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’s Topalian lauds Trump’s trade policies, downplays impact
Nucor’s top exec Leon Topalian said the benefit of the current administration’s aggressive trade policies “trumps” any risk of potentially higher raw materials prices.
SSAB reports higher production, shipments
But profits slipped vs. last year.
Nucor earnings slump in first quarter, but better times seen ahead
Nucor’s profits fell precipitously in the first quarter, but the company has a rosier outlook for the following quarter.
Nucor names Batterbee, Bledsoe to HR roles
Nucor Corp. has promoted Thomas J. Batterbee to the position EVP of human resources and talent and appointed Elizabeth Bledsoe to the newly created position of president of human resources and talent.
Millett sees tariffs, CORE case benefiting SDI
Steel Dynamics' top exec thinks Trump’s tariff policies, as well as the results from the recent CORE case, will prove advantageous to the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker and aluminum company.