Steel Mills
Fire at ArcelorMittal Weirton Strip Mill
Written by Sandy Williams
May 16, 2015
An electrical fire Friday at ArcelorMittal Weirton in West Virginia sent eight employees to the hospital. A transformer at the Weirton strip steel operation malfunctioned causing adjacent electrical equipment to catch fire said ArcelorMittal spokesperson Mary Beth Holford.
The fire was extinguished quickly and employees working the area were evacuated as a precaution. Several employees were evaluated for smoke inhalation, including the eight that were sent to the hospital, said Holford.
There was some concern by Weirton Fire Department officials regarding a type of oil used in the old transformers. According to Weirton Fire Capt. Bob Hinchee the oil is a carcinogen. “It didn’t affect us where we were at,” said Hinchee. “The mill is assessing it for their personnel. Everybody responded quickly in a timely manner. We worked well with Mittal employees and the fire was extinguished without any problem.”
ArcelorMittal says there were no serious and injuries and “no risk to the Weirton community as a result of the incident.”
The tandem mill where the incident occurred is in a controlled shutdown while the incident is investigated, said Holford.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor holds HR list price at $910/ton
Nucor is keeping its list price for spot hot-rolled coil unchanged after last week’s shortened holiday week.
Cliffs unveils new hydrogen-powered stainless line in Ohio
CEO Lourenco Goncalves, flanked by state leaders and union reps, touted the project as proof that US manufacturing is not only alive, but also advancing.
Cliffs idles Steelton, Riverdale, and Conshohocken operations
Cliffs has idled facilities in Riverdale, Ill., and Conshohocken and Steelton, Pa.
Radius loss narrows, volumes climb in ‘healthy’ West Coast market
Stronger steel demand in the Western US, rising scrap flows, and improved rolling mill utilization drove sequential gains for Portland, Ore.-based Radius Recycling.
AISI: Raw steel production backs off multi-year high
US raw steel output edged lower last week after hitting a multi-year high in mid-June, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).