Recommendations:

Melting Unit:
1. It was observed that during charging process and startup of electric
furnace the gasses emerging from the furnace due to the burning of
scrap were not properly entering into the smoke capturing hood and
were going directly into the
atmosphere
without
proper
filtration
through
baghouse
installed at the melting unit. It
was recommended to ensure
proper filtration of air, the
exhaust gases must be properly
directed to the stack hood so
that maximum amount of gases
should enter in the baghouse
for filtration and the size of the
hood should meet the covering requirements of furnace and it must be
adjusted above the furnace according to the direction of the gases
emerging from the furnace. Following these recommendation FSL in a
quick response is installing another baghouse at the melting section as
well as the size of the hood is being increased, this will help FSL
achieve maximum pollutant filtration of the stack gasses. A suction
pump was also recommended above the hood if natural flow of gases is
not in the direction of hood, this will increase efficiency of hood as well
as of the baghouse. FSL has outscored all other neighboring industries
in terms of anti-pollution equipment installation.

2. The amount of pollutants in the stack gasses greatly depends on the

type and quality of raw material being used in the furnace. A good
quality scrap such as tin bundles produces fewer amounts of SOx, NOx,
CO, and PM as compared to open scrap of poor quality. It was
recommended to avoid high concentration of pollutants in the stack
gasses the quality of raw material should be enhanced. As a result FSL
eliminated the use of all local market scrap that produces large amount
of pollutant gasses and now bundle scrap imported from South Africa is
being used in the industry.
3. A scheduled emission test should be performed after every 4-6 weeks
to monitor the amount of SOx, NOx, CO, PM and smoke opacity of
escaping gases from the stack. Controlled emission and proper
monitoring can provide a solid environmental baseline to the operation
of the industry. The recommendation is taken up by higher authorities
of FSL and they have insured monthly environmental performance to
be submitted to the PAK-EPA department.
4. It was recommended that In addition to ISO 9001 Certification, the
company should work for ISO 14000 family certification of
Environmental Management System like ISO 14001 and 14004. It will
provide practical tools for company to identify and control their
environmental impact and constantly improve their environmental
performance. ISO 14001 is an excellent environmental tool for small
and medium size industries to comply with the environmental
management needs of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency.
As a result FSL has applied for ISO 14001 and its certification process is
in completion stages and will be completed by 2015.

5. It was observed that besides

environmental impact caused due
to operation of furnace, the
charging process of furnace has
deep effect on the health of
workers engaged in the charging
process. This process can be fatal
for the labors working in the
charging zone with use of any
personal protective equipment
such as gas masks, and heat protective outfits. We recommended that
Labor should be provided with Personal Protective Equipment and
Health, Safety and Environmental prospective should be analyzed

properly. This recommendation was taken up by the administration and

in a quick response FSL provided its labor with PPEs and highly
efficient gas masks.

6. Energy conservation is beneficial for the economy of both the industry

as well as for the country. Instrumentation should be introduced in the
mill to minimize the energy wastage in the melting and re-rolling
section as well as other units installed such as gasifier, reverse
osmosis, and cooling tower system.

Re-Rolling Section:
1. Coal Gasification has great environmental importance and its impact on
the environment can be hazardous, as coal contains large amount of
SOx and NOx when burned if it is not of good quality. Each time the
new batch of coal arrivers, the quality of coal should be tested before
its use in the gasifier for the gasification of coal. The coal used must
fall within the quality standards of PEPA with minimum sulphur
contents. To ensure the use of best quality coal, FSL imports coal from
South Africa and avoids local market coal which has high sulphur
contents. In addition FSL has a state of the art chemical testing
laboratory which analyzes the quality of coal prior to its use in the
gasifier.
2. Reheating furnace stack at the re-rolling section is not provided with
any kind of filter media. To make sure the absence of air pollutants

passing through stack, a proper monitoring schedule should be

programmed. To avoid frequent monitoring, stack should be attached
to any kind of filter media such as baghouse, similar to the one
installed in the melting section. To analyze the contents of gasses
passing form this stack Green Futurist conducted several tests and
results were within the safe limits provided by the Pak-EPE department.
3. It was observed that no HSE officer was hired to monitor and analyzed
the overall performance of the industry; also it was the basic
requirement to attain the status of ISO 14001 Certification and to
minimize the expenses of air monitoring performed by the experts
hired from other organizations. Taking up this recommendation FSL has
hired an HSE officer to ensure effective environmental planning in the
industry.

Trans-boundary Air Pollution

It is observed that the environmental condition of FSL is affected on a

large scale by the nearby operational
industries which are also a major source
of negative environmental impact on the
I-9 Industrial State. FSL is surrounded by
four other steel mills. Pak-EPA authorities
should be brought in knowledge about
the effects being produced by the nearby
industries
on
the
environmental
condition of FSL. In return Pak-EPA should
take
notice
of
those
industries
surrounding FSL that are involved in
severe
negative
impacts
on
the
environment. During the operation of
neighboring industries, dense clouds of
smoke badly affects the performance of
FSL, which not only exhibits hazardous
effect on environment but also affects
the health and performance of people
working in FSL. During winter season,
these dense smoke clouds with very low
altitude makes it impossible for the labor
to work without gas masks and
management of FSL has to provide its
labor with gas masks in the those
operational zones where gas masks are
not necessary. FSL has deep concerns on
this trans-boundary environmental issue
which makes its operation difficult. The
management of FSL wants to take up this
matter to the legal authorities of Pak-EPA and is keen to resolve this
matter as soon as possible. FSL is paying large amount of its budget to
improve its environment and ensure the health of its workers. FSL has
planted a large number of tress in its working boundary to reduce the
environmental concerns related with the trans-boundary pollutants. In
addition to this, it has become very difficult for FSL management to hire
labor that is willing to work in such an environment where working
conditions are affected severely by smoke and poisonous air.