ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PRACTICES

   The Gerdau Group follows international environmental practices and meets all of its regulatory obligations.

   The mills protect the atmosphere with highly efficient systems to filter gases and capture solid particles, preventing emissions into the air.

   To preserve water resources, process waters are treated and recirculated through closed systems. This equipment allows the water to be returned to the production process, reducing the need for intake water. The low volume returned to the rivers is of a quality equivalent to or higher than the intake water. As a result of this work, initiated in the 1940s, the Gerdau Group's process water recirculation rate is one of the best in the global steel sector.

   Soil protection is carried out through the rigorous management of industrial waste products, based on the principles of reduction, reuse, recycling and controlled disposal. Under these guidelines, Gerdau develops new uses for wastes in partnership with other sectors of the economy, allowing a reduction in the use of natural raw materials.