State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure and Water Management) will address the management of Tata Steel about the way in which the company handles the unloading of iron ore and coal in the port of IJmuiden.
She will do so on Monday during a previously planned working visit to the steel group.
Dumping in water
The IJmuider Courant previously reported on the basis of its own research that residues are dumped into the water on a large scale when unloading raw materials. Tata Steel is responsible for ensuring that ships leave the harbor clean, but would pay skippers to secretly sweep the mess into the sea after departure.
Shocked
Heijnen, from Spaubeek and until recently alderman in Maastricht, is shocked by that story. She calls the image that emerges from the newspaper’s reporting “indigestible”. She points out that regulators have also noticed for some time that Tata Steel is sloppy with the transport of raw materials.
At the beginning of this month, the Environmental Agency for the North Sea Canal Area, for example, issued a fine because the company spread too much dust. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has also found violations, according to a spokesperson for the ministry.
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Harmful substances
Tata Steel has been in the spotlight for some time after a series of reports on the emission of harmful substances and the effects that this has on public health in the direct vicinity of the steel factory. The company has promised to improve and wants to work cleaner. “But great plans for the future already require action today,” says Heijnen.