Thursday, March 24, 2022
Contact:Anjuli Ramos, anjuli.ramos@sierraclub.org
TRENTON, NJ – Today, the Senate passed A642 (Coughlin) / S1369 (Vitale) with a vote of 35-1. This bill would authorize the use of steel slag as an aggregate in industrial and commercial development and in the remediation of contaminated sites provided that its use does not cause the exceedance of any drinking water quality standard or groundwater quality standard established by law. The bill passed the Assembly on February 28th with a vote of 75-0-0. It now goes to the Governor’s desk to sign.
The Sierra Club opposes the use of steel slag based on environmental justice and pollution prevention considerations. The use of steel slag in concrete does not support the Sierra Club’s long-range policy priorities to end the production of polluting substances and waste (zero waste); to prevent any release of polluting substances; to prevent exposure of plants, animals, or humans to polluting substances; and to remediate the effects of any such exposure.
Much of the ground granulated blast furnace steel slag consumed in the United States is imported. The U.S. Geological Survey states that imports steadily increased from 1.5 to 2.3 million metric tons from 2015 to 2019. Thus when considering the environmental impact of steel slag, one must add the generation of carbon from transportation by rail and ship to the carbon equation. Additionally, the handling of steel slag is often “greenwashed” as a more climate friendly alternative than limestone, for example. However, as implemented in many communities, this substitution often occurs in an unjust way.
In response, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey Chapter Director, Sierra Club, issued the following statement:
“It is disappointing that this bill was passed by the Senate today because it perpetuates industrial waste generation. The production of waste by the steel industry is how steel slag is generated; and monetizing the waste supports its future generation. The handling of the waste is what causes the pollutant to be released into the environment and to expose people to the pollutants. This bill fails to include the air pollution implications of handling the steel slag as an aggregate as it only focuses on not exceeding drinking and groundwater quality standards. Additionally, this bill prolongs the dependence on a mostly imported waste product that already faces a constrained supply. We ask Governor Murphy to veto this bill to reduce air pollution and groundwater pollution caused by steel slag.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey.