Tata Steel faces new €8.5 million fine over continued emissions breaches

Tata Steel is facing another fine exceeding 8.5 million euros after regulators found continued excessive emissions at one of its plants. The North Sea Canal Area Environment Service said its own tests from April and May last year confirmed ongoing violations. The company had already been fined the same amount in late January, when authorities relied on Tata Steel’s self-reported data.

The maximum penalty payment has now been reached. “The Environment Service is now assessing what this means for the permit,” a spokesperson said. OD NZKG may decide to impose an additional fine. Results from tests carried out in December and March are expected shortly and will be used to determine what action to take next.

Late in 2024, regulators issued two penalty orders against Tata Steel, worth more than 17 million euros and almost 10 million euros, over excessive emissions from its coke gas plants KGF 1 and 2.

The Environment Service said pollution levels exceeded legal limits by as much as five to 20 times. The company was ordered to sharply cut emissions or face phased financial penalties. The full amount has now been collected for KGF 1, while the penalty tied to the second plant is still pending.

Tata Steel, which has already challenged the penalties in court, argues that the fine relies on just “two peak readings.” The company said it is in talks with the Environment Service about the measurement approach, but would not elaborate.

Regulators, however, maintain that the data is sound, noting that accredited agencies conducted the tests in line with Dutch rules and that the results are fully reliable.

Greenpeace welcomed the renewed fine from the Environment Service but sharply criticised Tata Steel for continuing to release “cancer-causing substances” into the environment.

The organisation said the situation had gone too far and called for the company’s permit to be withdrawn, arguing that the ageing coke plants are harming public health and should be shut down immediately. Tata Steel responded that it has long been developing a “comprehensive set of measures” for the coke gas facilities and plans to replace both plants with cleaner technology.