Indiana Harbor
At ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor, the largest steelmaking complex in North America, sustainability is the watchword. Located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in East Chicago, Indiana, this fully integrated facility spans both sides of the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal and is in view of the Chicago skyline. While this location provides excellent shipping by both water and land, it also requires exceptional environmental sensitivity.
Reducing the use of resources, cutting waste and emissions and recycling are among the tactics ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor uses to ensure environmental sustainability. Employees are also deeply involved in community issues affecting the environment.
Examples of Environmental Excellence
Preventing pollution, reducing costs
A team of hourly and salaried employees at No. 3 Basic Oxygen Furnace identified an opportunity to completely eliminate a stream of process water that was being treated in its on site water treatment plant. The team suggested an improvement to the gas conditioning system on the precipitator. Not only did this improvement minimize emissions, it also significantly reduced operating cost at the treatment plant.
A new expander turbine was installed at No. 7 blast furnace and generates enough electricity to power 12,000 homes. The electricity is used within the mill and has substantially reduced the need to purchase power from external sources.
The Environmental team has also established a partnership with the research department to identify innovative reuse and recycle initiatives for various waste streams that have the potential to be deployed internationally. The departments are working together to investigate the viability of 17 different technologies.
Reducing the mercury footprint
ArcelorMittal USA has established a corporate-wide, comprehensive mercury management strategy to voluntarily reduce its mercury “footprint” throughout its manufacturing operations. At Indiana Harbor East, Indiana Harbor West and Burns Harbor. ArcelorMittal inventoried all mercury-containing devices and established a plan to completely phase out such devices. Today, these three locations are more than 80 percent mercury free.