ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues

Introduction

Few people know how much the steel field, and with it the whole iron and steel industry, are important for our country. Steel is one of the largest used resources in all areas of business and productive world.

Discussion

Since the beginning of the industrial society, steel has occupied a prominent position, so that the starting point of the industrial age is often made overlap with the appearance of big iron and steel producing units. Steel has accompanied the technological development of our civilization thanks to its high strength characteristic (to pressure, high temperature, weather, corroding agents) and its ductility (that is the ability of a component of steel to undergo a "plastic" deformation before reaching the break), that enable its use in the more varied applications, from milling, to mechanical processes, to welding carpentry to turning and many others (Wilson 2002).

Few other materials can, in fact, be molded into various shapes by various mechanical moulds but without losing their characteristic high resistance to external stresses. A steel rope, for example, can withstand very heavy loads without breaking but maintaining a very high flexibility. Resistance and ductility are two specific characteristics of every kind of steel and their combination can determine the choice of the employed material.

At the end of its vital circle, in addition, any steel product can be totally recycled and so reused for a virtually infinite number of times. The challenge set by the international market has pushed steel and iron industry to introduce strong innovational elements in its technological, organizational and financial assets.

New technologies, in fact, have entered this field, guaranteeing higher productivity levels, better security conditions and more attention to environment protection. Through advanced informative systems, the enterprises' staff of iron and steel enterprises today can program, realize and check the product manufacture, its quality and the reliability of systems through highly automated methods, such as cnc (computer numerical controller) machines (Mares 2006). For an effective application of technology in the iron and steel industry, it is fundamental that the commitment and the sector investments in scientific research will remain constant over time and aimed at improving all the productive aspects. The technical-scientific innovation is radically changing the world of steel, proposing again the “steel product” as an edge material.

Steel in considered a “green” material, that means totally recyclable. Any steel product, in fact, in the end of its vital circle can be completely reused for an infinite number of times. The proof of what above said is represented by 300 million tons of steel recycled every year, representing 35% of world production, making this material the world's most recycled, thanks to continuous investments in electric ovens. This feature of recyclability is one of the best environmental prerogatives of iron and steel industry, since the steel and iron sector appears to be one of the closest cycles to the concepts of sustainable development (Craig 2002). An environment-friendly steel development is possible thanks to the complete recyclability of its product, to the high rates of reuse ...