Annual Report 2003

REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL REPORT Ž E L E Z I A R N E P O D B R E Z O V Á 2 0 0 3 16 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Following the new, stricter national legislative, containing extended economic regulations and principles and other tools for protection of the environment, Železiarne Podbrezová a.s. adopted a commitment between 1998 and 1999 to develop and to demonstrate the entirely pro-environmental behaviour in their field of activities for products and services having impact on environment. The first and most significant step was to declare in public the approach of the top management towards the issue of environment in the form of official environmental policy. After reviewing the entire concept of the company in respect of the quality control system and creating and protecting the environment, we developed a tool for controlling environment protection – a certified System of Environmental Management under the international standards ISO 14 000. Železiarne Podbrezová is one of the few metallurgical companies, that have accomplished this process by July 2000 through our audit certificate. The.functionality of the applied system has subsequently been confirmed by a re-certifying audit and issuing a new certificate covering the period from July 31 to August 31, 2006. In order to reconciliate with the European Union legislative upon entrance of Slovakia to the European Union, we have implemented into Železiarne Podbrezová, regulations governing the requirements and duties of individual areas of environmental activities. Such activities are directed towards improved quality of air, water and waste economy and also towards reducing the risk of an ecological disaster. Železiarne Podbrezová runs the power and technological equipments and facilities that, according to Slovak standards, rank as high and medium sources of pollution. Železiarne Podbrezová uses as fuel solely natural gas and electric energy producing minimum amounts of air pollution. Considerable consideration is given to the modernisation of water treatment facilities in order to reduce the amount of contaminated waste. In 2003 Železiarne Podbrezová put into operation a facility removing arsenic from drinking water in the King Matyáš Spring, and a central oil separator in the wastewater cleaning process in the New plant. In order to safely handle dangerous substances used in production, a strategy to organise strictly the relevant storehouses, power facilities and other handling areas, has been implemented. A significant aspect of environment protection is slag processing on the tube treatment line. Separated metal peaces are used in steel production and non-metal items in the form of artificial aggregate were sold. In order to reduce the negative impact of the industry on quality of life in the surrounding residential areas, we built up a noise-eliminating wall in 2003 to reduce noise raised by handling of scrap in the scrap yard Piesok. In 2003 we accomplished the process of gradually substituting chlorohydrocarbons by ecologically appropriate degreasing matters. The technological equipment used for steel and tube production as well as that used for power producing facilities is of top quality and in terms of environment protection, is comparable with technologies of renowned European companies. Science and research Activities of this section in 2003 were focused on the research of new materials and on optimising technological parameters of steel and tube production. Tackled were also the issues relating to the acoustic effect of noise producers in the new plant. Actual costs on research amounted to 5,1 million SKK, an increase by 1,5 million SKK from 2002. In 2004 projects costing 5,8 million SKK are planned.