Tata Steel
Tata’s steel slag
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has twice assisted Tata Steel in disposing of polluting steel slag containing heavy metals. In both cases, this was contrary to internal policy or existing knowledge within the ministry about the environmental risks. For example, in 2010, the ministry instructed Rijkswaterstaat to use steel slag as a material in the construction of roads. While the same service had just stopped doing so due to ‘unacceptable risks’. In 2017, at the request of Tata Steel, the ministry issued an official statement that the material is not waste, despite its own negative experiences. This was published after research by radio programs Nieuws & Co and Nieuwsuur (NOS/NTR). Tata Steel itself cannot do anything with it, but it does produce around 650,000 tons of steel slag per year. That is the equivalent of around 26,000 trucks. The Dutch government stimulates the so-called circular economy: waste should be reused as much as possible. Companies that produce and sell steel slag therefore like to label it as a building material and not as waste.
For years, these contaminated steel slags have been used as a building material in the foundations of roads, paths and in waterworks in the Eastern and Western Scheldt. Both contractors and the government agency Rijkswaterstaat, which is responsible for the national roads in the Netherlands, were happy to use the material. Steel slags are much cheaper than sand and gravel. However, there are risks associated with using steel slags as a building material. Supervisory bodies such as the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the RIVM and the General Audit Office have increasingly raised the alarm about this over the past three years. In April 2025, the ILT concluded for the second time in two years that legislation and regulations do not sufficiently protect the environment. In practice, the use of steel slags results in soil contamination .
This happens when the steel slag comes into contact with groundwater or rainwater. This water then gets an increased pH value and therefore a low acidity, comparable to drain cleaner. Polluting metals are also released into the soil. Responsible State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, Chris Jansen (PVV), maintains his position that steel slag can be used safely “if applied properly”.
Rijkswaterstaat, the government agency that falls under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, has been one of the largest buyers of steel slag for years. But in 2009, the government agency stopped doing this after problems arose on the A28 near Hoogeveen: the steel slag caused “cauliflower and crack formation” in the road. Environmental problems also arose in other situations, such as increases in the acidity of surface and groundwater. According to Rijkswaterstaat, the use of steel slag leads to “unacceptable risks”. After consultation with the minister in 2009, the agency stopped using the material in road foundations. That decision immediately led to stagnation in the sale of steel slag around the same year, Rijkswaterstaat confirmed to Nieuwsuur. Result: Tata Steel, together with steel slag supplier Pelt & Hooykaas, approached the ministry and reported the “sales problems”.
Internal documents from Rijkswaterstaat show that the ministry gave Rijkswaterstaat the order to use the polluting steel slag again, despite the previously identified problems. Rijkswaterstaat carried out the order in 2012 and started a number of pilot projects using steel slag. One of these was the ‘Haak om Leeuwarden’ motorway. According to a spokesperson, the province of Friesland did not know that this was a pilot project or of the previous problems with steel slag. According to the province, the government promoted steel slag at the time.
Members of the Provincial States of Friesland reacted indignantly. All pilot projects, including the one in Leeuwarden, failed. Environmental problems and damage to the roads arose again. Rijkswaterstaat therefore decided in 2016 to definitively stop using steel slag as a construction material for roads. Although many commercial contractors were still using steel slag at that time, Rijkswaterstaat did not make the decision public and did not actively communicate to stop using steel slag in road construction. As a result, other governments and contractors do not know that the Rijksdienst considers the material unsuitable for road construction. Tata Steel again turned to the ministry in 2017 for a statement – a so-called legal judgment – stating that steel slag is not waste, but a by-product.
Such a legal judgment has no legal status, but is important for the image of the company and the product. Rijkswaterstaat drew up the statement, but had to test several conditions. For example, it had to be certain that there were no disposal problems for steel slag. And another condition was that steel slag would not cause environmental problems. Rijkswaterstaat was aware of the disposal problems of steel slag and also the environmental problems that the material caused, but Rijkswaterstaat nevertheless states in a statement: “steel slag is a by-product and can be used in roads, among other things. The ministry then officially issued the legal judgment. As a result, steel slag is still a legally permitted building material and the province of Friesland considers this to be a bad thing. Both Rijkswaterstaat and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management refer to the ministry for a number of aspects, which is said to be responsible. The ministry says it cannot answer many questions, because it was too long ago and documents cannot be found.
Pelt & Hooykaas, a company that is being investigated by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) , markets the steel slag on behalf of Tata Steel. However, there appears to be no actual sale: in 2018, a subcontractor in Hellevoetsluis received 6.65 euros per ton of steel slag, the OM states. Pelt & Hooykaas also paid for the transport by ship; the contractor only had to pay for the transport from the ship.
Ultimately, the subcontractor hoped to construct a 30-meter-high artificial hill to attract tourists along the N57. The so-called ‘Landmark’ would contain 750,000 tons of steel slag, more than Tata Steel’s annual production. Pelt & Hooykaas would pay the contractor a total of 5 million euros to take the gravelly material.
However, it did not come to that. After 63,000 tons of steel slag had been dumped in the polder near Hellevoetsluis to build a temporary road and a dredging depot, the work was stopped after many residents complained: they had health problems due to dust from the steel slag.
The material, which is created during steel production, contains quicklime. Inhalation or contact with the eyes causes complaints. These complaints were reported on a large scale by local residents. People said they suffered from nosebleeds, coughing fits and even burns due to the steel slag dust. Animals also became ill. “It has had a considerable impact on us,” said Cora van Mook, one of the local residents, during the hearing.
Reorganization
Tata Steel came up with a new reorganization plan on April 9, 2025. Partly due to the import restrictions from the United States and the new reorganization, 16 to 1800 jobs will be lost. In the last financial report, the company reported a loss of 556 million euros. The reorganization should yield a saving of 150 million euros.
Tata Steel employees will receive a one-off payment of at least 700 euros net in 2026. The unions and the ailing steel company have reached an agreement on this. The one-year crisis collective labor agreement runs from April 1 this year to March 31, 2026. In return for the one-off payment, employees will not receive a pay rise. The unions had asked for inflation to be compensated so that employees would not be worse off financially. However, due to Tata Steel’s financial situation and the obligation to emit less CO2 and harmful substances, this was not possible.
It also meant that a collective labour agreement with a term of several years was out of the question. The staff may still be eligible for an additional payment of 300 euros net if Tata Steel achieves a gross profit of 500 million euros in the coming financial year. This profit has been achieved five times in the past ten years. This could therefore be 1000 euros and because the payments are net, it means that the lowest wage brackets will benefit the most in proportion. The entire European steel market is suffering badly from high energy prices, import restrictions and cheap steel from outside the EU. In the consultation between the unions and Tata Steel it was also agreed that the pension premium will remain unchanged until 2029. Due to the reorganisation, General Manager Tom Eussen and Gunilla Saltin are also leaving the board of directors and they will also leave permanently in due course. Tom Eussen was General Manager in IJmuiden and Saltin was General Manager of the downstream divisions. This means that the board of directors now consists of just three people:
- Hans van den Berg, financial director since 2021. Before becoming director, Van den Berg worked at Tata Steel IJmuiden for 31 years
- Hans Turkesteen, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 1/9/2024
- Akash Latchman, Chief Project and Engineering Officer (CPEO) since 11/18/2024
- A commercial director is still being sought
The European Commission is going to help the steel industry because of the militarization. In order to help the sector, the Commission wants to limit the high energy prices for the European steel sector. Gas in Europe is about five times more expensive than in the US. Large consumers in the steel companies are hit hard by this. The European Commission wants these companies to be able to get lower network tariffs than others. They should also be given priority in the connection to electricity networks, above other types of companies. The so-called CO2 border levy of the EU is also being overhauled. In addition, the European Commission is working with caretaker minister Hermans on Dutch State Aid for the Environmental Impact Plans.
