MMK reduces specific emissions

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) in-house environmental management system (EMS) study shows that the Group reduced emissions per unit of finished product by 6.34% y-o-y in 1Q 2011.

The EMS study was carried out to determine ways to improve the efficiency of environmental management. MMK reported that in the first quarter of 2011 the company’s operations met applicable requirements under Russian environmental legislation as well as ISO 14001:2004 standards.

Management of atmospheric emissions is as a key component of MMK’s EMS. Output of a wide range of products increased considerably in 1Q 2011 compared to 1Q 2010. Sintered ore increased 9.2%, lime was 8.8% higher, coke – up 9.7%, pig iron - 10.5% higher, crude steel production increased 13.2%, and output of finished rolled products was up 11.5%. As a result, in 1Q 2011 gross emissions grew by 4.5% y-o-y and reached 55.1 thousand tons. At the same time, however, emissions per unit of finished products (specific emissions) decreased 6.34% y-o-y, reaching as low as 20.09 kg per ton.

Solid waste recycling also grew considerably y-o-y as two AMCOM-2.3 slag recycling units were put into operation last year. In 1Q 2011 the volume of recycled slag (including slag dumped from past years’ operations) increased by 68.7%, reaching 2.86 mln tons. Energy consumption in 1Q 2011 stood at 6.32 Gcal per ton of crude steel which is lower than the target indicator for the quarter (6.65 Gcal per ton of crude steel).

In 1Q 2011, the company spent 786.5 mln rubles ($28.1 mln) on environmental safety compared to 336.6 mln rubles ($11.2 mln) in 1Q 2010. The funds were primarily used for construction of water recycling systems at rolling shops #11 and # 4. In the reported period the company continued construction of a neutralization unit at rolling shop #11 and aspiration unit at blast furnace #10.