4. Economic considerations

In the steel industry, environmental protection is extremely costly, as illustrated by the article on Environmental protection in steel mills, Technology [M 7 151] . That said, it is very difficult to obtain comprehensive financial estimates, as the lack of an environmental accounting plan accepted by all steelmakers means that expenditure is often underestimated. What's more, the distinctions between what comes under pollution control and what doesn't are far from the same from one country to another, and even from one plant to another in the same country.