Basic oxygen steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, 2025. In this facility, molten iron from the blast furnaces is converted into steel by blowing oxygen into the metal. In 2023, the North Sea Canal Area Environment Agency issued an enforcement order subject to a penalty for uncontrolled dust emissions during steel tapping. In 2026, a €500,000 penalty was collected for non-compliance with this order.
HOW POLLUTION BECOMES LEGAL
Environmental standards appear objective. They are laid down in laws, permits and limit values. But historical research shows that such standards often emerge from long-term interactions between government and industry.
The emissions on this page take place within a system of permits and legal standards. These standards determine how much pollution is legally allowed. How these limits are established, however, is not only a technical or scientific question, but also an administrative and economic one.
Companies often possess more technical knowledge than regulators.
Permits and regulations are frequently developed in consultation with industry.
Governments are economically dependent on large industrial employers.
Oversight and responsibility are divided across multiple institutions.
Discussions shift from health risks to legal norms and permits.
Through this dynamic, industrial pollution can persist for decades without formally violating rules. Researchers therefore speak of a “regime of permission”: a system in which pollution does not disappear, but is regulated and normalized.
Source: Van Wingerde, Bisschop, Verbeek & Le Sage, Regulation & Governance, 2026.