Extending the life of outdated coal-fired furnaces is the path to a ‘shutdown plan’
At a community meeting held 4 blocks from the entrance to U.S. Steel’s Gary Works, local residents, steelworkers, and climate advocates raised concerns that local residents will continue to lose jobs and breathe more health-harming air pollution while Nippon Steel opens new clean steel plants in other parts of the country.
Wrapping those concerns into a forum for community building, “Our Mill, Our Future: A community town hall on clean steel” put the spotlight on the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon.
The town hall was organized by Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD), Just Transition Northwest Indiana, Indiana Conservation Voters, Industrious Labs, and Mighty Earth.
“Most of our families raised children and built lives here because of the steel industry. Because we’ve carried this industry for a hundred years, we have earned a voice in what comes next,” said Lori Latham, 1st District Councilwoman of the Gary Common Council and Chair of the Council’s Air Pollution Advisory Committee.
Nippon’s plans to sink a significant portion of its pledged $3.1 billion at Gary Works into relining aging and outdated coal-fired blast furnaces will not, in the long term, benefit Gary’s economic health and its resident’s physical health was the forum’s message.
“A reline is not a plan for the future,” Latham said. “The reline will ultimately be a shutdown plan unless it is accompanied by a plan to transition to direct reduction iron (DRI) production.”
“Three billion dollars for Gary Works is a historic opportunity. We can’t afford to have it squandered,” said Dorreen Carey, President of GARD. “Nippon Steel can use a portion of that money to begin fully modernizing Gary Works by installing its first coal-free ironmaking furnace, and it can do this without any production interruptions, without tearing anything down. Gary deserves a place in the future of the steel industry – not just in its history museum.”
DRI furnaces are fueled by electricity and natural gas, eliminating the harmful air and water pollutants released from coal-fired furnaces. U.S. Steel has invested $1.9 billion to build a next-generation, coal-free steel mill in Arkansas.
“Nippon Steel claims to care about Gary and the region. If that’s true, then we need to let them know that we will not stand by and let the communities that built the steel industry be decimated,” said Lisa Valee, Organizing Director at Just Transition NWI. “Northwest Indiana must be the first to benefit from U.S. Steel’s renaissance, not the last. If we stand together, we can win.”
“The adverse health effects of air pollutants produced by the coal-based steelmaking process are well-documented, and have now been shown to affect nearly every organ system in the body,” said Dr. Allan Haline, a retired gastroenterologist and GARD supporter.
“Direct injury to the respiratory tract from particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen and sulfur dioxides significantly increases the risk of developing asthma and other respiratory ailments. This leads to increased ER visits, increased overall mortality, and increased premature deaths in individuals with underlying lung disease or other chronic medical problems. Infants and children exposed to air pollution are especially vulnerable,” Dr. Haline said.
According to analysis by Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute, it would cost less than $2 billion to install Gary’s first coal-free iron production facility as well as the additional technology needed to convert the iron into high-grade steel.