Companies that produce in the EU pay for the greenhouse gases that are released. The steel sector also falls under this measure. With the CO2 border levy, these companies are to be protected against imports from regions with less strict climate rules. Furthermore, the levy only applies to steel, but not to products that contain steel. The new plans include the promise that the European Commission will come up with a proposal at the end of this year to accommodate the producers in this. The plans are not only intended to save Tata Steel, but also the German ThyssenKrupp. The group wants to cut 5,000 jobs in the coming five years. In addition, 6,000 jobs in the support services will be transferred to external companies. The steel division employs 27,000 people. A loss of 1.4 billion euros will be made in 2025. Last year, the loss was 2 billion euros. In total, the steel division would shrink from 27,000 to 16,000 jobs and a production site in the Ruhr area will close.
Tata Steel Nederland produces, processes and distributes high-quality steel. The group consists of a number of Dutch branches, which in turn are part of the Tata Group . The new organisation consists of two business units: IJmuiden and Downstream, consisting of Tubes, Plating, Colors, Distribution and Building Systems.
The largest company of Tata Steel Nederland is Tata Steel IJmuiden, where mainly coils of high-quality and coated steel are produced. Around 9,000 people were employed in 2021 and around seven million tonnes of steel were produced annually. Tata Steel also has factories in IJsselstein, Geldermalsen, Maastricht, Nieuwegein, Oosterhout and Zwijndrecht. The company had announced that it would reduce the deposition of dust in the direct residential environment by 65% by 2023. In addition, the plan is to reduce the emission of particulate matter by 35% and that of heavy metals by 55% by 2026.
Tata Steel is working on a dust extraction system for the pallet factory, which was completed by the end of 2023. An additional extraction system was needed and the construction of a large wind screen to further limit the spread of dust has also been completed. In the meantime, 581 jobs were cut for the Tata Steel reorganization, but this was later partly withdrawn due to the greater need for steel caused by the war.
Tata IJmuiden employs 9,200 people. The 3,600 people who work in shifts will be spared from the reorganization. The greening would not be compromised. The central works council (COR) of Tata Steel is very critical of the decision of the management. The current situation of the company is said to be not only a consequence of the extremely poor market conditions at the moment, but also the result of the policy pursued in recent years.
Maintenance at Tata Steel’s notorious coke oven 2 plant is seriously lacking, the regulator has found. The coke ovens are in poor condition and necessary maintenance is being postponed by the company. Dark grey or black clouds containing substances of great concern sometimes come out of the coke oven, the regulator concludes. In most cases, this is due to leaks as a result of cracks, an open joint in an oven wall or mechanical damage to the oven. Tata Steel is said to be postponing necessary maintenance, while according to the permit, this must be done as soon as possible. All in all, the plant is not in a good state of maintenance and there is even a “continuous process of degradation”. The steel company itself claims that the number of incidents at the plant has been reduced further and that a lot of money is being invested in maintenance. The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service has threatened Tata Steel with two fines totalling almost 27 million euros to ensure that Tata Steel “will comply with the law”. Tata must pay the fines if it does not reduce the emission of harmful substances. The environmental service has concluded on the basis of measurements that the two coke gas factories exceed the standards. In the coke gas factories, coal is burned at high temperatures until the coke gas escapes and coke remains. This concerns the emission of ” substances of very high concern “, including heavy metals. According to the supervisor, the group exceeds the standards set for various harmful substances up to five times in one factory and up to twenty times in the other.
Tata Steel was given eight weeks to take measures to stop the violations. The environmental service also took a further step in a long-running procedure that could lead to the withdrawal of the permit for coke gas plant 2. The supervisory authority has given Tata Steel twelve months to ensure that coke gas plant 2 complies with the legal requirements. The court ordered the company to draw up a plan of action within six weeks . Some of the furnace walls appear to have cracks, which could lead to more polluting emissions. The overdue maintenance has had significant and irreversible consequences, according to the Environmental Service. The supervisory authority calls the steel manufacturer’s behavior “calculating and opportunistic.” Research by the Environmental Service in December 2024 showed that at least one furnace wall in 18 of the 108 furnaces in the factory is “completely inadequate.” In 81 other furnaces, part of a wall is rated inadequate. “Oven walls that are classified as inadequate are damaged walls that can lead to leaks,” writes the Environmental Service, and some ovens have been in use for years, while they are no longer in good condition. Tata must therefore take maintenance measures. Fewer oven walls have been replaced in recent years. In the period 2021-2024, twenty fewer oven walls were replaced than planned.
The service finds it “highly plausible” that the emission of black smoke plumes could have been prevented by timely replacement. According to the supervisor, 380 of these types of smoke plumes were observed in just over a year. This released substances that are “very harmful to people and the environment” into the air. “This means that you choose to continue using furnaces and not to repair them that you know or should know lead to dust emissions that you can and therefore should have prevented,” the supervisor wrote to Tata Steel. All of this is in violation of Tata Steel’s environmental permit. The Environmental Service does not consider it plausible that Tata is able to rectify the violations. “This document gives a shocking picture,” responded Andy Palmen, director of Greenpeace Netherlands. “The ancient and sickening coke plant 2, which is located right next to Wijk aan Zee, is almost falling apart from misery. Tata Steel itself says that the ovens have been repaired and “in our opinion meet the requirements”. However, twenty ovens are permanently out of use and nine are temporarily empty for maintenance, says a spokesperson. “This is the current status. We are investing quite a lot in the maintenance of the coke plant.” The spokesperson says that Tata Steel is in consultation with the Environmental Service. “We want to get out of the legal process and are now working on a plan of action.”
In addition to the notice, the Environment Agency imposed penalty payments for violations, such as the emission of “raw coke” (uncooked coke), which releases toxic gases due to insufficient heating of coal. In 2024, Tata was fined amounts such as €100,000 per violation, with a maximum of €9.75 million for Coke Factory 2 and €17.065 million for Coke Factory 1. However, a court ruled in December 2024 that some of the fines were not substantiated clearly enough, forcing the Environment Agency to reassess them.
Environmental groups such as FrisseWind.nu and Greenpeace have taken legal action, including collection requests for dozens of incidents involving raw coke. In April 2025, the Haarlem District Court declared Tata’s appeals against certain fines and permit denials unfounded, a victory for environmental groups.
The December 2025 deadline is fast approaching. In June 2025, Tata Steel submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for their “Green Steel Plan”, which aims to reduce CO₂, but according to critics such as FrisseWind.nu, the emission of particulate matter and other harmful substances remains problematic. Local residents and environmental organisations remain critical and demand stricter enforcement or closure of Coke Factory 2.
The Environmental Service is keeping a closer eye on things, thanks in part to camera footage from FrisseWind.nu and Greenpeace, which records violations. Tata continues to claim that some emissions (such as raw coke) are unavoidable, but environmental organisations point to the outdated technology and structural maintenance backlog.
Local residents, supported by organisations such as Greenpeace and FrisseWind.nu, have been pushing for the closure of Kooksfabriek 2 for years due to health risks, such as an increased risk of lung cancer and other conditions. In 2023, the RIVM stated that residents of IJmond live an average of 2.5 months shorter due to Tata’s emissions. Political pressure is growing, with motions in the House of Representatives to impose stricter standards.
A criminal investigation into Tata’s environmental damage, launched in 2022, has still not been completed, causing frustration among local residents.
Despite all the negative reports, violations and serious environmental pollution, the government wants to help Tata Steel Nederland (TSN) make steel production in IJmond more sustainable and cleaner. In this context, TSN submitted its amended Green Steel plan in November 2023. This plan focuses on clean, green, circular steel production in IJmond. In April 2024, the previous government established the negotiating mandate for a tailor-made agreement with TSN.
Tata Steel Nederland says that the CO2 emissions of the steel plant in IJmuiden will be reduced by 5 megatons annually from 2030 through more sustainable production. That is a reduction of 40 percent compared to the current level. This is stated in the Environmental Impact Report that Tata Steel has submitted to the province of North Holland and has published on its own website.
In the Green Steel sustainability plan, Tata Steel will significantly reduce the use of coal by switching to natural gas and sustainably generated electricity. According to the group, this reduction of 5 megatons (5 billion kilos) is the largest CO2 reduction by a company in the Netherlands ever. This can be even greater by also using hydrogen and CO2 storage in the future.
“Our Green Steel plan, which was partly shaped by the unions, is fully supported by our parent company in India. It means an unprecedented change for us and for the environment in the coming years,” says CEO Hans van den Berg of Tata Steel Nederland. According to him, this CO2 reduction contributes to achieving the climate goals of the Netherlands.
