Updates on the situation at the new steel plant construction site in Luleå

What has happened?

• SSAB has been carrying out ground preparation work since November 2025 with the help of subcontractors. The work is part of preparations for the construction of a new steel plant that will produce fossil-free steel. The plant is set to be completed in 2029. The work is being carried out on a former industrial site.
• On 19 February, a subcontractor informed SSAB of a first case of illness. SSAB immediately paused work on the site and moved to another location. At the same time, SSAB conducted new measurements of the air and soil. None of the results exceeded applicable limits.
• On 23 March, SSAB received a second report of illness symptoms from subcontractors. As a result, all work at the current location was paused.
• Additional symptoms were reported from another location and with other work activities, leading SSAB to pause all work at the construction site on 3 April.
• Since then, additional suspected cases of illness have been reported to SSAB. In total, subcontractors have reported around 25 cases, of which seven, according to the information SSAB has received, have sought medical care. None of the individuals are, as far as we know, receiving ongoing care.

• Since the ground preparation work began, SSAB has carried out many tests of air and soil. The area where the new steel plant is being built has a long industrial history and is contaminated.
• Since the environmental permit application was submitted in 2023, more than 1,700 samples from the construction site have been analysed.
• All measurements, with one exception, are well below the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s current limits. However, elevated levels of nitrogen and sulphur dioxides have been detected in the cab of one tractor.
• As SSAB has received information about symptoms and cases of illness, efforts to measure the soil and air have intensified without elevated values being detected.
• SSAB has submitted a formal measurement and analysis report to the Swedish Work Environment Authority, showing that the investigated air and gas exposures at the construction site in Luleå did not exceed applicable occupational exposure limit values during the measurement period. At the same time, the investigation into the cause of the reported symptoms is ongoing.

• All work at the current site remains suspended until further notice. SSAB cannot today say what the cause or causes may be of the symptoms reported by subcontractors.
• We are intensifying the work on measurements and sampling to confirm or rule out conceivable causes. The increase in measurement activity means measurements will take place in more places and that more personnel resources will be devoted to testing and analysis.
• Considering the elevated values measured in the tractor operator’s cab, a controlled and activity-specific measurement programme is being conducted with a new set of work vehicles to assess the working environment in and around their cabs.
• All measurements are carried out in accordance with appropriate protective measures.
• SSAB is continuing the measurement and analysis work and is in close dialogue with experts in the field. We are also working closely with the relevant authorities, our subcontractors, and trade unions.
• Work at the site will not resume until further safety measures are in place and SSAB is confident that all applicable limits have been met.