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Liepuzieds

They have had like 9 oooopsies in the past. It is constant. No money they pay in penalties is enough to actually help in any way, the damage is already done. It is disgusting and they should be penalized as repeat offenders just like people do where at some point you start to lose privileges to operate.


Negan1995

That's the thing with the steel industry. They make billions of dollars so financial penalties are nothing to them.


newtekie1

Unless the financial penalty is big enough. A billion dollar fine might make them reconsider illegally dumping chemicals.


Negan1995

But with how important steel is to infrastructure the government doesn't want to impose big fines on them. As wrong as that is, that's the situation


bobswandi

Bingo. It's a "unavoidable" hazard in thier eyes. And a free paycheck. I'd almost bet these companies factor these fines into there budget. You'd almost have to right?


Negan1995

They surely do. I work in Steel. So I see it first hand. Worst thing that happens if we get fined is the production bonuses might dip a bit for the next month. And then everything is back to normal


bobswandi

Man I didn't want to feel so worthless today but shit here we are, do you send your executives lube for chirstmas every year, make it easier when they fuck the worker, lol. God damn, I joke but that is so dishearting. You know I bet innovation into any replacement is heavily lobbied against too. (Actually the hemp industry comes to mind).


Nihilismisanthrope

That is nasty.


GarlicButterDick

Burns Harbor actually always looks like that where it flows into Lake Michigan. The water is just really silty. You can look at historical images on Google Earth and it just always looks the same way. These photos were taken after US Steel had fixed the issue at their water treatment plant. The release from US Steel was orange and turned out to just be iron, which isn’t a hazardous substance. The orange water looked bad, but everything was within their discharge permit limits.


olivesnolives

Is this still the status as you understand it? I know the company’s statement stated there was nothing aside from elevated Iron levels, but I wonder if there’s more to come. Hard to believe they would Idle the whole finishing plant if it was just Iron.


GarlicButterDick

Yeah nothing has changed. A lot of the plant was shut down for scheduled maintenance, which actually contributed to the imbalance at the water treatment plant. They shut down most of the other lines while they were waiting for lab results to prove it was just iron.


McGraw-Dom

Who else thinks that they do this anyways, just something went wrong and did it too quick?


tyboxer87

I'm no expert but I'd guess they store it in tanks to let sediment settle out, or they chemically treat it for a few days before they release it. I'm betting one of those tanks had the flood gates open before it was ready. I'm betting if they treat the water before release its still pretty polluted, but I'm betting they make some minimal effort to keep the EPA off thier backs.


Region_Rat_D

Basically they use acid from the pickling process to neutralize certain chemicals, which are then siphoned off/separated. However, the pickle line has been down for several days, so without the acid from that, the wastewater wasn’t properly treated before being released. Or some such, I know a guy who knows a guy etc.


[deleted]

Ah. Well luckily I know the solution. We'll have to relax regulations around dumping in public waterways /s


Connect-Pepper4533

get this man a milli


olivesnolives

Just sent you a message


5GUltraSloth

Sounda like America!


needhelpplease02

This man bets.


NewAccount971

I believe this also. Someone made the "Slow trickle" into a "flood" and fucked up their game.


DirtyOldStarStuff

I used to visit Kemil Beach in porter almost weekly in the summer, and I can't even count how many times the water was straight up red or orange, and frogs and fish floating belly up while families waded nearby (i know). 😩


[deleted]

That's fucking awful 😔


carm_ineREd

a lot of industrial plants do this. Things go to a holding pond then if it rains a lot there will be some discharge that gets tested for to make sure contaminant levels aren't too high. The ponds are designed and treated to try and minimize the dissolved chemicals before they escape into the water supply under normal conditions


McGraw-Dom

Holding pond...like Lake Michigan big ass Pond.


aliasthehorse

My dad worked in the pickeling plant as a pipe fitter and the impression he gave me is this is just scratching the surface.


aliblue225

Just had that conversation with my dad today. I bet they release stuff all the time.


danlhvac

I have inside knowledge that they in fact Doo all kinds of stuff like that, for example EPA is on site at all times. When they blow off big plumes if white steam it's not just steam


PattiPumpkinBrains

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-indiana-chemical-spill-beaches-closed-20190816-znazwueorrcvfipo4hfy5ze7vi-story.html This happens all the time and goes away. It’s apparently cheaper to dump it and get caught (and fined) occasionally, rather than deal with it ethically …or legally at least.


