Dust that settles in the vicinity of Tata Steel was still heavily contaminated last autumn. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) sees no improvement in this after a third measurement, despite various adjustments that the company has made.
The concentrations of metals and so-called PAHs that are measured remain ‘undesirable for the health of children’, the institute repeats.
RIVM does see progress on one point: last year ‘significantly’ fewer iron particles came down around the steel factory in IJmond than during the first measurement in 2020. Iron is not considered a cause for concern. For substances that do have the label ‘concerning’, the picture has remained more or less the same.
Relatively high concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals such as manganese, vanadium and chromium are measured, particularly in Wijk aan Zee, under the smoke of the steel industry. Such substances are ‘typical of steel production’. PAHs are carcinogenic and other heavy metals can also pose health risks.
Future
State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure and Water Management) believes that Tata Steel must ‘really work’ to reduce the emission of harmful substances. She is disappointed with ‘how long it takes to get results’. Only if Tata Steel is ‘green and clean’ will there be a future for the company in the Netherlands, according to the State Secretary. According to Heijnen, the results ‘once again emphasize the urgency of implementing the announced improvements’.
State Secretary Heijnen believes that Tata must ‘really work’ to reduce the emission of harmful substances
RIVM sees ‘a different pattern’ for lead, zinc and copper. Based on this, the researchers suspect that other companies also make a ‘substantial contribution’. In Beverwijk, IJmuiden and Velsen-Noord, the measurements show a ‘slightly increased deposition’ of undesirable substances, but this was much lower than in Wijk aan Zee. In Heemskerk, concentrations have not risen to slightly.
RIVM cannot say exactly how many of the substances found come from the Tata site, and how many from other sources. Pollution can come from power plants, waste incineration plants, wood stoves, traffic and shipping, among other things. The institute maintains that ‘a significant part’ must come from Tata. The institute will discuss this in more detail in a report that will be published before the summer on the health of local residents and their living environment.
Measurements
The researchers argue in favor of continuing the measurements. “For more clarity, these measurements must be repeated several years in a row.”
Tata Steel itself also welcomes further research. “For people from the area, this report does not immediately clarify what we are looking for,” responds Marco Workel, the director who is responsible for health and the environment, among other things. “It now seems as if nothing has changed, while people are concerned. But we think something has definitely changed.” For example, Tata took measures to halve PAH emissions. The company itself estimates that it has succeeded in this, but acknowledges that the measurements are “not 100 percent accurate.”
It now seems as if nothing has changed, but we believe that something has indeed changed
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, together with the province of Noord-Holland and RIVM, will determine how the deposition of PAHs and metals can be measured over a longer period of time, in order to determine whether emissions are falling substantially.
Disappointment at the village council
The village council of Wijk aan Zee is ‘extremely disappointed and angry’ about the lack of measurable improvements. According to the village council, the government should ‘take the lead’ and ‘independently measure, monitor and firmly enforce’. The village council calls Tata’s promises ‘incredible’ and is skeptical that Tata Steel would have halved PAH emissions.
Greenpeace is shocked ‘that the concentration of carcinogenic substances is still so high’. According to Greenpeace, the fact that Tata itself thinks it is on the right track shows that the company ‘does not take local residents and their health seriously’.
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