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Water

The steel industry requires large quantities of water for its processes. All plants therefore lie in the vicinity of watercourses where water is taken up and is subsequently discharged in purified form.

Water is used primarily as a cooling medium in direct contact with the steel products (e.g. in continuous casting plants and hot-rolling mills) but also in closed channels (furnace structures). Water is used also for the cleaning of process gases and as lubricant, as well as rinsing and flushing water in steel pickling. For the steel industry it is, therefore, essential to have access to water of good quality and in sufficient quantity as well as to ensure that water outflows meet the demands for good water quality. The principal discharges to water are oil and suspended materials.
  

Cleaning and recirculation of water

Sweden was early in drawing up an Environment Protection Act (1969) and the steel industry also commenced environmental improvements. Already in the 1970’s modern water purification processes started to be used.
 
Furthermore, steel companies were environmentally certified at an early stage in accordance with the international standard ISO 14001. This incorporates the principle of annually auditing the environmental performance including the demand to meet all environmental legislation as well as to continuously reduce the environmental impact. This may, for instance, involve an increase in the recirculation of already used water thereby cutting the consumption of inflow water or recovering dissolved metal in contaminated water and therewith discharging cleaner water while re-using valuable metals. At present, about 90% of all process water undergoes recirculation.

EU’s Water Directives

The implementation of the EU’s Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) as well as its subsidiary directives (Directive on Environmental Quality Standards in the field of Water Policy, 2008/105/EC and the Directive for the Protection of Groundwater against Pollution, 2006/118/EC) continue in Sweden and imply that all Swedish surface water shall have achieved a good water quality by 2015 at the latest.
 

Work in Sweden on water issues

Sweden is divided into five river basin districts and in all districts there are two or more iron or steel manufacturers. In practical terms, the Swedish Water Authorities in the respective district are responsible for drawing up management plans, action programmes and environment quality standards for surface water that are then applied on a district basis and directly affect the companies concerned.

The steel industry already participates in the local water protection work at river basin district level through participating in water management associations, local water councils and reference groups that are linked to the respective water district. This work may involve e.g. implementing a survey and analysis programme on certain metals in a lake where there is a steel company operating or submitting strategic advice on a proposed programme of action in the respective river basin district.

Our viewpoints and how we collaborate

The new Swedish water administration is the subject of discussion amongst all the community stakeholders concerned (public authority, national and local government and trade and industry) both on the legal and practical levels. The discussion applies to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Swedish law and whether this will really lead to an enhanced water quality. Our proposals as to how Sweden’s water resources shall be managed to ensure good water quality in future years include the following:

• there is too little clarity concerning the interpretation, application and consequences of environmental quality standards for issuing of permits by authorities as well as exemptions.
• results of status classification of surface water contain too many uncertainties linked e.g. to inadequate background data or to an unclear application of what constitutes a water body (mass of water).
• use of background data from industrial operators should increase in the status assessments carried out.
• regulations are complicated and should be made more user-friendly.
• there is scope for an improved interaction between public authorities and industry at local level.

Bioavailability of metals in water

In connection with the assessment of water quality for metals and in the definition of environment quality standards, due account must be taken of the bioavailability of the metals. Jernkontoret is actively working to prepare information material to enable use of a model for evaluation of the bioavailability of metals in Swedish waters. Jernkontoret has participated in a co-financed pilot project between MITF, Metallinformation and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in order to investigate this.

Read more: MITF, Metallinformation

Read more: Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL):
Testing the Biotic Ligand Model for Swedish surface water conditions - a pilot study to investigate the applicability of BLM in Sweden (pdf)

National co-operation meetings

In order to facilitate the interchange of opinions and ideas between Water Authorities and business operators, Jernkontoret organises – together with other industry organisations – national co-operation meetings twice a year where Water Authorities, other agencies (Environmental Protection Agency, Geological Survey of Sweden, SGU), government ministries (Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications and Ministry of the Environment) and industrial sectors take part. Discussions focus on the new water management plans and joint issues relating to regulations, regional co-operation and the application of the EU Water Framework Directive in Sweden.