ArcelorMittal Dofasco Confirms Blast Furnace Emissions to Neighborhood

ArcelorMittal Dofasco, founded in 1912, is Canada's leading steel producer with over 5,000 employees in Hamilton. The plant is the largest employer in the city and produces 4.5 million tons of high quality steel per year.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco has confirmed that the appearance of the black sand that fell in the northern area of ​​Hamilton last week was given away by one of its blast furnaces.

Marie Verdun, spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal Dofasco, said: "Tests have confirmed that an operating disturbance in our blast furnace # 4 was causing the release of very fine particles of coke and iron."

Residents of the area said they saw a black cloud that appeared over a metallurgical plant and then fell on their homes. The snowdrifts, houses and cars on Grenfiel Street were covered in rough black sand, and there were complaints from nearby areas in the mountains.

The Ministry of the Environment, meanwhile, released its test results, which show the sand consisted of coke and magnetic iron. The ministry's law enforcement department waited for the company's analysis, than decided to punish the company for the emissions incident. ArcelorMittal Dofasco recently pleaded guilty to six illegal air emissions over the past years, resulting in a $ 400,000 fine.

The company is working closely with the Ministry of the Environment to develop a plan to improve the environmental efficiency of coke production, and this is reflected in a legal document that ArcelorMittal Dofasco agreed to implement and the Ministry of the Environment approved. The company believes this underlines its commitment to further investment in coke production facilities. The company has committed to a $ 87 million upgrade by 2019.