In addition to CO2 reduction, Tata Steel also wants to reduce odour pollution and significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen and other substances. “We go further than is legally expected of us. Innovative solutions ensure that our company not only now more than meets the requirements, but will continue to be a leader for decades to come,” says Jeroen Klumper. He is director of sustainability plans at Tata Steel. Klumper reports that the preparations for the Green Steel plan are in full swing and that hundreds of people are working on it every day. “The construction drawings are ready, we know where the new factories will be and what that means for our site.”
Tata Steel also wants to reduce the emission of particulate matter by covering ore fields. “This is one of the most effective ways to reduce the blowing of dust from our site. This follows up on previous findings by the RIVM. Their research shows that particulate matter from the Tata Steel site, which mainly comes from the ore fields, is the biggest factor in direct health effects among local residents,” the company says. Other measures include reducing noise pollution and covering conveyor belts.
On 28 May 2024, the House of Representatives held a plenary debate on the future of Tata Steel. In this debate, improving health as soon as possible was emphasised as an essential component, as was preventing over-subsidisation. On this basis, negotiations with TSN were started on behalf of the cabinet to arrive at a Joint Letter of Intent (JLOI) and ultimately a binding tailor-made agreement. The main objectives of this (intended) tailor-made agreement are to realise above-statutory health improvements in the direct living environment as soon as possible and accelerated sustainability. The House of Representatives was informed in the meantime about the progress of these negotiations with TSN during (confidential) technical briefings on 16 May 2024, 2 July 2024, and 16 October 2024.
The purpose of the customised agreement with TSN is twofold: 1) to reduce the impact of the company on the health of local residents as quickly and as far as possible, both in terms of emissions, immissions and nuisance and 2) additional reduction of CO 2 emissions. To this end, one blast furnace and one coke gas plant will be replaced by a Direct Reduction Plant (DRP) and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), combined with extra-legal environmental measures. It is important that TSN has a view of a sustainable long-term revenue model. This is so that high-quality steel production in the Netherlands and its strategic and economic value (such as innovative strength, contribution to the local economy and employment) are retained. In the customised agreement, we want to make agreements about which extra-legal measures will be taken in the environmental field, how much extra CO 2 emissions will be reduced, and what the state’s possible contribution to this will be.
In concrete terms, the commitment to the tailor-made agreements with TSN is to achieve the following goals in 2030:
- Reducing the impact on local health and the environment by:
- reduction of the amount of particulate matter originating from the company in the environment;
- reduction of NO 2 emissions from diffuse sources at ground level;
- reduction of peak and tonal noise;
- reduction of odour nuisance; and
- reduction of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), including PAH emissions
- Reduction of 5 Mton of CO2 emissions ; This means a 40% reduction of CO2 emissions from TSN in IJmuiden compared to the baseline emissions of 12.6 Mton as agreed in the EOP.
- Reduction of at least 38% of nitrogen emissions, compared to 2019 (in combination with measures already taken.
As part of already approved state aid requests, such as for Saarstahl in Germany and ArcelorMittal in France, the European Commission (EC) requires an ambitious phase-in path for the use of green hydrogen. Given the current high prices for green hydrogen, this seems very challenging. ThyssenKrupp in Germany has already announced that they will reconsider their sustainability plans in these challenging times due to major uncertainties on technical, economic and political boundary conditions. ArcelorMittal has indicated that they only want to invest if the EC provides clarity on the future of the steel industry. This concerns, among other things, the overcapacity on the global market, the energy costs in Europe, the development of hydrogen and CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism). The EC recently published ‘A Competitive Compass for the EU’ in which more emphasis is placed on the competitiveness of Europe. The Dutch government is in close contact with the EC about the content of this.
Specifically in the Netherlands, a larger increase in network tariffs than in the countries surrounding us leads to a competitive disadvantage compared to other European steel manufacturers. The national CO 2 levy is an instrument intended to stimulate companies to become more sustainable, but Tata Steel indicates that the CO 2 levy also leads to a worsened competitive position within Europe and a limitation of the earning capacity. This creates an uneven playing field and makes it more difficult to finance the Green Steel project. This may affect the creation of a binding customised agreement. The network tariffs are part of the Interdepartmental Policy Research (IBO) Financing of electricity infrastructure. This IBO must lead to concrete policy options that contribute to our competitiveness and affordability.
There have also been recent developments in the area of permits, supervision and enforcement at TSN. These relate to existing installations, which also affect (the scope of) custom agreements, such as at the Kooksgasfabrieken. A custom agreement by definition contains extra-legal environmental measures: no support is provided for environmental measures that can be enforced by enforcing existing rules. We are closely monitoring developments and considering the effect on the custom agreement to be made. Of course, the current and future installations of TSN must comply with the applicable laws and regulations, regardless of a custom agreement. The competent authority, the Province of North Holland and the Environmental Service North Sea Canal Area mandated by it, are responsible for enforcement and supervision of this.
In the coming period, the government will continue to talk with TSN. The aim is for these discussions to result in a concept JLOI. When this is done, the Advisory Committee on Customised Agreements for Sustainable Industry (AMVI) will analyse the concept JLOI and issue a public recommendation on it. In doing so, the advisory committee will look at the formulated objectives, feasibility and effectiveness, among other things. Given the special attention for health risks, the IJmond Health Expert Group will be involved in this. The JLOI will be made public. The JLOI will be further elaborated in a definitive, binding customised agreement.
The first formal step in the European process is to start a pre-notification. When the EC subsequently indicates that it has sufficient information to assess the aid measure, the pre-notification is converted into a formal notification. The EC will then make a final assessment of the application and decide whether or not to grant state aid approval.
While the discussions on the customised agreement are ongoing, a number of external circumstances have changed. The European steel industry is under pressure due to high energy prices in Europe and increased imports from China at very low prices. The import duty on steel recently announced by the United States will also have an impact on the European steel market. In addition, the German industry and specifically the automotive industry is having a hard time. This industry is a buyer of TSN’s high-quality steel. These developments are deteriorating the competitive position of the steel industry and the financeability of the transition plans in general in Europe. In light of these market circumstances, TSN has announced cutbacks so that the company’s earning capacity remains in order and it can continue to invest in the green transition and reduce the impact on health and the living environment.
Tata Steel will be hit hard by the new US import duties . Tata sells about 12 percent of its total sales to the US. This is not the first time that Tata Steel has been hit by Trump’s duties. During his previous term as US president, all kinds of duties were also introduced. At that time, the impact for Tata Steel was ‘ultimately limited because an exception was made for special and critical products, including steel. Tata supplies steel products to the US that are ultimately used for the production of batteries for electric cars, high-quality packaging materials and ‘other advanced and special types of steel that are all used and processed on a daily basis in the US.
In addition to these problems, there are also other matters such as a lawsuit in Haarlem against a drastic measure and fines that the supervisory authority, the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service, has imposed since September 2022 for violations at the coke factory. The production there also produces polluting ‘raw coke’ from the oven, which according to the supervisory authority is prohibited. Tata itself states that this cannot be completely prevented from a technical point of view. Tata is demanding that the measure be withdrawn in court. If this does not happen, the group fears ‘far-reaching follow-up steps’ from the supervisory authority, possibly even withdrawal of the permit for the coke factories. ‘With a disastrous effect’, according to Tata Steel in an explanation by email. Withdrawal of the permit is a real risk.
Tata Steel Nederland is a separate entity within Tata Steel Ltd. Since a split in October 2021, it is no longer affiliated with Tata Steel UK. In the Netherlands, Tata submitted a revised Green Steel plan to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate at the beginning of November 2023. They are continuing their transition to a greener, cleaner and more circular way of making steel in the IJmond region. The revised Green Steel plan must contribute to achieving Dutch and European climate objectives, reducing the impact on the direct living environment and making Tata Steel Nederland and the Netherlands more circular. Compared to the previous plan, the revised plan places more emphasis on the environment and focuses on a different technology, but with the same climate ambition.
