Leaked report reveals pollution issues at ArcelorMittal’s Bosnian steelworks

A part of ArcelorMittal’s steelworks in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Photo: Dženat Dreković/CIN)

But the steelworks ground to a halt during the war from 1992 to 1995, when Bosnia-Herzegovina split from the former Yugoslavia. As the new country struggled to rebuild its economy, Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal bought the Zenica steelworks in 2004.

Two years later, Mittal’s company merged with the European giant Arcelor, becoming one of the world’s largest steel producers. Today, ArcelorMittal has a presence in more than 60 countries and a workforce of around 154,000 people.

While it has come under criticism from environmental groups, ArcelorMittal has spoken publicly of its commitment to decarbonization, a process aimed at curbing global warming. ArcelorMittal produced the “low-carbon” steel used to make the Olympic torch, which is now winding its way through France in the run-up to the summer games.

In Zenica, hopes for economic recovery were dampened by pollution that left it the sixth most toxic city in Europe, according to the 2023 World Air Quality Report by the environmental group Greenpeace.

Zenica’s soil has also been contaminated, according to a study by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Federal Institute for Agropedology. Testing between 2011 and 2015 found heavy metal pollution in the soil surrounding AMZ’s facilities. The institute’s report discouraged cultivating crops or raising livestock in the vicinity.

In March, reporters from CIN brought soil samples to the institute from more than 50 different locations in the area surrounding AMZ’s plant, including gardens, schools, and health clinics. The samples were found to be heavily contaminated with pollutants including arsenic and lead.

The contaminants were spewed into the air as part of the steel production process, said the institute’s Ahmedin Salčinović.

"They come with the wind and fall to the ground and stay there. Plants, especially lettuce, spinach, and vegetables, when taking nutrients from the soil, also take in heavy metals,” said Salčinović.

AMZ blamed the soil contamination on previous operators of the steelworks, particularly  in the 1980s when, it said, the plant used poor quality iron ore.

“The iron ore that is used by AMZ… has a superior chemical composition and our data from air emission monitoring shows that all emissions of heavy metals are below the ELV (emissions limit value),” the company said.

The inspection report obtained by reporters lists a number of problems at the Zenica steelworks that it says were never dealt with.

The inspector noted that slag –– a residue left from the smelting of iron ore –– was being dumped in landfills that ArcelorMittal had not obtained permits for. The inspector concluded that while the company had stated its intentions to establish a non-hazardous disposal site, “the intention to reach it in the near future is not recognized as an environmentally sound solution.”

Mehta, AMZ’s CEO, said in an interview that the company is still working on the permit process to build a waste storage site in the steelworks area.

The inspection report also mentioned poor maintenance at the steelworks, and other deficiencies including a failure to implement measures aimed at reducingemissions. The report found that AMZ had failed to meet deadlines for the implementation of at least 13 of the 15 measures as required by law.

According to documents accessed by OCCRP and CIN through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, a total of 87 environmental inspections were carried out by authorities at AMZ facilities, leading to at least 46 violations. From 2019 to 2024, AMZ was fined a total of $79,751 as a consequence.

“These punishments are largely symbolic,” said Lemeš, the environmental activist from Zenica, noting the relatively low amounts.

Among other violations, the company was fined for failing to maintain a system to treat wastewater generated by steel production. That failure may have led to the discharge of sludge into the Bosna River, one of the country’s three largest fresh waterways, according to documents obtained through the FOI request.

In its email, AMZ said it had taken action after a spill in 2023, and that “no discharge is possible in future from this location.”

The Bosnia-Herzegovina Minister of Environment and Tourism, Nasiha Pozder, said AMZ was fined each time an illegal discharge occurred.

“It seems those penalties serve their interests more than complying with the requirements from the environmental permit,” she said.

The permit includes regulations set by the environment ministry to control emissions, manage waste, and ensure that operations do not harm its surrounding environment.