and quality
  The most modern and operational coking plant in the EU is located on an integrated steel site in Duisburg. It is not possible to directly compare the performance of this plant with the coking plants in IJmuiden, because these figures are not publicly available. It is, however, possible to compare the exposure of local residents. In the residential area right next to this steel site, the BaP content in the air is about twice as high as in Wijk aan Zee. 
  Source: Umweltbundesamt | Für Mensch und Umwelt, Duisburg-Walsum measurement station
• Construction errors
  When KGF2 was built in 1972, no construction errors were made. There have been modifications of KGF2 over the past 50 years. These always resulted in emission reduction.
  Source: ODNZKG; Onderzoek constructiefouten Kooksgasfabriek 2 - Tata steel werken en wonen (odnzkg.nl).  

The Dutch nitrogen problem concerns the decrease in biodiversity in the Dutch Natura 2000 areas because of nitrogen (N molecule) precipitation. Tata Steel emits 1% of nitrogen in the Netherlands. Tata Steel is responsible for 0.12% of deposition in Natura 2000 areas (source: RIVM).  

The Dutch nitrogen issue will not be solved by closing Tata Steel.  

Precipitation in Natura 2000 areas: 40% agriculture, 35% other countries 11% traffic 2% industry + energy.

Thanks to previous measures, our nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx molecules) have already been reduced by approximately 20 per cent over the past 20 years. We are building a plant that reduces nitrogen emissions at the Pelletising plant. This is expected to reduce our nitrogen emissions by some 30% in 2025. Making green steel with hydrogen will further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in the future.
 

Source: Statistics Netherlands for emissions and RIVM for deposition Stikstof | RIVM 

Read more about nitrogen in our fact sheet.

The measurement agencies we hire are independent and certified. We use the measurement data to implement changes where necessary in order to achieve an even better result. The results of the Roadmap Plus programme are also tested by independent measuring agencies.

Independent feasibility studies have shown that our greening plans are feasible, in terms of both time and technology. The company will make green steel by switching to hydrogen. We are working hard to be able to produce green steel from 2030. We are also dependent on external factors, including infrastructure and permit and consultation procedures.

We believe it is important to be in dialogue with the community and to seek cooperation. We actively listen to local residents and, for example, have a Tata Steel in the Community counter in Wijk aan Zee, where local residents can report nuisance they experience. With the input from the community, we seek to identify possible sources on our site and take action to further reduce nuisance. In addition, we have ongoing consultations with local residents and the village council of Wijk aan Zee and we organise monthly tours for residents and regular meetings to involve local residents in our plans, at the counter or through In Conversation with Tata Steel.

Tata Steel in IJmuiden uses different types of water for different applications. The type of activity determines which type of water (which quality) is most suitable. In this way, the water is used as efficiently as possible to prevent water with too high a quality from being used for activities for which that quality is not necessary at all. Most of the water used is salt water that is used for indirect cooling (does not get polluted). In addition, fresh surface water from the Lek/IJsselmeer is used as process water for applications that require a higher quality water. From the fresh water, Tata itself also produces demineralised water for processes that require an even higher quality of water (such as boilers).The fresh water comes from the Lek and/or IJsselmeer and is only purified of suspended matter before it is used at Tata. The process water is recycled as much as possible in the various processes and therefore thickened. The remaining water is cleaned from various polluting components according to Best Available Techniques (BAT), after which it is discharged into the surface water.

As such, drinking water is not used for industrial activities, but only for sanitary purposes and consumption.

Overview of intake by water type:

• Sea water for indirect cooling of Blast Furnaces approx.  150-160 million m3/a
• Deep saline groundwater, for indirect cooling purposes only. Approx. 12-14 million m3/a (NB: this concerns deep (very) saline groundwater, not fresh phreatic groundwater)
• Brackish water for granulation of slag approx. 24-25 million m3/a
• Surface water (Lek/IJsselmeer) for processes that require water of a higher quality than salt water. Examples of this type of process: direct cooling (e.g. of slab) gas washing, demineralised water production, total approx.33 million m3/a. This water is recycled as much as possible in the processes and eventually often thickened and then cleaned and discharged into the surface water
• Drinking water for consumption/sanitation approximately 400,000 m3/a

The above amounts refer to the intake of water. The discharge of indirect cooling water is equal to the intake. The discharge of process water that is discharged after cleaning is lower than the intake, since this water often evaporates through recirculation and is thickened several times.