In the revised plan, they reconfirm that Coke and Gas Plant 2 (KGF2) will close in 2029 at the latest and that Blast Furnace 7 will close when their first new green steel installations (a so-called Direct Reduced Iron technology (DRI) combined with an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)) are ready – mid-2030. This will then mean 40% less CO2 emissions. They also want to take further measures to further reduce the emission and drift of fine dust and use more scrap in the production of steel (from 17% to 30%). In a next phase of the transition, they want to close Blast Furnace 6 and Coke and Gas Plant 1. The so-called ‘final investment decision’ for the Green Steel plan will be taken when the tailor-made agreement and the permits are in place.
A study by EenVandaag showed that between 1975 and 2010, a total of almost 2,400 Tata Steel employees died before the age of 65. Compared to the national mortality rate among men up to that age, this meant an excess mortality of 46 percent. “These are really considerable numbers,” responds professor of preventive medicine at Maastricht University Onno van Schayck. The RIVM has already demonstrated that there is a relationship between Tata Steel’s emissions and the health effects on the environment. Last year, the RIVM announced that residents living near the steel factory die an average of 2.5 months earlier .
The health of local residents will be given a prominent place in the customised agreement that the government is discussing with the company. This was already decided earlier, and the second advice from the IJmond Health Expert Group underlines the urgency of this. The advice from the Expert Group will be adopted where possible. The government is currently in discussions with Tata Steel about a possible customised agreement. With this type of agreement, the government wants to help companies in the Netherlands to become more sustainable. This involves reducing CO2 and nitrogen emissions and contributing to a clean living environment. With the intended customised agreement with Tata Steel, the government wants to realise as many health benefits as possible by 2030, in addition to sustainability. Specific measures that contribute to this include closing Kooksgasfabriek 2 as soon as possible (an outdated factory that regularly emits harmful substances), the accelerated construction of roofs over raw material fields and the realisation of noise-reducing measures.
In this way, local residents will be better protected against air pollution, dust and noise pollution. The government also wants to stipulate in the customised agreement that Tata Steel will continue to focus on the further transition to sustainable and clean production. This is expected to lead to lower emissions of substances of very high concern. Incidentally, Tata Steel will also have to continue to minimise substances of very high concern after the agreements have been recorded. This is a legal requirement for all companies that emit these substances. The customised agreement will accelerate the process. Finally, the government will ensure that the regulations are tightened, so that the competent authority (in this case the province of North Holland and its environmental service) is better able to enforce matters that are not currently being realised with the customised agreement, through licensing, supervision and enforcement. With these measures, the government is responding to the advice of the Expert Group. At the same time, it will not be possible to realise all the advice within the intended customised agreement with Tata Steel. Implementing all the advice requires more measures, more resources and more time.
There is now considerable overcapacity on the European market, steel prices are low and customers are hesitant. In addition, the automotive industry is under pressure, which Tata Steel is also directly affected by. This deteriorating market situation is partly caused by steel imports from China at low prices. The competitive position is also under pressure due to the high costs that Tata Steel Nederland incurs in the Netherlands, such as the high costs for the electricity network, energy costs and the additional Dutch CO2 tax. Tata Steel is anticipating the deteriorating market developments and at the same time continues to focus on the transition of the company. That is why Tata Steel Nederland is taking cost-saving measures that immediately yield money, including in purchasing, sales and inventory management. In addition, a partial vacancy freeze is being implemented and training and business trips are being significantly limited.
At the same time, Tata Steel Nederland is continuing its steel production unabated in order to be able to supply customers immediately when the market recovers. In doing so, the company is making no concessions to safety, health and the environment . Tata Steel will continue to work with all parties involved on a future-proof steel company with a focus on reduced impact on the environment. In all of Tata Steel’s business processes, attention is focused on this transition to clean, green and circular steel . Discussions with the government to reach a tailor-made agreement to support our green route are in full swing. Tata Steel England is receiving half a billion pounds from the government for the transition to emission-free steel. 2,500 jobs will be lost in the process.
The group has reached the maximum of its bank loans. Tata had a revolving credit of 200 million euros with banks, but that money was already used up at the beginning of this year. The credit has now been increased in two stages to a limit of 600 million euros. In the past six months, 150 million euros was also borrowed from the parent company and that money must be repaid in the first months of 2025. Tata has stopped all purchasing expenditure that is not related to steel production. It also put pressure on suppliers, some of whom have been supplying the steel company for decades, to contribute to improving the cash position. Early next year, new measures should ensure an additional saving of 60 million euros.
A pitch-black, hundred-meter-high plume of smoke burst from one of Tata Steel’s furnaces on August 20. It is known that Tata Steel emits more than is officially allowed, and last July the steel company was fined for violating environmental regulations. Some people thought a bomb had exploded. The Environmental Service announced via X that it had been informed by Tata Steel of an ‘unusual incident’ and that a plume of smoke could be seen at blast furnace 6. According to the spokesperson for the Environmental Service, the enormous plume of smoke and bang were the result of the excessive pressure in the furnace, which caused pressure relief valves to open. This safety rule is to prevent the whole thing from exploding.
Why the pressure in the furnace has become so high is currently unclear and is being investigated. Both Tata Steel coke plants will remain under increased supervision . This was introduced in June 2023 and will therefore remain in force despite some improvements. Tata Steel Nederland is the largest industrial emitter in the Netherlands. With a CO2 footprint of 15 million tonnes, the company is responsible for 8 percent of total Dutch emissions. In addition to CO2, the plant also emits a whole range of other harmful substances: particulate matter, lead, nitrogen dioxide and carcinogenic PAHs.
Tata Steel Nederland made a loss of 556 million euros in the past financial year. This loss is partly due to the high energy and raw material prices. A year earlier, the company made a profit of 352 million euros. Tata Steel will be cutting 580 jobs ‘in order to remain competitive and profitable in order to be able to invest in new ways of steel production now and in the future’. This mainly concerns jobs in management and support functions. Earlier, it was still said that 800 jobs would be cut. In the first quarter of 2025, the company will have to make another 60 million euros in cuts.
The OVV and the Industry and Residents report were the subject of a debate on April 4, 2024 around Tata Steel (IJmuiden), Chemours (Dordrecht) and APN (Nijmegen) .
The action agenda included four themes:
- A good neighbour:
Promoting dialogue between residents, industry and governments (action 1). - Less nuisance, cleaner air: Reducing industrial emissions by tightening regulations or using financial incentives
- Measuring and knowing: Performing more measurements at and around companies. More insight into harmful emissions for the competent authority and citizens. RIVM explorations of health risks around industrial clusters/companies
- A reliable government: Health should be fully taken into account in the context of the environmental law. Strengthen the advisory role of the GGD. Set up action teams to coordinate government action.
The results and outcomes of the debate were postponed to the new cabinet, but the House of Representatives had already agreed to the cabinet plans to help Tata Steel financially (up to 3 billion euros) to become greener if the parent company also contributes and guarantees are provided to safeguard the health of local residents. The accelerated greening is part of the plans to achieve the climate goals.
Tata Steel, which produces between 17,000 and 20,000 tons of high-quality steel per day for companies including Volvo and Tesla, has been one of the country’s largest industrial employers since it opened in 1920, with around 10,000 employees and even more indirect jobs. The company’s role has made it untouchable by political parties and has caused the Dutch government to adopt an overly lenient stance for a long time. A plant that should significantly reduce nitrogen emissions is now being installed at the pellet factory. This plant and the new dust removal plant cost 200 million euros in total.
Recent developments and the need for more weaponry makes Tata Steel indispensable
Tata Steel has not been adhering to the environmental agreements it made with the government in 1992 for a long time. The Dutch basic metal industry concluded an environmental agreement with the central government in 1992. The sector promised to significantly reduce the emission of pollutants. Targets were set for each substance for the emissions in 2000 and 2010. In many cases, the emissions had to be reduced by 90 percent or more.
