The transition of the steel sector, e.g. related to decarbonisation, depends less on new technologies than on systemic coordination between energy supply, industrial infrastructure, and policy frameworks. Emerging technologies have not been systematically evaluated, something this paper aims to address by combining literature evidence with semi-structured interviews. The study identifies environmental hotspots, evaluates industry ambitions and barriers, and reviews how assessment methods are applied. Hydrogen-based direct reduction offers the greatest long-term emission reductions but demands vast renewable electricity capacity and extensive infrastructural transformation, making its large-scale adoption feasible mainly in regions such as Sweden. Scrap-based electric-arc furnace routes deliver immediate gains yet remain constrained by scrap quality, availability, and electricity mix, while carbon capture and storage serve only as a temporary bridging option. Economic costs and uneven regional energy access continue to limit transition speed across Europe. Current life cycle assessments increasingly focus on prospective, carbon-centred indicators, overlooking broader environmental dimensions such as toxicity and resource depletion. Integrated life cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and techno-economic modelling provide a more comprehensive understanding of these interlinked constraints. The study concludes that sustainable steelmaking requires systemic coordination rather than isolated technological optimisation.

This paper examines how circular economy principles are understood and applied within the Swedish steel industry, situated within a broader European policy context. Drawing on qualitative interviews with industry and academic respondents, it explores drivers, barriers, and opportunities shaping the transition toward circular and low-emissions steelmaking. The findings show that while Sweden’s nearly fossil-free electricity mix, strong policy framework, and rising market demand create favorable conditions, progress remains constrained by high capital costs, technological immaturity, and limited availability of high-quality scrap. Respondents emphasise that economic feasibility and market acceptance currently outweigh policy ambition as determinants of change. Circularity is widely supported in principle but challenged in practice by material and infrastructural limitations. The paper concludes that Sweden’s structural advantages position it as a frontrunner and testbed for circular steel production, provided that coordinated action aligns technological innovation, market incentives, and regulatory frameworks.

This study investigated the elemental composition and particle size of particulate matter (PM) deposited on the skin from industrial exposure during work in a ferro-silicon smelter using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Tape stripping and interception sampling methods were trialed with different tape types. D-squame tape, together with the D-squame applicator instrument, was chosen because it represented a replicable and standardized method allowing SEM analyses to be performed, enabled analyses of deeper skin layers, and had no negative attributes compared to carbon tape when a protocol for imaging non-conductive specimens was used. The underside of the wrist was selected as the sampling site. The observed particle sizes varied from approximately 200 µm to 200 nm. The backscattered electron mode was best adapted to detect particles inside the stratum corneum (SC) due to all detected inorganic compounds giving stronger backscattering than skin. Elemental analysis was obtained by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Using the results of 10 repetitive samples from the worker with the most PM exposure, the elemental concentration profiles for Si, Fe, and S in the SC were measured. The elemental concentration showed an exponential decrease during the first four strips, suggesting that most particle penetration is hindered by the first few layers of the SC.