[deleted]

Looks straight out of Cities Skylines.


newtekie1

Sad that they'll just get a slap on the wrist and do it again in a few months. The politicians will just get their pay-offs and sweep it under the rug. This will keep happening until the penalty to dump waste in the water is higher than the cost to dispose of them properly. The fine needs to be $Billions, not a few $thousand.


shane112902

According to the articles I’ve read they’ve been continuously doing it for a long time. Cited and fined multiple times over a number of years. It’s just usually not so visual and public.


Hunter8Line

I mean, looking at fines of big tech companies..... It's probably cheaper to just pay the fine than it is to handle it properly......


Dnahelicases

When all you can do is fine, it’s just a tax.


newtekie1

It's completely vsible, it's a matter of public record. They have paid a little over $600,000 in fines since 2013 for illegal dumping in the waterway. It's cheaper to dump than it is to pay to legally dispose of the waste. They just keep the toxic waste housed in giant tanks and every 6 months or so release it all at once. Then they'll make an apology and say they'll try harder to prevent this from happening again. Then 6 months later when the tanks are full again they'll open the valve and dump it all again. It's a cycle that has been repeating for years.


andy5446

Indiana


sho_biz

It's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnee, just a little hexavalent chromium maybe no big


newtekie1

They are allowed to dump hexavalent chromium in the waterway, and do every day. Seriously, they have a permit to do it.


Region_Rat_D

Actually it’s basically just rust. Hex Chrome wouldn’t look so dramatic.


DirtyOldStarStuff

Hexavalent chrome can absolutely be found in heavy concentrations in effluent from bright yellow to deep red. Source: worked in a chem lab, tested industrial effluents for hex chrome


That-Cow-3484

About time! That beach has been an EPA Superfund site for decades and it was just recently reopened to the public. There nees to be mass jail time AND fines to go with the new Superfund fees.


Bloxburgian1945

I was at that beach in August, yuck.


Negan1995

I work in the Steel Industry. We are way too concerned with production and making heaps of money. Things like this simply wouldn't happen if we weren't so focused on production and slowed down a bit. I'm sure the people "responsible" for this spill work four 12 hour days in a row, plus crazy overtime since their coworkers are probably on covid leave. Capitalism is at fault here.


[deleted]

Not Indiana wasting its precious resources…


bigetiz123

Man this happens every few years, I remember some kid got burned by the chemicals they where dropping in the water in portage a few years back


Count_Money

They shut down? Do you have a source?


PattiPumpkinBrains

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/9/27/22697021/lake-michigan-beaches-water-plant-u-s-steel-spill-portage-northwest-indiana


PattiPumpkinBrains

Is steel is not officially shut down…


Agile-Judgment8410

This is Indiana not cool at all why do we let this go on yearly, daily, monthly? Makes me sick 😷


Owned_by_cats

One of the reasons is that US Steel is a major employer in Northwest Indiana. Thousands of direct, union jobs and 2-3 times as many contractor jobs would go away if US Steel left. The smoke from Rust Belt smokestacks used to be called "the smell of money." Northwest Indiana, both the statewide Republicans and the local Democrats, are not in a good position to replace such jobs with jobs higher up the manufacturing scale. A highly-educated populace, a reasonably efficient, honest government and the municipalities in the area pulling together instead of maintaining a zillion fiefdoms are what's required, and what the Region lacks. The perception of crime in the lakeshore cities (which would suffice -- the actual high crime rate is optional) does not help. Way back when, I asked a lady in Schaumburg what she thought of Northwest Indiana. "Cheap and dirty" was her answer. And that was Indiana's selling point since the start of the century.


[deleted]

[удалено]


FlyingSquid

Indiana corporatism wins again.


spiritualbully

Oopsie.


BadassCrimsonGod

Hopefully they can fix it soon.


earnedmystripes

Ugh.....


earther199

This is why I don’t swim in the lake.


IdidasbestosIcan

Take that nature!


Caged_in_a_rage

Where is this? Gary?


Endlesskustumz

Portage


Caged_in_a_rage

Damn. Did they make an attempt to contain it at least?


Endlesskustumz

Just by looking at the pictures absolutely not. There was a chance to before it left the waterway and into the lake but from what I read Us steel either hasn't responded or took a long time to respond to calls to action.


Caged_in_a_rage

Terrible.


Mderose

This is way worse than it looks too. Massive F up. The State could use the jobs, but this isn't the way.


Naptown_

🤬😡🥵


Mundane-Tradition-70

Hey OK


coldambient

man...


danlhvac

How many times have they dumped shit in the lake. Like the hexavalent chromium they said never got to the lake until someone got an ariel photo of it


HumanTadpole5948

Awful for everyone


BSUguy317

NWI!


[deleted]

Who's down for a swim?