This is a new era- Hamilton councillor Bernie Morelli, who used to work as a senior manager at Dofasco. The ministry blamed Columbian, Dofasco (now ArcelorMittal Dofasco) and Stelco (now U.S. Steel Canada) for much of the carbon black(scroll to bottom of page for facts), coal, coke and soot found in samples collected from east Hamilton homes in the preceding year, but couldn't tie them to specific incidents.And quite frankly, it's about time that ... (companies) started to spend some of their huge profits on speeding up their environmental necessities to improve air quality in this city.
December 2006
October 31, 2007
U.S. Steel Corp. completed its acquisition of Stelco Inc., turning Canada's largest steelmaker into U.S. Steel Canada Inc. Hamilton-based Stelco was snapped up by the Pittsburgh-based company in a US$1.1-billion deal announced in August 2007.
June 07, 2008
The Ontario Environment Ministry is investigating reports of more sooty, black dust falling on east Hamilton, the latest in a string of such incidents over the last two years. As in past instances, officials point to Columbian Chemicals, U.S. Steel Canada and ArcelorMittal Dofasco as potential sources.
Jun 25, 2008
Columbian Chemicals is the target of an Environment Ministry investigation into the latest incident of black fallout over east Hamilton. Laboratory analysis revealed a significant amount of carbon black in samples taken from homes near the bayfront industrial area June 5-11, prompting the investigations and enforcement branch to focus on Columbian's Parkdale Avenue North plant. The same three that week, while denying they're to blame, sent $250 money orders by registered mail to 25 people who complained about the fallout on June 5, 6, 7 and 11. Their letter says it's possible hot, humid weather "prohibited particulate matter from dispersing normally."
July 04, 2008
The Ministry of the Environment, as it investigates whether Columbian Chemicals was the source of recent black fallout, is ordering the company to study whether its monitoring equipment is adequate to detect small releases of powdered carbon black into the air over east Hamilton.
July 05, 2008
A sudden, dramatic increase in black smoke from U.S. Steel Canada's Hamilton coke ovens earlier this year resulted in Environment Ministry orders that have already led to a sharp reduction in visible emissions. U.S. Steel Canada's manager of government and public relations, says emissions were visible for an average of 11 minutes a day in June, down from 42 minutes in February and 75 minutes in March, the months that prompted ministry action. The company said it will install electronic monitors to continuously measure opacity, or blackness, in place of a video system the ministry declared unacceptable.
July 14, 2008
Black dust bunnies falling from the sky. That's how one resident described the fallout from a large plume that blew over the city's North End. Commodore of the Hamilton Bay Sailing Club, said members had returned from sailing and were having a barbecue at their Pier 4 Park compound when the saw the large plume approaching from the east at sunset Friday. The sailors were just tucking into some vanilla ice cream. Ten minutes later, they looked around to find themselves and their ice cream covered in soot. U.S. Steel Canada, which took over Stelco Inc. last November, reported a one-minute smoke emission at 9:21 p.m. Friday that it said was caused by a problem with a blast furnace. The environment ministry has issued U.S. Steel with a compliance order following a sudden, dramatic increase in black smoke emissions earlier this year. The company's manager of government and public relations, contends visible emissions have been decreasing.
August 09, 2008
Though most of the crowd at Ivor Wynne was watching the Tiger- Cats trounce the Toronto Argonauts 45-21 Thursday night, many fans wondered where the ominous black cloud overhead came from. Now U.S. Steel Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment are working to find the cause of a blast furnace pressure release that sent a cloud of black particulate drifting over the stadium and northeast parts of the city. The ministry believes there are enough similarities between the incident Thursday night and others July 11 and July 31 to order U.S. Steel to provide a detailed report on the cause by Aug. 29 and recommendations on how to prevent them by Oct. 31.
August 14, 2008
ArcelorMittal Dofasco and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment are probing the cause of a black plume that came from a company smokestack late yesterday afternoon. The plume is being linked to what the ministry says was an "upset" in the company's No. 2 blast furnace, but what caused the upset still has to be determined. There had been three incidents in the past month from U.S. Steel Canada, which led the ministry to order the steelmaker, formerly Stelco, to provide a report on the cause and a plan on how to prevent the emissions by Oct. 31. Several months ago, ArcelorMittal was found to be the source of visible airborne emissions from its No. 2 blast furnace and melt shop. The company spent $300 million on maintenance, including enhancements in environmental areas.
August 15, 2008
A Hamilton councillor says industrial fallout incidents in the North End are too frequent and companies need to pony up cash from big profits to fix environmental problems faster. Ward 3 Councillor Bernie Morelli's comments come on the heels of two highly visible releases from ArcelorMittal Dofasco within 24 hours. On Wednesday, a black cloud rose from the blast furnace of the facility after it was restarted following a week-long shutdown. Yesterday, an iron-oxide cloud wafted out from the company around 3 p.m. The Ministry of the Environment said the release was somehow caused by molten iron going into a slag pit. The company said the incident was moisture-related and had to do with the same blast furnace. The release was the 11th incident between ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada brought to public attention by the media. There have been five since July 11. The MOE said neither ArcelorMittal Dofasco nor U.S. Steel Canada has ever been convicted of any charge relating to black fallout emissions.
Since Feb. 7, area media has reported on seven releases from ArcelorMittal Dofasco.A spokesperson for the MOE, said the company is under investigation for two release incidents. The first was related to the beaching of iron, which resulted in a fallout along the Beach Strip in early 2007. The second is for failing to immediately notify the MOE of an incident in March.
Growing concern in Hamilton, and the number of fallouts, spurred the ministry to institute a 24-hour response procedure in the city's northeast in late 2006.
