TOPIC:

Does anyone have info on the steel mill chemical dump in burns ditch waterway?
I heard that there was a discharge again yesterday and the ditch is all orange out to the mouth of the ditch.

Alot on u tube,also check 5 have Ariel video today on YouTube. Sad this happen again. 

Here are a couple pics from that facebook post for those of you who don't have it. Not my pics. 

 

UPDATE

EPA says it was a heavy amount of IRON not any chemical spill. Do I believe them.... not sure but could be.

Thanks for the update.

These spills seem to become a yearly thing now, and how they continue to get away with these "accidents" is beyond me.  I have a friend who's an environmental scientist, and he always tells me it's way cheaper for these companies to simply pay the fine instead of disposing of it properly.  Makes perfect sense honestly.  The one a couple years ago - that was I think a $1.2 million settlement or something.  Chump change for these companies, given they all probably have claims accounts just for accidents like this.  Until they start making fines steeper, we will continue to see this year after year.  The irony of it all is, they don't even worry about the PR disasters anymore from these spills: they understand news cycles, and within a day the story washes out and they are in the clear.  Sad state of affairs, that's for sure.

Another spill today from the Midwest plant. I did 35 years there when it was National, we never got away with this crap.

Sad this happens twice in two weeks, How are this spills affecting the water quality ? How are the spills affecting the aquatic Life?    I spoke to a gentleman that's also worked at National, he said that he don't recall problems with spills when National was running that mill. I hope they look into the problems of the spills and take better measures that this does not continue to happen. The fines need to be more . Hope it stops being a problem.

My opinion is if that outfall is capable of releasing toxic materials into the ditch it should be eliminated.  The mill should contain those materials in tanks or engineered settling ponds so they can be properly disposed of.  Kind of ridiculous that they are even allowed to have a point of discharge like this.

Your correct Baron. Every thing you mentioned was done when this plant was owned by National.. Just so everyone understands the Midwest Plant is a finishing mill..
They take coils thru their pickle line then after, the coils go either into can making operations lines or galvanize. The 52 inch and 80 have operating rolling oils. Each line has a inherited operational issues that they must monitor. Each unit has different acids most are a light acid of Hydrochloric or sulfuric acids.    Some like the chrome line use large amounts of chromic acid flake(one of the most cancer causing)that get used for the line bath. The tinline used bichromate. Each unit has a basement sump that feed directly to the utility department for treatment. If they get to much of anyone type that they cannot treat right away they are to pump it into storage so they can monitor how much comes back for treatment. Stuff like chromic acid is a slow treatment process. This is the stuff that went in on the 2017 spill.
The Midwest plant does not make steel, they finish the steel for different operations. Each unit and all line operations people are to fill out turn reports. There are audits done each turn by each person. There used to be all kinds of bells and whistles so to say that were to stay operational. Many times thru a plant audit it was found that someone had turned off or had not had a repair done to the bells and or whistles.
The utility department is that little building you see close to the ditch as you go down the ditch., just above the outfall.