The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will prosecute steel manufacturer Tata Steel for the graphite rains that blast furnaces around the IJmuiden site have caused, writes de Volkskrant Thursday morning. The company says in a response that it has not yet received a summons.
According to the newspaper, the steel manufacturer is suspected of violating the environmental permit. He would argue that the dust from the blast furnaces should not be spread further than 2 meters.
The graphite rains caused a lot of nuisance in the nearby village of Wijk aan Zee for years. Research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has already shown that the graphite rains contain “undesirable” amounts of lead, manganese and vanadium.
Children living near the factory would have been exposed to these metals. Small children playing outside would be especially at risk. Tata Steel promised to take measures last year to prevent graphite rains from occurring from April this year.
‘Nuisance partly reason to prosecute Tata Steel’
The nuisance caused is one of the reasons to prosecute the company, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service tells de Volkskrant. “Subpoena seems appropriate because public accountability is important given the concerns of those around the company.”
Tata Steel previously had to pay a series of penalties due to the graphite rains. Previously taken measures to stop the nuisance were described by politicians as “too little”.
The village council of Wijk aan Zee is pleased in conversation with de Volkskrant. “It was about time,” said Sauw Buwalda. “Enforcement of the permit is always inadequate.”
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