Response to the advice of the Health Expert Group IJmond: "Come and measure with us"

October 4, 2024: Today, the Health Expert Group IJmond presented its second advisory report to the State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management. Tata Steel Netherland greatly appreciates the research and advice provided by the Expert Group under the leadership of Professor Dr. Marcel Levi, and we aim to follow up on it as effectively and promptly as possible.

The Expert Group states that residents in the IJmond area should have the same opportunities for good health as other residents in urban areas in the Netherlands. We understand this very well, as we are deeply rooted in the IJmond area ourselves. We have 10,000 employees of which the majority live here, with their families.

Measurement and interpretation

The focus of the report is on the independent verification of our emissions measurements and the public disclosure of the  data as a result of these measurements. Tata Steel sees opportunities for further steps and improvement. Openness and transparency is where we should focus on and benefit from. . We already publish all our measurement data in a special Environmental Annual Report that we publish  annually. However, we realize these data are difficult for third parties or public at large  to understand. We are pleased to read that the Expert Group states that our measurements are of good quality. We take to heart the assertion that we keep measurements secret.

Together with the Expert Group, relevant ministries, and other parties, Tata Steel wants to explore how we can improve the measurement of emissions and their interpretation as quickly and effectively as possible. Therefore, we would like to collaborate with external parties to further investigate the effects of our emissions.

Ruth van de Moesdijk, Director of Health, Safety, Security, and Environment at Tata Steel, says, "We will ensure that the points identified by the expert group are given even higher priority at our internal board meetings so that we can take them into account in our decision-making process.

We believe it is important to be part of a broader investigation in the Netherlands into ultrafine particles. In our view, one or more external, independent, and accredited parties are welcome to come and measure ultrafine particles, just like in other locations in the Netherlands, and to interpret their values and effects given the complexity of this subject.

We also want to explore how, in collaboration with the Expert Group and/or other parties, we can make our measurement results more transparent and understandable for residents and other stakeholders. The last thing we want is uncertainty or doubt. We take the concerns of local  residents about this matter extremely seriously and hope to alleviate these concerns with more transparency."

Integration of health into the Green Steel (Maatwerk)  Plan

As a company working in the heavy industrial company, our emissions cannot be reduced to zero. However, this does not mean that we do not strive to further minimize the impact on the environment in the IJmond.

Together with the relevant authorities, permit issuers, and other institutions such as RIVM, GGD, and the expert group, we want to assess how to integrate health in the right way into the Customized Plan, ideally without causing delays. We have been working on a wide range of measures to reduce the emissions of odor, dust, and noise for some time. We have also included additional measures, such as the coverage of our raw material storage, in our Green Steel plan. We want to proceed with these measures as soon as possible, as our ultimate goal is a clean, green, circular, and sustainable steel company in the IJmond area.

Continuing to reduce the impact on the environment

For us, the most important thing is that we all share a common goal: further improving our processes and reducing the impact on the living environment. A clean environment is in everyone's interest. To achieve this, we have an extensive package of measures in place (our Roadmap Plus plan) and we are investing more than 300 million euros. With these kinds of measures, we are accelerating towards a cleaner l environment.

As stated, the production of Steel will never be a 100% clean industry. Nevertheless, we continue to focus on clean, green, circular steel and strive to minimize the negative impact on the environment. In our Green Steel Plan, we particularly focus on those aspects of nuisance that, according to the RIVM, affect health. We continue to engage in dialogue with all relevant authorities. We want to be part of the solution, not the problem.