Around 20 people have fallen ill with various symptoms in connection with groundwork at SSAB's new electric steel mill. The police are now seeking contact with these people, and are also investigating suspected work environment violations.
"The police are now seeking contact with these people, that is, all people who have become ill or experienced illness-like symptoms in connection with work at SSAB during the period January to April 2026," the police write on their website.
It was on April 3 that SSAB stopped work on building a new electric steel mill after around 20 people fell ill, seven of whom have received treatment. Work is still on hold. Symptoms that have been reported include nausea, headaches and irritated airways.
On Monday, the contractor NCC reported that three more people who had worked in an office at the site showed symptoms of illness.
According to SSAB, it is still unclear what the root cause of the illnesses is. The County Administrative Board has also stated that the construction is taking place in a heavily polluted location.
There is slag from blast furnaces and dredged material from the seabed. In the past, they buried both," Sabina Hoppe, head of the environmental protection unit at the Norrbotten County Administrative Board, told DN earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Luleå Port was also closed near the construction site after a gas alarm, which turned out to be a false alarm.
Corrected: A previous version contained incorrect time information from the police.
