(Bloomberg) -- Dutch regulators have threatened Tata Steel with fines and the forced closure of one of its coke plants in IJmuiden if the company doesn’t significantly reduce toxic emissions in the next twelve months.
Tata Steel Netherlands will face fines of almost €27 million ($28 million) if it doesn’t take measures at its coke plants within eight weeks, the North Sea Canal Area Environment Agency said on Thursday. Emissions of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals at the plants continue to exceed the limit, the regulator said.
The company also has a year to comply with legal requirements at one of the plants, otherwise the regulator will consider withdrawing its permit, forcing the coke factory to close “within a reasonable period.” Tata Steel must submit a plan of action within six weeks.
“We find the way in which these decisions were made very painful,” Tata Steel said in a statement published on its website. The proposed recovery period of eight weeks is “completely unrealistic and impossible,” the company said.
The Dutch government has long sought to balance economic and environmental interests when regulating Tata Steel’s biggest steelworks outside of India, fearing the loss of thousands of jobs at one of the Netherlands’ top industrial employers.
Last year, the plant was linked with elevated lung cancer rates and reduced life expectancy in the local area. Dutch authorities have fined it multiple times for emitting toxic raw cokes. Cokes, an essential ingredient in steel, are made by heating coal in the absence of air. Cleaning the plant up requires expensive upgrades.
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