Lucky day
In 2021, my studio was located in Het Witte Theater, an old building on the North Sea Canal, directly opposite Tata Steel.
The steelfactory forms an imposing skyline of towers, vast buildings, pipes, ducts and smoke. A lot of smoke.
Sometimes, at the end of the day, a thin layer of black dust covered my car.
When the wind blew from the north, the air often smells of metal or rotten eggs.
After a severe easterly storm that winter, the snow near Wijk aan Zee turned black. The media quickly picked up the images, and the words black snow echoed throughout the region.
For many local residents, it was the final straw.
There had been graphite rain before, and now this.
The tide began to turn against the seemingly invincible steel giant in IJmuiden.
And so Black Snow came to life — as a symbolic blanket covering the IJmond region.
Marianne lived with her husband Tom on Middenhavenstraat in IJmuiden, on a industrial site near the harbour and close to the lighthouse. Their home stood among warehouses, quays and infrastructure, in the immediate vicinity of the steel industry.
Marianne was seriously ill after multiple brain haemorrhages and largely confined to bed. “Laying cards,” she said when I asked what she still liked to do — a way of looking ahead when much had become uncertain. Outside, work in the harbour continued. Her life unfolded in the shadow of industry, intertwined with an environment that never comes to rest.
IJMUIDEN
Fish Smoker Mateusz, IJmuiden, 2021
Mateusz has lived in the IJmond region for nine years. He moved to the Netherlands from Poland with his wife and works in a fish smoking facility. The environment made an immediate impression. "This is an industrial region," he says. "A large part of the people here work in factories."
Mateusz has lived in the IJmond region for nine years. He moved to the Netherlands from Poland with his wife and works in a fish smoking facility. The environment made an immediate impression. "This is an industrial region," he says. "A large part of the people here work in factories."
IJmuiden: A Town Shaped by Industry
IJmuiden, a small coastal town on the North Sea, is a place where the rhythm of life is shaped by industry. Alongside the imposing presence of Tata Steel, the skyline is defined by chimneys, cranes and the constant activity of the port. Here, the sea, steelmaking, fishing and the offshore industry converge — a landscape marked by greyness and grit.
The North Sea Canal is its lifeline, while the streets, the air and even the horizon bear the traces of labour. It is a community built around production, in a place where industry and human life have been intertwined for more than a century.
Rob worked for over forty years at Hoogovens, later Tata Steel. He began in maintenance and remained technically involved with the plant throughout his career.
He passed away in 2025.
Together with his wife Agnes, he lived in IJmuiden, close to his workplace. Agnes recalls how visible the difference was when they stayed elsewhere: "In Alkmaar, the windows were clean. Here, they were black." Of this photograph, she says it captures Rob’s entire life. The image was used on his memorial card.
He passed away in 2025.
Together with his wife Agnes, he lived in IJmuiden, close to his workplace. Agnes recalls how visible the difference was when they stayed elsewhere: "In Alkmaar, the windows were clean. Here, they were black." Of this photograph, she says it captures Rob’s entire life. The image was used on his memorial card.
- Rob Wanders 1952 - 2025 †
STEELWORKS
Dirk Weidema has been looking directly at Tata Steel for fifty-four years.
Across the North Sea Canal, he has an unobstructed view of steaming coke plants, smoking blast furnaces, a pellet plant with six chimneys continuously spewing thick clouds, and ships carrying coal and iron ore.
Black plumes rising slowly, the hissing of the quenching towers, the smell of tar seeping into the curtains.
“And then they say it’s steam. Yeah, right.”
In the neighbourhood, “the steelworks” remains almost sacred. Friends drifted away; online he was insulted.
“Get a hobby,” they told him.
He shrugs.
“This is my hobby.”
Then, more quietly:
“Most people just don’t want to know. Because once you know, you can’t look away.”
“Get a hobby,” they told him.
He shrugs.
“This is my hobby.”
Then, more quietly:
“Most people just don’t want to know. Because once you know, you can’t look away.”
