Dofasco spending $7M to curb some of its emissions

The steel company will be changing one of its processes that can cause clouds of air pollution, like we saw last October. The brownish-orange cloud hung over Dofasco over Thanksgiving weekend, leaving cars covered in dust and the community outraged.

These harmful emissions are caused by a process called coffining. That’s when the company pours excess molten iron into coffin shaped pits. The process goes wrong if the pits are wet as a result of heavy rain, that’s when we see these kinds of particulate explosions. Their solution, moving the coffining process indoors.

It’s a bigger step than environmentalist groups thought the company would take to combat harmful emissions.

“In a nutshell that plan, it sounds like the company is doing something in the right direction. Ultimately what the community has been hoping for is that they would abandon coffining all together, but moving it indoors is pretty close.” Jochen Bezner, coalition against pollution.

Dofasco will be moving scrap metal that is kept indoors, outside to make room for coffining. It will cost over $7 million dollars.

“It’s very expensive and pretty bold and innovative and I think this is the right thing to do.” Roger Tang Poy, Arcelormittal Dofasco.

Dofasco representatives say the process is currently being tested. It’s expected that the coffining will be completely moved indoors by mid summer.