ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY HEADLINESEnvironment and Sustainability
NLMK Taps New Equipment for Air Quality Control
Oct. 21, 2009 The physical-chemical laboratory at NLMK's Industrial Ecology Department has begun using a new ultraviolet gas analyzer for continuous air contamination level measurement.
The new equipment, according to NLMK, enables the plant’s environmental specialists to control air quality dynamics at the production site, reveal the sources of pollution, and take measures to improve the condition of the air.
Based on the absorption of hazardous substances through UV radiation, the gas analyzer operation is said to quickly and automatically determine the concentration of 23 pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur, formaldehyde, phenol, and organic compounds.
NLMK claims it is currently the only company in the region with such equipment.
The company’s physical-chemical laboratory is accredited with the Analytical Laboratories Accreditation System, covering more than 100 pollutants in air, water, waste, and soil. To determine non-organic substances, the lab uses ion chromatographs, and the concentration of organic substances is measured by state-of-the-art stationary and portable gas chromatographs. Heavy metal content is determined using atomic absorption spectrometry methods. Air quality is controlled directly at a sampling point in a mobile environmental laboratory car with modern equipment.
Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) is a world-class steel producer with operations spanning mining, steelmaking, and rolling. Its main production facilities in Lipetsk, in the center of European Russia, are within 350 km of Stoilensky, its main iron ore supplier, and close to key Russian customers and major transport routes. The company posted sales revenue of USD11.7 billion and an EBITDA margin of 39% in 2008. Last year, NLMK produced 10.5 million tonnes of steel.