OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2013. ArcelorMittal Ostrava cut its dust emissions by 85 tonnes in 2012, reducing its environmental footprint to a historic low of 584 tonnes - a third of the dust emissions 10 years ago when ArcelorMittal bought the plant. The company plans to draw on EU subsidies designed to reduce the impact of industry on the environment, to fund its future investments in this field.

Further environmental investments, which could total CZK2.6bn (USD131m) if approved by the European Commission, will reduce dust and NOx emissions and help improve workplace conditions. De-nitrification of the power plant and the de-dusting of the south sinter plant will account for the largest environmental investments.

Over the past decade, ArcelorMittal has invested more than CZK4bn in its environmental programme. This has helped the company to meet the emission limits required by Czech law and the even stricter emission ceilings stipulated by the regional authority of Moravia-Silesia. “The majority of our plants already meet the strictest EU limits based on the ‘best available technique’, which will become binding from March 2016 onwards” explained Petr Baranek, chief green officer for ArcelorMittal Ostrava. “If the European Commission approves our projects, we will be making further environmental investments exceeding CZK2.6bn by 2015,” added Baranek.

The largest portion of investments will go into high emission operations, sinter plant and blast furnaces. In addition, the steelmaker plans to use European subsidies to de-nitrify three boilers in its power plant. This project will help cut NOx emissions by 808 tonnes a year.

A bag filter at the south sinter plant is set to deliver the highest environmental returns – reducing dust emissions by 94 tonnes a year. De-dusting the cooling belts will also improve the fugitive (secondary) emissions by 198 tonnes a year, and the de-dusting of the coal and ore tipplers will further reduce emission by 6.4 tonnes a year. European subsidies will help with the de-dusting of both blast furnaces – the company is planning to invest in a capacity increase of cast-house de-dusting, which will eliminate 74 tonnes of emissions.

“The European Union has already supported a programme of environmental measures for the steel industry twice – in the 1970s and 1990s. Our steel producers are in a position to apply for subsidies for the first time. As their plants are already compliant, they use the subsidies for investments aimed at reducing emissions beyond the EU requirements, or for investments to reduce those types of emissions that are not even regulated by the EU,” explains Vladimir Toman, board member of CzechSteel Federation. “While the EU distributed over CZK50bn in subsidies among 13 countries, the Czech steel industry is asking for subsidies of CZK4.7bn,” adds Toman.

ArcelorMittal Ostrava is the largest steelmaker in the Czech Republic and part of the world’s largest steel and mining group ArcelorMittal. It has production capacity of 3 million tonnes of steel annually; about 50% of the output is exported to more than 60 countries worldwide. Together with its subsidiaries it employs more than 7,500 people. In 2012, the average salary earned by its employees was CZK 34,213. ArcelorMittal Ostrava produces iron and steel in compliance with all environmental legislation. It already conforms to the EU best available techniques (BAT) emission limits that will be binding from 2016 onwards. The sole shareholder is ArcelorMittal Holdings A.G.