PERMITTED pollution
Rather than operating under one recently renewed permit, the steelworks is governed by a regulatory framework built around a site-wide permit granted by the Province of North Holland on 16 January 2007. This permit replaced earlier environmental operating permits and has since been altered and expanded through numerous separate decisions and permits for specific installations and changes. Together, these documents contain hundreds of pages of technical requirements governing emissions, waste, environmental risks and production processes.
“The penalty orders imposed on Tata Steel’s coke plants are not a toothless tiger,” he says.
“We mean it. If the factory fails to comply, the permits can ultimately be revoked.”
“We mean it. If the factory fails to comply, the permits can ultimately be revoked.”
Jeroen Olthof, deputy Province of North Holland on Tata Steel Netherlands.
Full interview
Province of North Holland, 2007. A revised environmental permit for Tata Steel IJmuiden (then Corus Steel).
ENFORCEMENT
Over several years, a resident of Wijk aan Zee collected these wipes while cleaning a single window — daily or every other day.
Each wipe was stored in a separate plastic bag.
The full collection fills a large bag: a growing archive of what settled from the air onto a domestic surface over time.
Each wipe was stored in a separate plastic bag.
The full collection fills a large bag: a growing archive of what settled from the air onto a domestic surface over time.
STEEL SLAG
Industrial By-product and Construction Material
In the Netherlands, approximately 650,000 tonnes of steel slag are produced each year — the equivalent of around 26,000 truckloads of material. Steel slag is generated during the production of steel and in the Netherlands is primarily produced by Tata Steel in IJmuiden. The stone-like material contains various metals and has been used for decades in roads, embankments, dikes and hydraulic engineering works.
Within Dutch regulations, steel slag is generally not classified as waste, but as a secondary construction material that may be used under certain conditions in roads, embankments and waterworks.
Concerns about the environmental effects of steel slag have existed for some time. Steel slag contains, among other substances, calcium oxide and other reactive minerals. When the material comes into contact with water, chemical reactions can occur in which hydroxides are formed, causing the pH level of soil and surface water to increase significantly, making the water strongly alkaline.
Metals may also be released from the material.
Alkaline water, likely caused by steel-slag leaching, Aagtenpark, Beverwijk.
Steel slag, held by hand. Its alkaline residue can sting and irritate the skin.
Interview
Known steel slag sites in the Netherlands. Squares indicate locations where environmental damage has been reported.
Source: Investico.
Source: Investico.
Research and policy documents indicate that when steel slag is applied in infrastructure or construction, substances may leach into soil and groundwater.
At the beginning of the 2000s, limits for several substances were relaxed in order to allow the reuse of industrial by-products. This was also relevant for steel slag, which contains elements such as vanadium, barium and fluoride.
Through the Temporary Exemption Regulation of the Building Materials Decree (2004), the permitted leaching standards for these substances were temporarily increased by a factor of three, allowing the continued use of materials such as steel slag.
Vanadium, in particular, has been found in elevated concentrations in soil and groundwater at several locations where steel slag has been applied.
In practice, the use of steel slag has led to problems at several sites. On the A28 near Hoogeveen, elevated pH values were measured in soil and water, and damage occurred to the road foundation.
At the Haak om Leeuwarden, steel slag was used as fill material during the construction of the ring road, after which environmental issues were reported.
In Eerbeek and other locations in Gelderland, residents reported complaints such as stinging eyes, nosebleeds and respiratory irritation, which were associated with dust from steel slag and quicklime particles released during transport or processing.
Steel slag is processed and marketed as a construction material by companies such as Pelt & Hooykaas. The material is incorporated into products such as Duomix and Graustabiel, which are used as foundation layers under roads, bicycle paths, parking areas and industrial sites, but also beneath driveways, farmyards and garden paths.
A complete overview of where steel slag has been applied in the Netherlands does not exist. Applications of the material are not centrally registered, which means that in many cases its presence only becomes visible after complaints or environmental investigations.
At the beginning of the 2000s, limits for several substances were relaxed in order to allow the reuse of industrial by-products. This was also relevant for steel slag, which contains elements such as vanadium, barium and fluoride.
