Depending on the site, the water is either discharged downstream or recirculated in closed-loop systems. Cooling water does not come into contact with our products and is not contaminated. Only our site in Garphyttan discharges cooling water, while all other sites operate closed loop systems. Cooling water is essential for our operations. If the supply of cooling water were to decrease or cease, it would have significant consequences as we would be unable to produce. The probability of such disruption is assessed to be low. The largest volumes of water used are for cooling across multiple process steps along the value chain. Wastewater is also released from several parts of the value chain. Steel mills are generally located along rivers or similar, which facilitates withdrawal and resupply of the cooling water. Water withdrawal presented in the table is calculated in accordance with the definition of specific water consumption in FMP BAT.
In FMP BAT, water consumption is defined as total water use excluding:
- Recycled and reused water
- Cooling water used in once-through cooling systems
- Water for domestic-type use
This differs from the VSME guidance, where water consump tion is defined as water inputs minus outputs. The figures presented do not therefore represent total water withdrawal at our production sites.