Tata Steel uses approximately 227 billion litres of water per year. Approximately 33 billion litres of this is fresh water, of which 0.5 billion litres is purified drinking water
The RIVM has demonstrated a direct relationship between the emissions of Tata Steel and the health effects for the environment. In 1992, residents of the municipality of Beverwijk already called in the RIVM in vain to investigate the graphite rains, which had also caused a lot of nuisance in Wijk aan Zee at the time. The residents have an extra chance of becoming (seriously) ill due to the emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Their expected life expectancy is also 2.5 months shorter and the risk of lung cancer is greater in Wijk aan Zee. Approximately 4 percent of the new cases per year are caused by these emissions. The long-awaited report from the RIVM is based on existing data and previous studies by the RIVM, the GGD and Nivel (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research). After Tata is closed, the Province wants to use the nitrogen space that will then be created for the expansion of Schiphol. On balance, closing the factory would therefore yield little environmental benefit.
The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service (OD NZKG) sent a notice of intent at the beginning of October. The environmental service wants Tata to comply with the environmental regulations and to get coke factory 2 in order. At the same time, the supervisor is investigating whether the factory’s permit can be revoked . Three previous orders subject to penalty payments have already been imposed. Within those three orders subject to penalty payments, 42 fines have already been paid. Coke factory 2 is not only one of Tata’s most polluting factories, but also one of the most important for the company. Closure could therefore be a major problem. ‘That factory produces coke and that is indispensable in the blast furnaces for the production of pig iron.’ The production of a smaller coke factory is insufficient, which means that coke would have to be imported. ‘But that is associated with very high costs.
In 1975, researchers carried out measurements at ten different measuring points. In Wijk aan Zee in particular, the concentration of PAHs was five times higher than outside the area around Tata Steel. “During winds over the Tata site, strongly increased concentrations were measured at the measuring points in Wijk aan Zee and IJmuiden and slightly increased in Beverwijk, which indicate a clear influence of the Tata blast furnaces on the concentration level on site.” Throughout the year, there was an average of twenty times more PAHs in the air in Wijk aan Zee than is currently considered the maximum permissible. However, the researchers concluded in 1977 that these measurements were not really abnormal, because the air quality in foreign industrial cities was comparable or even worse. When the research was published, it generated little publicity.
The researchers had already established a direct link with the coke plants of the Hoogovens, where coal is processed into fuel for the steel process. The measurements “give the strong impression that both coke plants have a considerable influence on the PAH concentrations in the IJmond area. In the past fifteen years, regular research has been conducted into the health of residents living near Tata Steel. Asbestos cancer and lung cancer occur more frequently than average around the plant, but it has proven difficult to establish a direct link with the plant. Previous RIVM studies had already shown that the dust that settles around Tata Steel contains heavy metals and PAHs. Although the emission of these substances is decreasing according to Tata Steel, the RIVM has not yet seen any improvement in the dust measurements. The dust poses a risk, particularly for children playing outside. That is why the playgrounds in Wijk aan Zee are cleaned daily by Tata Steel. The amount of PAHs in the air near Wijk aan Zee has already decreased significantly.
In 2022, the concentration of carcinogenic substances was a hundred times lower than in the measurements from 1975. However, they are still three times as prevalent as in a control area outside IJmond. The World Health Organization WHO emphasizes that there is no safe level for suit substances, and that emissions must be reduced as much as possible.
Tata Steel is currently the largest CO2 emitter in the Netherlands, responsible for 7 percent of the national total. The actual emissions of metals and PAHs on the Tata Steel site are probably much higher than the reported emissions. This is the conclusion of the RIVM in a new report. The RIVM compared GGD measurements of metals and PAHs (molecules from coal and tar in particular) in the vicinity of the factory with the quantities that you would expect based on the emissions reported by the factory. According to the researchers, this sometimes shows a big difference. For example, the emissions of some PAHs are on average a factor of a thousand higher per year than you would expect based on the reported emissions. The emissions that are not included also include the dust released by subcontractors, who do not have to report their emissions. This also includes residual product processor Harsco Metals, which regularly caused large dust clouds with graphite a few years ago.
Tata Steel now suddenly sees more in a future in which they no longer make steel themselves using iron ore, but want to limit themselves to melting down scrap and thereby want to become more of a recycling company. Tata outlines this scenario in an initial report on the discussion meetings that the company has held with local residents, about the future plans of the company.
Two years ago, Tata announced that they wanted to switch to using green hydrogen instead of coal. Government support is needed for this, which the now demissionary cabinet is no longer allowed to decide on. In particular, the two coke-gas factories that degas coal before it is used for steel production in the blast furnaces cause nuisance and fines.
Tata Steel has successfully tested a new technique as an alternative to blast furnaces. The graphite rains of Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee have been causing a lot of nuisance for years. Research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) showed that the graphite rains contained “undesirable” amounts of lead, manganese and vanadium. In recent years, 10,231 “unusual incidents” occurred in which fine dust and harmful substances were emitted. Measures taken to stop the nuisance did not help, resulting in prosecution by the Public Prosecution Service. The responsible management can face a prison sentence of up to twelve years, or even fifteen years if it can be demonstrated that one or more persons died as a result of the behavior.
The steel factory (more than 9,000 employees) consists of seventeen sub-factories whose emissions were not included in the models. In practice, the actual emissions appear to be many times higher. In September 2022, Tata Steel promised to completely overhaul the production process in the coming years. In September 2021, after a complaint by Mr. Ficq in May 2021, RIVM research determined that the amount of heavy metals and PAHs in the living environment of the factory could be harmful to children. For years, local residents have been very concerned about what exactly comes out of the factory and what consequences this has for health and called in Mr Ficq for this. The sharp results of various RIVM reports have led to the factory’s right to exist being under pressure: in September, deputy Jeroen Olthof (health and environment, PvdA) wondered out loud whether there was still room for the steel industry in the region.
Following a complaint filed by counsel mr. Ficq, on behalf of over 800 natural persons and a number of legal entities, the Public Prosecution Service has launched a criminal investigation against the companies mentioned, and is also including residual product processor Harsco Metals Holland in this investigation. The Public Prosecution Service wants to investigate whether the companies deliberately released hazardous substances into the soil, air or surface water, and is also immediately investigating the role of the management within the two companies. This investigation is led by the Functional Parket and is being carried out by a team composed of several investigative authorities. No further statements will be made by the Public Prosecution Service during the investigation. On 3 February 2022, subcontractor Harsco Metals Holland had to appear before the Amsterdam court for possible violations of the permit regulations. Later this year, Tata will also have to answer to the court for four violations, including the ‘black snow’ that was probably caused by coal dust in February 2021. The toxic and carcinogenic substance chromium-6 was also discovered in groundwater on the site of steel manufacturer Tata Steel in June 2022. The substance was found in groundwater samples taken by the supervisory authority, the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service. The Provincial Executive of North Holland (GS) wrongly failed to assess whether the permit granted to Tata Steel for a new furnace in the hot strip mill could lead to different sulphur dioxide emissions.
The Provincial Executive also wrongly failed to investigate the consequences of the increase in lead and nickel emissions. This follows from the ruling of the North Holland District Court. The court therefore annulled the permit granted. Tata Steel will be given a “significantly higher” penalty, reports the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service (OD NZKG), but the amount is not yet known. The steel plant sometimes emits so-called raw coke, which is harmful to people and the environment. Tata has already received a penalty twice before for emitting the uncooked coke, totalling 650,000 euros. In the past five years, Tata Steel employees have been exposed to the carcinogenic material asbestos 35 times. In five incidents that took place last year, 61 Tata Steel employees were exposed to asbestos. This involved a situation in which sawing was taking place. In 2017, five hundred employees worked with the asbestos-containing blasting grit, and there was an incident at the packaging line.
At the end of November, the Intelligence and Investigation Service of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT-IOD), the DCMR Environmental Service Rijnmond and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) conducted an investigation at the Tata Steel location to gain more insight into the steel production process and the operation of the coke and gas plants. Both Tata Steel and the company Harsco Metals, which is located on the Tata site, are deliberately releasing hazardous substances into the air, soil and surface water. And that would pose a risk to public health. At the beginning of February 2022, the Public Prosecution Service already announced that it had started an investigation. On 8 February 2023, the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service again filed a complaint against the group because an inspection revealed that the steel company’s dust monitors did not meet the legal requirements.
