The popularity of mini-mills in our national steel industry continues to rise, and mini-mills are a prominent employer of steelworkers here in Illinois and Indiana. Congress considers mini-mills to be a growing segment of the country’s steelmaking, explaining that:
A growing share of domestic production comes from “mini-mills” that melt steel scrap or direct reduced iron in electric arc furnaces, continuing the long-standing shift away from large, integrated mills that use ovens to heat coal into coke, combine the coke with iron ore in a blast furnace to produce pig iron, and then melt the pig iron in a basic oxygen furnace to produce liquid steel. The mini-mill sector maintains lower capital and energy costs per ton produced than the integrated mill sector.
Why are mini-mills a big deal for our steel producers? In sum, they can take scrap and turn out steel using electric arc furnaces (EAFs), which is not only cheaper than the traditional integrated blast furnace mills but the production is faster and more flexible. Id.; also read “Mini Mill: Steelmaking for the Future,” published by U.S. Steel.
How is Steel Produced?
Steel is made in a manufacturing facility commonly known as a “steel mill.” They’ve been around for a very long time here in Illinois and Indiana. Steel mills make steel out of things like iron ore, coal, and limestone. They do this either by using the “basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS)” process where “oxygen is blown into the molten iron to reduce carbon content,” or by the EAF process, where “recycled steel scrap is melted using electric arcs.”
Either way, the mill is taking this molten iron and manufacturing steel. The steel is formed; then there is casting of the molten steel followed by rolling, forging, or extrusion to produce steel products like sheets; bars; rods; pipes; tubes; etc. See: Steel Mills by IndustryNet.Com; and Steel Production: How Steel is Made, by American Iron and Steel Institute.
Major mini-mill employers in our part of the country (those using EAFs or thin-slab casting EAB-based routes) include:
- Nucor Steel Mini-Mill in Kankakee, Illinois
- Steel Dynamics Flat-Roll Division in Butler, Indiana
- Nucor Sheet Mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana
- ArcelorMittal/Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale Works in Chicagoland, Illinois.
Also see: Indiana Remains Top Steel Producer in the Nation: The Deadly Dangers of Steel Production.
Why The Steelmaking EAF Process is So Dangerous
For safety agencies, government regulators, and advocates for worker victims and their loved ones, the need for strict safety protocols in these mini-mills is extremely necessary because the EAF process itself is so dangerous. Steelworkers in these work environments face a great risk of being severely injured or even killed in an on-the-job accident.
Consider the following hazards that mini-mill workers face daily:
1. Explosions of Steam or Molten Metal: when water or moisture hits molten steel, it reacts. There is a flash of steam. This steam can eject metal and slag in seconds, and the steelworker can suffer burns or bodily injuries in the blast that can be fatal.
2. Explosions of the Electric Arc Furnace: in the mini-mill, the EAF can blow up during tapping or charging if there are things like trapped gases in the furnace headspace. EAF explosions are known to be the biggest cause of preventable work accidents in a mini-mill.
3. Splash, Run Out, or Ladle Leaks: The dangers involved in working with molten metal are unimaginable; any splash of this stuff during tapping; ladle transfer; etc. will cause extreme bodily harm to the steelworker.
4. Hit or Crushed Accidents: Mini-mills are busy and loud, and steelworkers are always at risk of being struck by or crushed-in-between heavy machinery and equipment. Think overhead cranes, or all the heavy materials moving around the site (billets, ladles).
5. Exposure to Toxins: There are all sorts of dust particles and invisible fumes that can kill a mini-mill steelworker on their jobsite. EAF dust as well as fumes from zinc or lead or cadmium can harm or kill from being inhaled or any bodily contact.
For more, read: Ferguson, Scott, and Nick Zsamboky. “Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Explosions: A Deadly but Preventable Problem.” Iron Steel Technol 14.1 (2017): 30-35 and see: Steel Mill Workers in Indiana and Illinois: Rising Production and Greater Danger of Injury or Death.
Hazard Warnings for Mini-Mill Steelworkers
For anyone on the job in our local mini-mills, it is obvious that each day on the job comes with dangers that can cause death or permanent disability. Safety must be paramount for all those with possession, custody, or control of any aspect of these worksites. And steelworkers need to be alert to the risks around them at all times.
This includes understanding that there are legal duties of safety and care placed upon not only their employers but a number of third-party companies and individuals to keep them safe from harm. And that these duties are all too often ignored or disrespected, placing the mini-mill worker in serious danger. These details will be discussed in a future article.
All mini-mill steelworkers in Illinois and Indiana are well advised to be observant each day on the job for the following risks, which can contribute or cause a horrific work accident:
- Contaminated scrap
- Scrap that has not been inspected or the inspection was shoddy
- Process controls that don’t seem to be sufficient to keep people safe
- Furnace may be unstable because of rushed tap to tap cycles
- Lack of housekeeping around the jobsite
- Shoddy housekeeping around the jobsite (not done well; not done often enough)
- Poor maintaining of the equipment, machinery, or tools
- Lack of inspection of the equipment, machinery, or tools by those with the responsibility of upkeep
- Degraded systems (refractory/lining)
- Worker training in their tasks is insufficient
- Worker training in safety measures is insufficient
- Worker training in how to deal with work injury emergency is insufficient
- Lack of supervision to protect against unsafe working conditions
- Lack of supervision to protect against worker fatigue on the job
- Lack of supervision to check for worker exposure to toxins
- Problems with ventilation systems (HEPA filters; exhausts; etc.)
- Lack of monitoring of the work area for toxins (gas, particles)
- Lack of proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Lack of supervision to make sure workers are wearing proper PPE
- Failures to provide or maintain automation in areas to enhance worker safety (think splash shields or automated ladle transfers).
Mini-Mill Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
For those steelworkers that suffer serious bodily harm, or even deadly injuries, while at work in a mini-mill here in Indiana or Illinois, the tragedy often involves horrible circumstances and the suffering is great not just for the worker victim but for all those who love and care about them. Making sure they have all the medical care and long-term support they need is paramount.
This includes pursuing any benefits under the state worker’s compensation program. And it may mean that the mini-mill worker will exercise their legal right to independently investigate things, to determine if they have a personal injury claim for civil damages based upon their mini-mill work accident.
For more, read:
- The Steel Industry is Dangerous: How Can Personal Injury Attorneys Help Steel Workers Hurt on the Job?
- Worker Dangers in the Steel Mills and Steel Factories of Indiana
- Steelworkers’ Dangers on the Job: Top Five Steel Industry Hazards
- Steel Mill Workers; Risk of Injury on the Job: Equipment, Working Conditions.
Working with Electric Arc Furnaces in the making of steel is extremely dangerous. Steelworkers in these mini-mills deserve the utmost protection from harm while they are on the job, contributing to the company bottom line. Please be careful out there!
