Equipment failure slows Ind. steel mill production

GARY, Ind. — A blast furnace at a northwestern Indiana steel mill is back at normal production levels following repairs to key air-pollution control equipment.

The Times of Munster reports that air-scrubbing equipment failed Jan. 7 on one blast furnace at U.S. Steel Corp.’s Gary complex, slowing normal pig iron production until Jan. 11.

The equipment scrubs pollutants such as particles laden with heavy metals from gases in the blast furnace.

U.S. Steel alerted the Indiana Department of Environmental Management of the failure. IDEM regional deputy director Bob Simmons says the incident didn’t trigger a permit violation, but production was shut down for safety reasons because of high carbon monoxide concentrations.

U.S. Steel spokeswoman Courtney Boone says the company only provides operations updates during its quarterly conference calls with analysts.