In the area, far too high concentrations of harmful substances are still being measured. Research results show that there are no clearly measurable effects of the measures taken by Tata Steel. The dust in the area contains metals including lead, manganese, vanadium, chromium and PAH. The two Tata Steel coke gas factories in IJmuiden will be placed under increased supervision by the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service. The measure was taken because there is an ‘increase in the number of reports of unusual incidents and insufficient compliance with permit requirements and laws and regulations’. Inspectors saw that the problems at the coke gas factories are piling up and that the number of emissions has almost increased fivefold in the past year. The coke gas factories are dated and one even dates back to 1924, the second to 1972.
The factory was completely overhauled in the 1970s. Coke is the fuel for the blast furnaces in which the company processes iron ore to make steel. Tata Steel was already sentenced in February 2023 to two fines totaling 110,000 euros for the spread of hazardous dust clouds and other violations of environmental regulations from 2018 to 2022. Tata Steel had insufficiently protected the area around the factories against harmful substances and is said to have failed to carefully comply with the permits and regulations. The environmental service has already imposed penalty payments on Tata Steel several times in recent times due to incidents with undercooked coke (the insufficiently heated ground coal). In four months, the supervisor found three violations. The company was fined because, among other things, it did not prevent dust from spreading and discharged waste water into the outer harbor at IJmuiden. In the past five years, Tata Steel employees have been exposed to the carcinogenic material asbestos 35 times. In five incidents that occurred last year, 61 Tata Steel employees were exposed to asbestos. This involved a sawing situation. In 2017, five hundred employees worked with asbestos-containing blasting grit, and there was an incident at the packaging line. At the end of November, the Intelligence and Investigation Service of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT-IOD), the DCMR Environmental Service Rijnmond and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) conducted an investigation at the Tata Steel location to gain more insight into the steel production process and the operation of the coke and gas plants.
Both Tata Steel and the company Harsco Metals, which is located on the Tata site, are deliberately releasing hazardous substances into the air, soil and surface water. And that would pose a risk to public health. At the beginning of February 2022, the Public Prosecution Service already announced that it had started an investigation. On 8 February 2023, the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service again filed a complaint against the group because an inspection showed that the steel company’s dust monitors do not meet the legal requirements. The Coke Gas Factory 2, with which Tata repeatedly violated the emission regulations, must close in 2029. The special coal on which the steel factories run can be imported, but that is much more expensive. Tata needs its own coal factory to be able to finance the transition to green steel. However, according to Tata, cleaner production will not be possible without 1 billion euros in government subsidies. There has been no clear improvement in recent years, the RIVM reported at the end of March 2023 after repeating previous research. A mass damage claim was filed by 1,400 local residents and FrisseWind.nu, which acts as a collective interest representative. In a letter and a hearing on September 1, 2023, they demanded compensation for all the dust, noise , poor air quality and odor caused. The village experiences a lot of noise pollution from Tata Steel
According to the foundation “Frisse Wind Nu” lung cancer occurs 25 percent more often in the IJmond area than in the rest of the Netherlands. In some postcode areas in Beverwijk and Velsen that percentage is even higher. In terms of ultrafine dust the entire region could even be compared to a busy traffic square. Furthermore, the RIOVM used models with data supplied by Tata itself that turned out to be incomplete. According to the RIVM it is difficult to gain insight into exactly which parts of the production processes of Tata Steel are responsible for the emissions.
In 2015, Tata Steel announced the intended closure of its Long Products division in Europe. Greybull Capital acquired the business, rebranding it “British Steel”. Greybull provided and arranged a financing package of over £400 million. In 2019, the complications of Brexit had a serious impact on the business, including a significant drop in orders from European customers and the loss of access to certain financial markets. In March 2020, the group was sold to Chinese steelmaker Jingye.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants emergency legislation to be passed quickly to prevent the closure of British Steel’s blast furnaces in Scunthorpe. The legislation would give the British Economy Secretary the powers to do “everything possible” to prevent the closure. British Steel and the British steel industry have been struggling for years. Concerns about the sector were recently exacerbated when US President Donald Trump introduced 25 percent import duties on foreign steel.
The British parliament will meet on April 12, 2025, to debate and vote on the emergency measure. “This government will take action to secure Britain’s future with British steel: made in Britain, in the national interest,” the prime minister said. “There is no time to lose.” Last month, British Steel announced plans to close its last two blast furnaces in the UK in June, threatening 2,700 jobs. The company said the decision was due to difficult market conditions and the high cost of complying with environmental regulations. Initially, the Chinese company had wanted to keep its older, loss-making furnaces open until the new ones were ready.
Earlier, the British government offered Jingye a support package of hundreds of millions to switch to greener steel production. Tata Steel in Wales will receive 584 million euros (500 million pounds) from the British government and will invest 700 million itself to green steel production there. Tata Steel currently has two blast furnaces there that produce steel 24 hours a day.
The old factory, one of the biggest polluters in the United Kingdom, employs around four thousand people. Tata Steel is going to close two blast furnaces in Port Talbot and replace them with an electric arc furnace. Over the next eighteen months, this will cost 2,500 of the approximately 4,000 employees their jobs. The factory has been independent since 2021. The total CO₂ emissions should fall by 1.5% with the intervention and will cost a total of 1.45 billion euros. Another 300 jobs will disappear later. During the renovation, Tata Steel IJmuiden will have to operate harder.
The plant is currently losing £1 million a day and some of its equipment is virtually written off. Tata also owns Jaguar Land Rover in the UK. In November 2023, British Steel announced that the country’s two other blast furnaces would also be replaced by electric arc furnaces. The UK will lose all its new steel production capacity because its electrical facilities are only suitable for remelting existing steel, making the UK the only country in the G20 that is dependent on others for steel.
Tata Steel Nederland (TSN) has been the Dutch branch of the Indian Tata Group since its demerger in 2021. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken, also known as Hoogovens or KNHS, was founded on 20 September 1918. In 1972, Hoogovens and Hoesch merged to form Estel. In 1999, they merged with British Steel and named it Corus. On 31 January 2007, Corus was acquired by Tata Steel Europe (the Indian Tata Group). The Tata Group had owned Tata Steel in India since 1907 and became active in Southeast Asia in 2002.
The acquisition of Corus expanded it into Europe. As of 27 September 2010, the name Corus officially disappeared and it became Tata Steel Europe. In 2021, after years of consultation, it was decided that Tata Steel Europe would be split into a British and a Dutch branch: Tata Steel UK and Tata Steel Nederland. These two subsidiaries fall directly under the Indian parent company Tata Steel and Tata Steel Europe ceased to exist.
The Indian Tata Group was founded by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in 1868. Tata’s distant, adopted cousin, Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata , also played an important role in the founding of the Tata Group.Since its inception, Jamsetji Tata’s descendants and family continue to serve as directors of the company.
On 3 November, Tata Steel shared its revised plans in the context of the ongoing customisation process with the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK), the deputy of the Province of North Holland (PNH) and the State Secretary. In these plans, Tata Steel also presented possible additional environmental measures, including roofing of raw material storage facilities, subject to financing and permits. Tata Steel has also made public an explanation of these plans and their effects.
This also fulfils the agreement in the Expression of Principles that Tata Steel will investigate further improving the environmental and health situation prior to the transition in 2030, for example by closing business activities earlier, such as the Kooksfabriek 2, and/or implementing additional measures on top of the Roadmap+. This dismisses the motion by Hagen et al. that requested to investigate this and inform the House.
Last year, the Lower House adopted two motions by member Van Esch requesting the government to enter into discussions with the Province of North Holland about independent emission measurements and camera surveillance at Tata Steel. The Province is and remains responsible for the execution of tasks in the area of permit granting, supervision and enforcement and the release of resources from the provincial fund for the execution thereof. The Province of North Holland recently adopted the 2024 implementation programme of the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service. Through this annual budget, resources are made available for the efforts required for the permits, supervision and enforcement tasks at Tata Steel.
Including the notifications, enforcement and Woo requests from the Tata Steel environment, the tightening of the permit regulations at Tata Steel and the transition to green steel. More resources have been made available for the coming year than last year. In addition, the province of North Holland already provided additional budget last year to the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service (OD NZKG) for the performance of additional emission measurements at Tata Steel.
