Blast furnaces are used to create iron in steel mills, but one Gary advocacy group is encouraging steel mills to move toward using direct reduction.
Blast furnaces are not the only type and create about 30% of steel, said a spokesperson for U.S. Steel. Electric arc furnaces use a feedstock produced through direct reduction to make finished steel.
Members of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development are encouraging U.S. Steel to take part in the growing direct reduction trend, saying the furnaces are better for the local environment and public health.
“Gary is known as a highly polluted city,” said Jack Weinberg, GARD’s environmental health and development analyst. “Gary’s air pollution and the fallout from air pollution causes too many respiratory diseases like asthma, cancers, cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and premature deaths.”
An October report from Industrious Labs found that most residents in Gary are in the top 10% of U.S. residents most at risk for developing asthma and at risk of low life expectancy. In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state’s counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
A 2016 report from the JAMA Network also found Gary as one of the five U.S. cities with the lowest life expectancy at one point.
GARD’s Green Steel Committee met Thursday night, discussing the best approaches to educate Gary’s community and U.S. Steel workers about green technologies, mainly direct reduction furnaces. Weinberg presented attendees with facts about direct reduction furnaces, including the environmental and health benefits, cost, and how the furnace works.
A spokesperson with U.S. Steel provided the following statement to the Post-Tribune Monday: “U.S. Steel is always exploring different technologies to make steel in cleaner ways as part of our commitment to net zero by 2050 and to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 20% by 2030.
“We are on track to meet these goals. We have partnered with CarbonFree to explore a carbon capture and utilization project would help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions by converting emissions to calcium carbonate, which is used in a variety of products for consumers and industry. Our more than 3,400 Gary Works employees put safety and environmental compliance first, with an environmental compliance rate exceeding 99% that reflects the fact that they are proud to be part of the Northwest Indiana community we call home.”
Kwabena Rasuli, a member of GARD, said a friend of his died from asthma complications, about one week after he had spoken at a hearing about the steel industry’s health effects in Northwest Indiana.
Rasuli has worked on the organization’s outreach, talking with local medical students about how pollution leads to more health issues in the region.
“They were very intrigued and interested in listening to some of the health issues that we’re having in the city where they’re getting their degrees from, where they’re going to be doctors,” Rasuli said. “The young people, they’re concerned about their futures.”
Acting Gary Council President Lori Latham, D-1st, encouraged GARD members to continue community outreach and share their concerns with U.S. Steel and to advocate for local public health, the steel industry transition, climate and natural areas.
“One of the best things that we can do when we feel like this is to get organized,” Latham said. “To get all of this work done, we need every single hand and every single foot that is in this room.”
Blast furnaces have historically been used in steel production, and it uses a coal product for heating and chemical reaction. Direct reduction furnaces use natural gas and could potentially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by half.
Gary Works is the biggest steel mill in the country, Weinberg said, and he’s worried the mill will decline or fail if the blast furnaces are not replaced.
“If that happens, then the city of Gary will be saddled with a seven-mile stretch of an abandoned steel mill, a property that’s right between the city core and its downtown,” Weinberg said. “If Gary Works shut down, there may be less pollution, but there’s also a big problem in how much toxic stuff is buried in Gary Works every year. That’s not a place you can clean up easily.”
In 2020, Northwest Indiana’s mills produced nearly 28 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Weinberg said, adding that the region’s emissions rank nationally and globally. If the mills switch to direct reduction, Weinberg said the community will see emissions reductions right away.
Weinberg also expressed concerns with Nippon Steel, a Japanese company that previously tried to buy U.S. Steel before former President Joe Biden shut down the deal in January. Nippon could still impact U.S. Steel, as President Donald Trump opened conversations with the Japanese company about an “investment rather than a purchase.”
Nippon previously planned to invest at least $300 million into the Gary Works facility, money that was to go toward relining the main blast furnace. With the investment, the furnace’s life would be extended by up to 20 years.
Nippon and U.S. Steel have both said direct reduction furnaces are important, Weinberg said, but he’s worried that neither company wants to bring the technology to Gary.
“There is still time for U.S. Steel or whoever owns Gary Works to reverse course,” Weinberg said. “With intelligent management and a good plan, Gary Works can still be modernized into a state-of-the-art, profitable steel mill.”
This story has been updated to correct information on the types of furnaces used in steel production, and to include a statement from U.S. Steel.
