The accident commission sees the explanation for the cases of illness at SSAB

According to the police investigation, 46 workers have fallen ill so far this year during the 52-billion construction of SSAB's new electric steel plant in Luleå.

But what is behind the cases of illness is still unclear.

DN has previously revealed that SSAB's explanation about dust, viruses and weather is seen by both external experts and the company's own medical advisers.

Nor does the National Accident Commission (SHK) buy the explanation, according to the preliminary study which has now been completed after having been ongoing since spring.

- The answer is no to the question of whether SSAB's investigations have been sufficient in this matter, says investigation chairman Kristina Börjevik Kovaniemi.

The steel company's conclusions are rejected point by point in a report that IVL Swedish Environmental Institute made on behalf of the Norwegian Accident Commission:

● SSAB identified a basic hypothesis for all cases of illness, despite the fact that those affected had different work tasks, places, times and symptoms.

● SSAB claimed that the winter of 2026 was unusually windy and that this strengthened their dam theory, when in fact it was the second least windy period in ten years.

● The weather analysis was based on dates that did not match for almost one in four victims.

● SSAB dismissed gases as a contributing cause, while IVL believes that this cannot be ruled out based on the findings made.

The institute believes, among other things, that SSAB combined an indisputable fact – that the cases of illness began in connection with the large-scale excavation starting at the beginning of the year – with unproven assumptions about what it was in the air that made people sick.

"Continued investigation should primarily focus on understanding the cases, not on further substantiating an already chosen common explanation," writes IVL in its report.

The expert body also questions the daily health examinations that were introduced after construction resumed before the summer.

"There is a risk of false security regarding incidents, as it has not been proven that respiratory viruses and disease contributed to the incidents".

SSAB writes in a comment that people's health and safety is the company's highest priority, and that the focus was on understanding the risk picture and limiting risks.

"This has involved extensive investigations, strengthened control systems and a large number of protection and control measures. That work continues during the implementation of the project," writes SSAB's communications department to DN.

At the same time, IVL points out that SSAB could not have foreseen the risks that the cases of illness would occur, and now the National Accident Commission has decided not to proceed with a full investigation.

According to SHK, the reason is that authorities such as the Work Environment Agency and Norrbotten County Board will coordinate the work better in their continued supervision, and that after the so-called root cause analysis was presented in May, SSAB has taken further measures.

- An accident investigation by the accident commission would therefore not provide additional safety gains at the system level that are required for us to move forward, says Kristina Börjevik Kovaniemi at SHK.

The decision, on the other hand, should not be seen as an acquittal against SSAB or as the issue being resolved, she believes.

- We can describe errors and shortcomings, but we do not investigate guilt or responsibility. Our contribution is to present the facts and make recommendations.

Her colleague, the accident investigator Sofia Martinsson, explains that it may never be possible to find the answer to what caused the cases of illness on the construction site based on the information that has been produced so far.

- But we do not believe that there is only one reason for all these cases, she says.