U.S. Steel Canada has also had several fallouts recently, with three clouds coming from the facility from July 11 to Aug. 7. The company also had a blast furnace release March 21. It has been ordered by the MOE to provide a report on the cause of the three latest incidents by Aug. 29 and recommendations on how to prevent them by Oct. 31.
If a company is convicted of failing to notify or having an adverse impact on air quality, it carries a minimum fine of $5,000 and a maximum of $4 million for a first offence.
August 16, 2008
Last week, a crowd at Ivor Wynne Stadium watched as a U.S. Steel Canada blast furnace belched out a black cloud. On Wednesday, another black cloud containing coal and iron ore emissions floated over the city's north end, one more product of a pressure release from an ArcelorMittal Dofasco blast furnace. And Thursday afternoon, two thick red clouds filled with iron oxide spewed in nearly as many hours in another release from ArcelorMittal Dofasco's blast furnace. ArcelorMittal Dofasco officials say the rain has contributed to the increased emissions. On Aug. 6, in an unprecedented move, the company shut down a blast furnace because of the impact the wet weather is having on operations.
The raw materials sitting in piles outside the plants -- mostly coal and iron ore -- soak up rainwater. This excess moisture is causing more volatile reactions when these materials are heated in the blast furnace to make iron, the principal component of steel. ArcelorMittal Dofasco shut down the blast furnace in a move that hasn't been made in the past quarter-century. A blast furnace being restarted can take 10 days to become fully operational again, resulting in higher emissions.
The MOE is reviewing how ArcelorMittal Dofasco stores and handles raw material, it would be difficult to cover the piles of raw materials to protect from the rain since they take up about 49 hectares. ArcelorMittal Dofasco has flown in company technical experts and they are trying to use material that's not exposed to rain in the furnace.
ArcelorMittal's spotty record elsewhere
March 09, 2008
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been investigating emissions from ArcelorMittal's steel mill in Cleveland and is trying to decide whether enforcement action is needed. The investigation focuses in part on one of two blast furnaces that operate on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River. In a blast furnace, iron ore, coke and limestone come together in a fiery mix to create molten iron. The iron is then shipped a short distance by rail car to a basic oxygen furnace where it's combined with metal scrap to create steel. Advocacy group Ohio Citizen Action filed a complaint about the blast furnace, known as C-5, with the EPA in Chicago last year. It claims former owner LTV Corp. nearly doubled the blast furnace's capacity during the 1980s without installing proper environmental controls.
The company's worldwide profits, $10.4 billion in 2007, and the personal wealth of Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal, one of the richest men in the world, to suggest that paying for new and improved controls would be easy.
EPA probes air quality near ArcelorMittal's Cleveland mill full story
U.S. Steel's Problems the same elsewhere
November 14, 2007
PITTSBURGH -- It's black, it's grimy and it's coating everything in sight at the Mapleview Terrace housing development in Braddock.
The black soot is from the nearby Edgar Thompson plant. A spokesman for U.S. Steel said the particulate was released Tuesday, when they tried to restart a blast furnace that was down for repairs. Something went wrong and the furnace emitted large plumes of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the dust settled.
Black Soot Covers Houses, Cars In Braddock
In suburban Detroit, the cities of Ecorse and River Rouge have filed suits against U.S. Steel Corp., alleging pollution from one of the company's plants is harming the health of residents and eroding real estate values. A U.S. Steel spokesman says the company has spent millions to correct environmental problems it inherited when it took over the bankrupt plant in 2003.
Fact Sheet:
WHAT IS CARBON BLACK?
Carbon black is the general term used to describe a powdery commercial form of carbon. Carbon black is a lot like graphite.
Carbon black can form as an air-polluting particle when fuels (like gasoline, diesel fuel and coal) are not completely burned. These carbon black particles are often coated with other chemicals making them more hazardous than commercially produced pure carbon black. The particle coatings may include "polyaromatic hydrocarbons," also called PAHs.
HOW ARE PEOPLE EXPOSED TO CARBON BLACK?
Breathing: Most exposure to carbon black occurs when people breathe contaminated air. This type of exposure usually occurs in the workplace. However, outdoor air can sometimes contain traces due to its release by industries.
Drinking/Eating: Carbon black does not dissolve in water, so people are not likely to drink it in contaminated water.
Touching: Carbon black particles are heavy and drop quickly out of the air. The dust is a nuisance because it is black and sticky. It’s difficult to wipe off skin or other objects. Touching carbon black is not likely to cause serious health effects.
WILL EXPOSURE TO CARBON BLACK RESULT IN HARMFUL HEALTH EFFECTS?
Inhaling carbon black particles can irritate the lungs and cause coughing. Carbon black can also irritate the eyes, nose and throat.
When people are exposed to high levels of carbon black over many years, the particles may lodge deep in their lungs. If it stays in the lungs, the condition may lead to bronchitis and eventually to a chronic condition called "obstructive pulmonary disease."
Cancer: Animal studies suggest long-term exposure to very high doses of pure carbon black may increase a person's risk of cancer.
Carbon black that comes from incomplete burning of hydrocarbons is more likely to contain cancer causing chemicals than pure carbon black.
Reproductive Effects: There is no evidence that carbon black causes reproductive or developmental problems.
Other Organ Systems: The most likely effect of exposure to carbon black is lung disease.
Later, Kenaz
UPDATE:July 21,2009
U.S. Steel promised to employ an average 3,105 workers and increase production by 10 per cent at the former Stelco in exchange for Ottawa's approval of its $1.9-billion takeover, according to court documents filed by the federal government.
The federal government is taking U.S. Steel to court to force it to live up to those 2007 commitments, which Ottawa says were violated when the steel giant temporarily idled its Canadian plants and laid off workers.
