Environmental Protection Solutions

Steel helps protect our future. When faced with pollution, containment is vital.

Steel sheet piles are used on a temporary or permanent basis in landfill conversion, polluted soil remediation, riverbed cleaning operations, and pollution containment.

Impervious enclosures can be quickly created with AZ®-800 wide steel sheet piles to safely retain contaminated material as part of a remediation plan. ArcelorMittal's wide range of sealing solutions ensures complete water-tightness, even in the presence of highly aggressive chemicals.

Steel is a permanent material: it is never consumed but continuously transformed and reused, thus reducing pressure on limited natural resources.

Steel sheet piles are a major contributor to the circular economy. They are reusable and 100% recyclable. ArcelorMittal's EcoSheetPile™ is produced from 100% recycled steel.

Impervious, reusable and sustainable containment structures

Environmental Protection

Steel sheet piles can play an active role in protecting and preserving the environment through recycling, re-use, flood protection systems, storm protection systems, and beach erosion protection.

Their production process in facilities that meet stringent European environmental and health & safety regulations and standards, along with their reuse and recycling capabilities, results in a relatively low impact on the environment and human activities compared to other materials.

Although noise and vibrations may be higher during installation (there are methods to reduce or even eliminate this nuisance), a sheet pile structure is almost always erected much faster, leading to less disturbance to the neighbourhood, which is a key selection criterion in urban areas.

Flood defence and bank protection

Waste disposal

Steel sheet piles are highly valued for the containment of waste or polluted material. They can be installed as an impervious wall preventing the migration of pollutants in soil.

Regarding the confinement of waste, steel sheet piles are generally installed as vertical walls. Its watertightness can be improved either by applying a sealing product in the interlocks or whenever possible, by welding the interlocks after installation. The piles are highly resistant to the potentially aggressive environment present in waste disposals.

Steel sheet piles can also be used to create a new landfill or to rehabilitate an existing landfill.

Steel sheet piles are highly valued for containing waste or polluted material. They can be installed as an impervious wall to prevent the migration of pollutants into the soil.

For waste confinement, steel sheet piles are generally installed as vertical walls. Their watertightness can be enhanced by applying a sealing product to the interlocks or, when possible, by welding the interlocks after installation. The piles are highly resistant to the potentially aggressive environment present in waste disposal sites.

Steel sheet piles can also be used to create new landfills or to rehabilitate existing ones.

Soil decontamination

Soil decontamination projects are quite complex. One method involves containing the soil within an impervious steel sheet pile wall that prevents the migration of pollutants present in the soil.

A typical decontamination procedure consists of several execution phases:

The area to be decontaminated is enclosed with an impervious sheet pile wall.
The contaminated soil is excavated until the non-contaminated layer is reached.
The contaminated soil is transferred to a plant for treatment or treated on-site.
After treatment, the soil is returned to the site.
The sheet pile wall can be removed and reused.

The entire area can be treated in a single phase or subdivided into several smaller cells that are treated sequentially. In the latter option, the same steel sheet piles can be reused one or more times on the same site.

No waste remains on-site once the steel sheet piles have been removed.

Noise barriers

Steel sheet pile walls have been used in Europe for decades as sound barriers along roads and motorways. They often serve a dual purpose: as retaining walls and noise barriers, with the added benefit of requiring a very small footprint along the roads.

The efficiency of the noise barrier can be enhanced by installing the sheet piles at a slight batter angle.

Steel sheet piles reflect sound waves, but due to their geometry, the reflections differ significantly from those off a smooth, flat surface. In some cases, additional panels are added to the sheets to absorb part of the sound.

When steel sheet piles are used solely as sound barriers, some of the piles may be shorter than others and are designed similarly to a combined wall system.

Owners often appreciate the corroded surface of steel sheet piles for its anti-graffiti properties, but architects frequently prefer a coating for aesthetic reasons.

Randweg A2 | The Netherlands