The OD NZKG carries out additional emission measurements at, among others, the Coking Plants of Tata Steel. This is due to the need from various parties to be able to test the reliability of measurements by the accredited measurement agency of Tata Steel and by other accredited measurement agencies on behalf of Tata Steel. In addition, the aim is to map non-standard emissions. After carrying out the measurements, it will be evaluated whether follow-up or adjustment to this measurement strategy is necessary. The OD NZKG has been monitoring Coking Plant 2 by camera since February 2023. Since the end of December, a second camera has also been operational with a view of Coking Plant 1. However, it is and remains impossible to assess incidents with raw coke based on camera surveillance alone. Additional data is always required for this.
The images from the cameras of the OD NZKG cannot simply be made public in real time because privacy regulations must be taken into account. Furthermore, the OD NZKG was able to complete the implementation of the BBT conclusions for Iron and Steel by the end of 2023. With this, the OD is taking an important step in licensing Tata Steel as sharply as possible. The OD NZKG is currently investigating the possibility of withdrawing the permit for the coke and gas plants. The expectation is that the province of North Holland will announce more information about this in the first quarter of 2024.
Nitrogen standard legislation Coke factory 1
The first step of the legislative process, completing the policy compass, is currently being carried out. In the coming months, further research will be conducted into the various research questions that emerged during the drafting of this compass. An example of this is the question of how this standard is dealt with elsewhere in Europe and the question of what a reasonable transition period is for the adjustment of regulations. Partly on the basis of this, it is possible to map out the impact of various policy options and thus also to determine a preferred option. The State Secretary will have completed the policy compass in the first quarter of 2024.
The report weighs up various scenarios, ranging from no intervention to complete closure. But ultimately, a middle ground, in which sustainability is achieved – possibly accelerated – seems to work out best in most areas. According to the advisors, this will yield ’the desired reduction in CO2 emissions and local nuisance by 2030.’ The government should contribute 0.5 to 2 billion euros, as was revealed during the presentation by Wijers and Blom. The government is therefore looking into whether it is feasible to implement Tata Steel’s plans, in which some measures are implemented more quickly in order to reduce health risks more quickly.
Expert group health IJmond
The State Secretary recently formally established the Expert Group Health IJmond, which will advise him independently on health issues in IJmond and also provide advice on the question of how much environmental and health gain is needed to limit health risks. This advice will be made public.
The expert group is currently working on an initial position paper. In order to gather sufficient knowledge for this, discussions were held with local residents, the GGD, the OD NZKG and Tata Steel. The State Secretary expects the position paper to be ready in the first quarter of this year and will present this document to the Lower House.
The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service, in collaboration with local residents, has had research done into the noise produced on the IJmond industrial estate. Local residents experience disturbing noises from companies such as Tata Steel IJmuiden and other industries on the site and are concerned about the effect this has on their health.
The study shows that the noise pollution in Wijk aan Zee in particular is high. Further research into specific annoying peak and other types of noise is necessary. Another conclusion from the study is that the applied noise zone management system is adequate. However, this needs to be modernised, as does the continuous measurement system. A more modern system can help detect peak noises from industry.
The noise in the vicinity of the IJmond industrial estate is legally regulated with a noise zone. The environmental service monitors the radiation of the noise from the industrial estate to the surrounding area with a noise zone management model and measurements.
Local residents had many questions about the creation of this zone, its management and its effect. A sounding board group of local residents therefore played an active role in the research. The sounding board group was supported in this by the Dutch Noise Nuisance Foundation.
GGD Kennemerland, in collaboration with GGD Amsterdam, has answered health-related questions from the research. The GGD concludes that in IJmond and especially in Wijk aan Zee there is ‘unwantedly significant’ noise pollution from companies and industry. The number of people who are (seriously) bothered by this has remained the same over the past twelve years.
The GGD has proposed to have further research done on specific annoying peak and other types of noise. The environmental service supports this proposal. It is important that both residents and companies are actively involved in this research.
The GGD also advises to reduce the noise pollution. The limit values for the permitted amount of noise are set out in the environmental regulation and the environmental plans of the municipalities and the province. The way in which the environmental service manages the noise within the noise zone is a translation of these legal limit values. Any reduction of the limit values around the IJmond must be determined by the municipalities and the province. An extensive procedure must be followed for this, in which the noise situation in the IJmond is examined more broadly.
The study shows that the creation of the noise zone and the management of the noise zone in the IJmond complies with the legal and judicial frameworks. The noise zone management model must be modernized, so that it better reflects the actual physical environment and can also be used within the Environmental Act. The Environmental Service North Sea Canal Area has already started preparations for modernizing the model.
The research has shown that a ‘real time’ accessible monitoring system is desirable. The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service will investigate in the short term what possibilities there are to realize this.
The environmental service has offered the research to the province of North Holland. In response to the research, the province has indicated that it will take further steps.
The message on the website of the province of North Holland .
The summary of the research into noise zone management in IJmond .
The research into noise zone management in IJmond consists of three parts:
- Technical consultancy report (pdf)
- Report GGD Kennemerland (pdf)
- Note from DCMR Environmental Service Rijnmond (pdf)
- Letter of offer from the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service
Around 1,500 Tata Steel workers in the UK will go on indefinite strike on 8 July 2024 over the loss of up to 2,800 jobs and the closure of two blast furnaces at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales. According to the Unite union, this is the first strike by steelworkers in the UK in more than 40 years. In addition to Port Talbot, the strike will also take place at Tata’s Llanwern site in Wales. Unite says the strikers are not only fighting to save jobs, but also for the future of their communities in Wales. Tata announced the plans in January as part of a restructuring programme to cut losses.
Tata employs more than 8,000 people in the United Kingdom. Labour, which is on course to win the upcoming elections, has already called on Tata to abandon its plans and to continue talks with the government after the elections. The opposition party has promised to invest more than 3.5 billion euros in the British steel industry if it wins the elections. Last year, Tata signed an agreement with the British government on a support package worth the equivalent of 590 million euros for the largest steel plant in the United Kingdom. In addition, Tata itself is investing 825 million euros in modernizing production in Port Talbot. The steel company previously fell under the same European division as Tata Steel Nederland, but since 2021 the Dutch part with the steel plant in IJmuiden has been an independent subsidiary within the Indian group.
The province of North Holland had to reconsider seven fines of 100,000 euros for Tata Steel, after a blunder by the supervisory authority Omgevingsdienst Noordzeekanaalgebied. It turned out that the inspector had accidentally sent the wrong version of a fine decision to the steel manufacturer. The lawyer of the environmental service therefore even withdrew one of the seven fines during a hearing in the Haarlem court. But after the judges had taken a break to discuss the error, he withdrew the withdrawal. The judges had meanwhile decided that “the facts are not entirely clear” and that an independent advisory committee of the province must first look at the fines. Tata Steel believes that they were wrongly imposed, while residents of the steel factory argue that there are other incidents for which a fine should also be imposed.
All these incidents are related to toxic emissions at Tata Steel’s coke-gas factories. Coal is ‘baked’ there to coke. If this does not go well, ‘raw coke’ comes out of the oven and a black plume of smoke with harmful substances rises. Tata Steel must pay a penalty of 100,000 euros for every time this happens. The steel company believes this is unfair, because such incidents cannot be completely prevented. For example, there may be technical problems that cause the temperature in the oven to drop. The environmental service believes that this exception should not apply. The supervisor fears that otherwise a situation will arise in which a valid excuse can be found for every toxic emission.
The environmental service’s blunder only came to light when the judge pointed it out. He saw in the file that one of the incidents at the coke-gas plant had been labelled as an “unusual incident”, which would mean that no fine could be collected. According to the environmental service, the wrong version of the document was signed and sent to Tata Steel “completely by mistake”. There was more confusion about definitions during the hearing, for example about the question of whether Tata Steel must prevent the formation of raw coke altogether. European directives now prescribe that steel companies must “avoid” raw coke, but interpretations of that term vary. According to the environmental service, it has been part of good business practice for decades to prevent coke from leaving the oven uncooked. The lawyer for the supervisory authority pointed out that this was even laid down in a permit from 1972. But then no action was taken for decades, because until a few years ago, the characteristic plumes of smoke rose above the coke-gas plant hundreds of times a year. That only changed when local residents asked the supervisor to enforce the law.