Through the Temporary Exemption Regulation of the Building Materials Decree (2004), the permitted leaching standards for these substances were temporarily increased by a factor of three, allowing the continued use of materials such as steel slag.
Vanadium, in particular, has been found in elevated concentrations in soil and groundwater at several locations where steel slag has been applied.
In practice, the use of steel slag has led to problems at several sites. On the A28 near Hoogeveen, elevated pH values were measured in soil and water, and damage occurred to the road foundation.
At the Haak om Leeuwarden, steel slag was used as fill material during the construction of the ring road, after which environmental issues were reported.
In Eerbeek and other locations in Gelderland, residents reported complaints such as stinging eyes, nosebleeds and respiratory irritation, which were associated with dust from steel slag and quicklime particles released during transport or processing.
Steel slag is processed and marketed as a construction material by companies such as Pelt & Hooykaas. The material is incorporated into products such as Duomix and Graustabiel, which are used as foundation layers under roads, bicycle paths, parking areas and industrial sites, but also beneath driveways, farmyards and garden paths.
A complete overview of where steel slag has been applied in the Netherlands does not exist. Applications of the material are not centrally registered, which means that in many cases its presence only becomes visible after complaints or environmental investigations.
Heracless
Heracless is the name of Tata Steel’s large-scale transition project in IJmuiden. The plan replaces the traditional blast furnaces and coke plants with direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric steel production — an intervention that fundamentally redesigns the production process.
From blast furnace to electric.
According to the environmental impact assessment, this transition will lead to a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. In climate terms, it represents a clear break with the past. In material terms, less changes than the terminology suggests: the system is reconfigured, not resolved.
Where the blast furnace route produced large quantities of blast furnace slag, this residual stream will decrease significantly. At the same time, a new slag stream emerges: EAF slag, while other slag streams decline. Slag does not disappear from the system; it shifts within the process and changes in composition, but retains its ecological significance.
The electric route produces less smoke and soot, but shifts residual materials to other parts of the process. New residual streams emerge, such as EAF dust: a fine, zinc-containing filter dust that, in its current form, is not reused and must be disposed of externally. At the same time, emissions of particulate matter, ultrafine particles and metal-containing fractions persist, while knowledge about deposition and long-term effects remains incomplete.
Heracless does not mark an endpoint, but a reconfiguration within the same system. Emissions decrease in some areas, while new residual streams and uncertainties emerge elsewhere. What is presented as progress is, in essence, a shift of burdens — technically more complex, more diffuse and less visible.
The traces do not disappear.
They shift.
According to the environmental impact assessment, this transition will lead to a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. In climate terms, it represents a clear break with the past. In material terms, less changes than the terminology suggests: the system is reconfigured, not resolved.
Where the blast furnace route produced large quantities of blast furnace slag, this residual stream will decrease significantly. At the same time, a new slag stream emerges: EAF slag, while other slag streams decline. Slag does not disappear from the system; it shifts within the process and changes in composition, but retains its ecological significance.
The electric route produces less smoke and soot, but shifts residual materials to other parts of the process. New residual streams emerge, such as EAF dust: a fine, zinc-containing filter dust that, in its current form, is not reused and must be disposed of externally. At the same time, emissions of particulate matter, ultrafine particles and metal-containing fractions persist, while knowledge about deposition and long-term effects remains incomplete.
Heracless does not mark an endpoint, but a reconfiguration within the same system. Emissions decrease in some areas, while new residual streams and uncertainties emerge elsewhere. What is presented as progress is, in essence, a shift of burdens — technically more complex, more diffuse and less visible.
The traces do not disappear.
They shift.
Black Snow (def.) describes the visible and measurable deposition of residual streams from steel production — including particulate matter, graphite-containing particles, and other solid industrial fractions — that settle in the living environment through atmospheric dispersion or secondary pathways, where they may also be applied in construction materials, and which can be analytically linked to steel-industry activities.
Black Snow © 2026 Harm van de Poel
All photographs, films and texts are protected.
All rights reserved.
All photographs, films and texts are protected.
All rights reserved.