ArcelorMittal cleans up its act
The Trinidad Guardian
Petroleumworldtt.com 03 30 08
ArcelorMittal Pt Lisas Ltd has promised an ease
in the air pollution from its plant which drove
the Pt Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation
(Plipdeco) to file an official complaint with to
the Environmental Management Authority (EMA).
The assurance was given by Luciano Lopes, chief
executive officer of ArcelorMittal.
Lopes said the company outlined its dust-reduction
action plan to Plipdeco president Roger Traboulay
and members of his management team last October.
Lopes said he expects 80 per cent of the emissions
to be reduced when all the work is completed.
“We
are talking about US$7 million, US$7.6 million,
to be spent this year
on environment issues,
quality and safety.
“US$3.6 million in the short term and US$4
million to be spent during the year,” said
Lopes, who is from Brazil.
The
ArcelorMittal boss said he told Traboulay, “This
is not a false promise.”
He said the installation of a dust collection
system would be completed by February 27.
Dust is generated when material is dumped into
the hatches of the vessels which call at its port,
Lopes said.
He said from the warehouse to the vessels, there
are two transfer points: one to the belt conveyor
and the other to ship loading.
The company has tried many different types of
dust collection systems.
Lopes said installation of new systems to curtail
air pollution is being done by Taggart Global Trinidad
Ltd, whose officials wrote to Traboulay on February
25, outlining developments in refurbishing the
bag house system.
“The
repairs to bag house one was expected to be finished
by March 2. I
was there on Saturday
and it was very, very good. And the bag house No
2 is to be completed by March 10.”
The letter was accompanied by photos of the dust
collection system in effect. The system was tested
last week.
Lopes showed the Business Guardian photos taken
on February 25 of the systems in place, which he
said had been finished before the deadline date.
Lopes said the hiring of Taggart was on stream
before Plipdeco filed its complaint with the EMA.
Lopes said Taggart Global, LLC, has more than
a 45 per cent global share in materials handling,
and more than 60 per cent of the US market.
He said the company sought and obtained the best
for the job.
“We did not try to get a local company or
some uncertain results,” said Lopes, who
took over in October 2007.
ISO140001 certification
Arcelor and Mittal Steel merged in 2006 following
a bitter and hostile corporate takeover bid for
SA by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
Lopes,
CEO of the Trinidad plant, said the company intends
to get ISO140001 certification
by year’s
end.
Lopes said ArcelorMittal has three different systems:
- Safety in compliance with OSHA standards
- We have the quality system that complies with
ISO90001
- Then you have the environment in compliance
with ISO140001
He said collective action must be put in place
not only for new equipment.
“We
are talking about quality, environment and safety.”
He said the money the company plans to spend in
2008 will be devoted to establishing operational
safety and environmental condition of its equipment.
The complaint
Plipdeco lodged an official complaint about air
pollution emanating from the steel plant on its
estate on February 15 with the EMA.
Lopes said he was surprised to learn Plipdeco
had complained to the EMA as the two parties had
been discussing an action plan.
The complaint file sent to the EMA included aerial
photographs showing dark and sometimes orange clouds
of steel filings filling the air.
Alicia Charles, communications manager at the
EMA, stated in the February 21 issue of the Business
Guardian that the complaint had been forwarded
to the Occupational Safety and Health Authority.
Charles
said the air pollution rules are not in place
to allow the EMA to “institute
enforcement action.”
Story
by Sandra Chouthi from The Trinidad Guardian
The
Trinidad
Guardian
Thursday
6th March
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