Steel Mills

USS Midwest Plant Back Up and Running After Wastewater Scare

September 29, 2021

U.S. Steel’s Midwest Plant is back up and running after operations were temporarily halted because of discolored wastewater, a company spokeswoman said.

The Portage, Ind., finishing operation – part of U.S. Steel’s Gary Works in northwest Indiana – had been down for about a day, the spokeswoman told SMU on Wednesday afternoon.

US Steel Midwest Plant typically discharges treated wastewater into local waterways. But the discoloration became the subject of local media reports and resulted in beaches along the Indiana Dunes National Park being closed for swimming as a precaution.

U.S. Steel previously halted operations at Midwest Plant in April 2017 when a similar incident occurred, that one involving hexavalent chromium – a toxic chemical used in the tinning process. That was not the case this time. Testing indicates that chromium and hexavalent chromium levels were “well below” permitted levels, the spokeswoman said.

Midwest Plant makes tin mill products, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized product, and electrical lamination steels. Its primary markets are automotive, construction, container and electrical markets, according to the company’s website

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.