2023-07-14 17:34:21
In 2016, a new double-lane provincial road between Dokkum and Nijega was taken into use in Friesland: the Central As. “Steel slag was used at three points during the construction,” says deputy Avine Fokkens-Kelder.
That in itself was nothing special. Steel slag, a stony residual product from the steel industry, is often used in earthworks, including here. And in two of the three places this went without any risks. At least, following the steel slag had been properly covered following completion of the road.
But at Dokkum, covering this did not offer an adequate solution, because there the underside of the steel slag layer comes into contact with water. And then it’s bad for the environment. In such a situation, ‘virtually all conceivable heavy metals end up in the soil or surface water via the leaching water’, writes the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in a report from April.
Road safety is also at stake
To prevent environmental pollution, the water that has been in contact with the steel slag under the Frisian road is now being collected and drained. But for a structural solution, the steel slag must be excavated and removed.
The province of Friesland filed a lawsuit once morest the road construction companies that built the northernmost part of the Central Axis. The central question is who should pay the removal costs of 3 million euros: the province or the contractors who built the road.
Removing the steel slag is not only necessary because of the environmental risks, road safety is also at stake. Fokkens-Kelder: “Wet steel slag expands, causing the road surface to crack. That can lead to dangerous situations.”
The work will be carried out in the coming months. Disadvantage: the road has to be closed for it. “Maybe we can solve it with alternating one-way traffic,” the deputy hopes.
Lawsuits in Zeeland as well
The use of steel slag is also causing lawsuits in Zeeland. For example, the company Comgoed was recently sentenced to a fine for criminal conduct in the use of steel slag, according to the judgment of the Rotterdam District Court.
Comgoed wants to build a factory where residual flows such as organic waste, roadside grass and wood chips are processed into products such as potting soil, compost and so-called greenboard (sheet material for construction). The company had 20,000 to 25,000 cubic meters of steel slag brought in to reinforce the subsoil for the construction of the new factory.
The regulations of the Rijnmond Central Environmental Management Department state that such a batch must be covered with foil, concrete or asphalt, so that the steel slag does not come into contact with (rain) water, and therefore no toxic water can escape into the environment. to rinse.
Well the benefits, not the burdens
Despite ‘commitments’ to follow these regulations, according to the Public Prosecution Service, Comgoed ‘constantly failed to act adequately in a period of 2.5 years (…) The company does want the pleasures of using the snails, but passes the burden on to others,” said the public prosecutor.
The benefits, those are the financial benefits. Steel factories want to get rid of their residual product and therefore give money if someone takes it. This makes the use of steel slag as a building material lucrative.
The judge agreed with the OM’s demand ‘in view of the seriousness of the facts’, according to the verdict of 10 May. The fine amounts to 125,000 euros, of which 50,000 is conditional.
‘We did everything we might’
Comgoed director Frank Franzen says in a response that he will appeal. “Together with the municipality, the environmental service and the water board, we have drawn up an action plan to cover the steel slag.” This turned out to be necessary in the meantime because the building permit was delayed due to the nitrogen crisis. “We have done everything we can to prevent problems.”
According to Franzen, if a problem was identified, ‘immediate action was taken’. When the cover foil turned out to be too thin, Comgoed had a second thicker layer placed over it. “In practice, we are sometimes confronted with limited damage to the foil, for example due to vandalism or a storm. We repair the small cracks that can then arise the next day.”
Franzen says he regularly measures the water quality with monitoring wells. “No imperfections were measured. This judgment is not correct.”
People in Zeeland have been particularly concerned for some time regarding the use of steel slag in the reinforcement of the Oosterschelde banks. This is particularly sensitive because the Oosterschelde is a Natura 2000 area.
Ecosystem disruption
Tata Steel produces approximately 700,000 tonnes of steel slag annually. It is a by-product of steel making. The ‘stony’ steel slag is used as a substrate in the construction of roads, or to fill dikes, noise barriers or landfills. The use is not without danger, because when steel slag gets wet, toxic metals are released. “Virtually all conceivable heavy metals end up in the soil or surface water via ‘rinsing water’,” according to RIVM.
The pollution can lead to the death of fish and other (small) organisms, turbidity of surface water and ‘disruption of geochemical balances in the soil that prevent an optimal ecosystem’. Since April, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has been investigating whether steel slag has rightly been given the qualification ‘not dangerous’.
Read also:
Is the Oosterschelde in danger from the use of steel slag?
Will the Oosterschelde soon become a large dead pond, because steel slag has been used to strengthen the dike? Fishermen and environmental organizations fear so.
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