The judge then started imposing fines, after which the number of incidents dropped sharply. One of the judges wanted to know why the environmental service had not intervened earlier. “There was no focus on that,” said the supervisor. “The focus of the residents was,” their lawyer shot back. “Mea culpa,” responded the representative of the environmental service. “There was no wrongful intervention until 2019 when raw coke was created,” said Sanne Walvisch of the residents’ group Frisse Wind at the end of the hearing. “We got a cowardly mea culpa for that today.” According to her, it was mainly apparent that the supervisor was in an “ administrative mess .” Tata Steel still hoped that the fines would be completely removed from the table, and that the permit would be amended to make it clear that emissions from raw coke could not be completely avoided.
According to local residents, this is possible at coke plants abroad. But according to them, coke plant 2, built in 1972, is seriously outdated and therefore too polluting. The plant must therefore close as soon as possible, they argue. Tata Steel wants to close coke plant 2 as part of its sustainability plans. The company is currently in talks with the government about subsidies for this greening. It is also being examined whether the coke plant can close before 2029. At the beginning of March 2025, the fine of 140,000 euros was imposed for the violations from 2021 and 2022. On February 15, 2021, almost 36,000 cubic meters of coke oven gas was released during maintenance work in the sinter plant. The leak was discovered in the morning and should have been reported within 15 minutes. Tata Steel did not do this until late in the evening.
The court accuses the steel company of emphasizing recovery measures. Tata Steel also did too little to prevent the high emissions of coke oven gas. On January 31, 2022, a cover strip from a filter installation at the coke oven gas factory blew away during a storm. The cover strip ended up in an extraction truck in double buildings. This incident should also have been reported to the Environmental Service within 15 minutes, but that happened almost five hours later. The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a fine of 200,000 euros against the steel company. The judge ruled that Tata must pay 150,000 euros, but deducted 10,000 euros because the violations took place years ago.
Tata Steel was also sentenced to two fines totaling 110,000 euros in February 2023 for the spread of hazardous dust clouds and other violations of environmental regulations from 2018 to 2022. Tata Steel had insufficiently protected the area around the factories against harmful substances and had allegedly not carefully complied with the permits and regulations. The environmental service has already imposed penalty payments on Tata Steel several times in recent times due to incidents with undercooked coke (insufficiently heated ground coal).
In four months, the supervisor found three violations. The company was fined because it did not prevent dust spreading and discharged waste water in the outer harbor at IJmuiden. The company also had not taken enough measures to prevent soil contamination. On February 22, the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service installed 203 cameras to monitor Tata Steel’s emissions. The cameras film in order to be able to detect conspicuous clouds of smoke.
Harsco Metals Holland
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has also demanded a fine of 135,000 euros against Harsco for so-called graphite rains that originated from the Tata Steel site. 35,000 euros of this is conditional. On the Tata Steel site, Harsco processes slag, a residual product of the steel producer. Explosions occurred during the processing, causing clouds of dust to rise into the air. According to the OM, the company committed violations in 2018, 2019 and 2020 by failing to prevent these explosions. An incident involving a flash fire was also not reported.
Nippon Steel Acquisition of US Steel
The acquisition of US Steel by Nippon Steel, a Japanese steel group, is a major development that has been completed on June 18, 2025 after 18 months of negotiations, legal battles and political controversies.
An overview of the most important points based on recent information:
- Nippon Steel has acquired US Steel for $14.1 billion (some sources say $14.9 billion), at a price of $55 per share.
- The deal involves a total investment of approximately $28 billion, including the purchase price and planned investments, such as a new electric arc furnace in the US. The deal was approved by US President Donald Trump under strict conditions, laid out in a national security agreement with the US Treasury Department.
- A notable condition is the “golden share” that the US government has obtained. This gives the government veto power over important strategic and operational decisions, such as closing factories, reducing production or workforce, moving the headquarters from Pittsburgh, or changing the name US Steel.
- Nippon Steel has pledged that the majority of US Steel’s board of directors will be American, including three independent American directors.
- Nippon Steel has pledged to invest $11 billion in US Steel through 2028, including a new greenfield project (a new plant) to be completed after 2028. An additional $3 billion is planned for a new steel plant after 2028.
These investments are intended to support the modernization of U.S. Steel facilities in states including Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota and Indiana, with a focus on cleaner steel production. The acquisition was controversial and initially met with opposition from both Presidents Joe Biden and Trump, largely due to concerns about national security and the position of the U.S. steel industry.
The United Steelworkers (USW), the Pittsburgh-based union, strongly opposed the takeover, fearing that Nippon Steel would move production to non-unionized plants in Texas or import steel from Japan, killing jobs and integrated steel production in the U.S.
However, Nippon Steel has agreed to honor U.S. Steel’s union contracts and provide additional bonuses for steelworkers. The acquisition will make the combined entity the world’s second-largest steel producer, with a capacity of about 100 million tons of crude steel per year, and strengthens Nippon Steel’s position in the U.S. market.
It is seen as a strategic move for Nippon Steel to grow in a shrinking home market in Japan and to benefit from Trump’s protectionist policies, such as the recent increase in import tariffs on steel to 50%.
The deal is being hailed as a boost to the U.S. steel industry, with promises of modernization, more jobs and improved competitiveness against companies such as Nucor Corp. In Gary, Indiana, where U.S. Steel has a large plant, residents and activists have pushed for investment in cleaner steelmaking techniques to address decades of pollution.
Nippon Steel has pledged that U.S. Steel will continue to produce enough steel to meet U.S. demand, which is important for military and infrastructure needs. The deal has had a tumultuous path, with an earlier blockade by President Biden, legal battles (including a dispute with rival Cleveland-Cliffs), and a national security review by the Trump administration.
Nippon Steel faced a $565 million fine if the deal did not go through, which may have been an incentive to push ahead. On June 18, 2025, Nippon Steel and US Steel announced that the deal had been completed, with Takashi Mori, vice chairman of Nippon Steel, becoming chairman of the board of US Steel.
US Steel will remain based in Pittsburgh and retain its name, as required by the US government.
The takeover is seen as a victory for Trump, who has presented the deal as a success of his trade policy and a strengthening of the US-Japan alliance against China. Some analysts warn that the “golden stock” and the strict conditions could deter foreign investors from future takeovers in the US, due to the unusual degree of government influence.
The union remains concerned about Nippon Steel’s long-term goals, particularly potential shifts in production and the impact on jobs.
Details of the full agreement, including the precise scope of the “golden share”, have not yet been fully made public, creating some uncertainty.
Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel will increase competition for Tata Steel:
The Nippon Steel/US Steel combination will become the world’s second-largest steel producer, after China Baowu Group. This will strengthen Nippon Steel’s competitive position, particularly in the US and the global automotive sector, where Tata Steel also operates. Tata Steel, which was the 11th-largest steel producer in 2022, could face pricing pressure or market share losses in certain segments, such as high-strength automotive steel.
The acquisition is an example of the ongoing consolidation in the steel industry, where companies merge to reduce costs and achieve economies of scale. Tata Steel itself has benefited from this trend in the past (for example, the acquisition of Corus in 2007, including the IJmuiden plant).
Tata Steel IJmuiden produces around 7 million tonnes of steel per year, much less than the 86 million tonnes of the Nippon Steel/US Steel combination. Although Tata Steel has a strong position in Europe, Nippon Steel’s increased presence in the US could indirectly affect global steel prices and trade flows, which could impact Tata Steel’s margins, especially given the relatively low margins in the steel industry.
Nippon Steel has pledged to invest billions in cleaner technologies for US Steel, such as electric arc furnaces. Tata Steel is under pressure to become more sustainable in Europe, partly due to environmental issues such as graphite rains and high nitrogen emissions in IJmuiden. The focus on sustainability in the US could increase pressure on Tata Steel to make similar investments, for example in hydrogen-based steelmaking, to remain competitive.
The acquisition reinforces the trend of consolidation and investment in cleaner technologies. Both Harsco and Tata Steel operate in sectors where scale, cost control and sustainability are increasingly important. The deal could now raise the bar even higher for environmental and operational standards, which could force both companies to further optimise their processes .