Environmental Protection in the Steel Industry, exemplified by ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, Duisburg

摘要

ThyssenKrupp Steel ranks among the leading steel producers. The prominent position of the company, also in the field of environmental protection, is generally acknowledged among experts. The reasons for ThyssenKrupp Steel's special advocacy of environmental protection lie in the location of the parent works in the densely populated Rhine and Ruhr region, the direct proximity of residential areas, and the voluntary commitment of the company to improve the quality of life of the local residents and its employees through air pollution control and noise abatement measures. The housing density has additionally been an important criterion for the developinent of waste management structures, thereby intensifying the pressure to recycle residual materials and substances and also opening up, on the other hand, possibilities of using these materials and substances in the building and construction industry. New fields of technological environmental protection world-wide include climate protection and, in the European Community and Germany, for example, soil conservation. Technological environmental protection is being accompanied increasingly by organisational measures, of which environmental management is representative. The main means of air pollution control are described, the importance of recycling for steel making explained, and product- and production-specific environmental protection discussed.