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Progress on Countermeasures to the Steelworks Emissions Problem

Kobe Steel took extremely seriously the emissions violation at the company's steel works that was uncovered in May 2006 and has continued to implement a range of measures to deal with the problem. A series of meetings has been organized with local authorities Hyogo Prefecture and Kakogawa City to agree on countermeasures and confirm improvements. We have also supplied regular reports to the Chubu Kinki Industrial Safety and Inspection Department Kinki Branch of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and to Kakogawa City. The main measures implemented during fiscal 2007 are as set out below. Main Activities during fiscal 2007 All measures planned for implementation during fiscal 2007 have been completed. This means that, as of the end of March 2008, about 80% of all the measures planned from the start have been completed. The remaining measures will be implemented in line with the ongoing plan. Main Measures Completed during fiscal 2007 No.1 boiler refractory upgrading (Kobe Works) Completed July 2007 Increased dust collection capacity at sintering plant, ferroalloy plant, converter plant (Kakogawa Works) Completed September 2007 Low NOx burners installed in continuous annealing furnace (Kakogawa Works) Completed November 2007 Belt conveyor sealed (Kakogawa Works) Completed December 2007 Windbreak netting installed at coal and iron ore stockyards (Kakogawa Works) Completed December 2007 Capacity increased for noise absorbers for steam emission at generator boilers (Kobe Works) Completed March 2008 Progress in Main Measures for Completion from fiscal 2008 External desulfurization facility installed at No.6 boiler of power generation plant (Kakogawa Works) Completed April 2008 Automatic combustion control for power generation plant boilers (Kakogawa Works) No.1 boiler completed, progress on schedule for remaining boilers. Measures for boilers as per plan to be completed by end of March 2009. Upgrading of No.1 turbine generator at power generation plant (Kobe Works) Progress on schedule for completion in March 2009 Installation of denitrification equipment at sintering plant (Kakogawa Works) Work in progress, on schedule for completion in April 2010 Upgrading of boilers at generating plant (Kakogawa Works) Progress on schedule for completion in December 2014 External desulfurization facility at No.6 boiler of power generation plant The No.6 boiler at the Kakogawa Works power generating plant is a coal circulating fluidized bed boiler that utilizes the furnace desulfurization method of charging the furnace with coal and removing sulfur. Additionally, an external desulfurization facility has been installed to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides, with the work completed on schedule in April 2008. External desulfurization facility External desulfurization facility Dust control measures In order to reduce the amount of particles falling as dust on the area surrounding the Kakogawa Works, measures are being taken that include adding further dust-collecting equipment, improving the sealing of locations generating dust, and increasing water spraying. Also, in addition to existing dust-control netting already installed around the site boundary, 20 m high windbreak netting has been installed on the south side of the coal and iron ore stockyards, for distances of about 850 m and 600 m respectively. Coke dust collector installed adjacent to the blast furnace Washing tires in recycling zone Windbreak netting on south side of iron ore stockyard Communication with local community Free-dial service To receive environment-related inquiries, a free-dial telephone service has been set up at the Kakogawa Works and Kobe Works. The numbers of calls received per month and their nature are shown in the graph. We are striving to respond with appropriate measures to the comments we receive, and to explain the current status of all environmental measures to gain the public's understanding. Calls Received via Free-dial Service Meetings with Local Community In order to gain the local community's understanding of our measures to safeguard the environment, the Kakogawa Works and Kobe Works arrange on-site meetings with members of the local community, and hold meetings with local government bodies. In total, ten such meetings were held between April 2007 and March 2008. A meeting held at the Kakogawa Works on 17 June 2007 was attended by 104 local people. The state of progress of on-site countermeasures was explained, and attendees were able to see for themselves how the relevant facilities were being installed.