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Steel News January 22, 2019 10:30:04 AM

U.S. Steel Ordered to Begin Groundwater Testing in Midwest Steel Plant

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
In December 2018, the IDEM had notified U.S. Steel for discharge of foamy substance into Burns Waterway.

U.S. Steel Ordered to Begin Groundwater Testing in Midwest Steel Plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has ordered U.S. Steel to initiate quarterly groundwater monitoring at its Midwest steel plant in Portage. A letter to this effect was issued to the company following sampling results which indicated twice the levels of toxic hexavalent chromium from the previous result. The letter stated that more sampling is essential to ensure that concentrations of the toxic chemical are within permissible limits.

While announcing the results of sampling carried out in October, the company had stated that the result of 14.7 parts per billion (ppb) was similar to a February result. However, IDEM observed that the Oct ’18 result is more than twice the Feb ’18 result of 6.8 ppb. Consequently, it has directed the company to begin groundwater testing at TLT-7, three other wells and two underdrain systems for a period of one year, turning down U.S. Steel’s request for ‘no further action’ status on groundwater testing.

In December 2018, the IDEM had notified U.S. Steel for discharge of foamy substance into Burns Waterway. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park officials had spotted the discharge from the plant heading out to Lake Michigan.

The Portage plant was cited for discharge of nearly 300 pounds of hexavalent chromium in April 2017. The site was also spotted for an incident involving chromium spill later in October that year.

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