Steel Mills
November 15, 2017
Another Chromium Spill at U.S. Steel
Written by Tim Triplett
The Chicago Tribune was the first to report that U.S. Steel released toxic chromium into Lake Michigan on Oct. 26 due to a malfunction in the wastewater treatment system at the steelmaker’s Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind. The 56.7 pounds of chromium was 89 percent higher than U.S. Steel’s water pollution permit allows in a 24-hour period.
U.S. Steel is being criticized for not reporting the spill right away and asking Indiana officials for confidential treatment of the incident. U.S. Steel defended its actions in a statement that asserts the incident “did not pose any danger to the water supply, human health or the environment.”
