Tata Steel ordered to clean up soil turned toxic from steel slag pollution

Tata Steel must clean the soil at Mergelkade in Velsen-Noord, which has been polluted by years of steel slag storage at the location. The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service (OD NZKG) has approved the steel factory’s plan to remediate the area and will supervise the work in the coming years, NOS reports.

Tata Steel has stored approximately 835,000 tons of steel slag at the Velsen-Noord location since 2018. Research by the environmental service revealed in 2024 that the storage of this steel production by-product had contaminated the soil and groundwater with harmful substances like vanadium and chromium.

The environmental service ordered Tata Steel to stop storing steel slag at the location and remove all of it by November 2025. Tata Steel proceeded to transport a portion of the steel slag stored to the Baltic States, and temporarily moved another portion to the company Pelt & Hooykaas on the Tata Steel site. The remaining layer of compacted steel slag has now also been removed.

Tata Steel must now excavate and remove a large portion of the contaminated soil. The site will then be backfilled with clean soil or clean sand. The company must also take measures to prevent vanadium from spreading further via the groundwater.

The environmental service also ordered Tata Steel to provide regular progress reports. The company must also regularly measure the concentrations of vanadium and chromium and the acidity of the groundwater, and pass the results on to the OD NZKG.

This is another pollution-related blow for Tata Steel. Last week, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced that it would criminally prosecute the company for harming public health by intentionally and unlawfully releasing harmful substances into the air.