Orange smoke over ArcelorMittal Dofasco caused by ‘malfunction’

ArcelorMittal Dofasco says the orange smoke seen over east Hamilton Tuesday evening was caused by a malfunction at the plant.

ArcelorMittal released a statement Wednesday saying the visible emission began at approximately 5:58 p.m. and lasted about eight minutes.

The statement says the orange plume was “as a result of a malfunction at the KOBM steelmaking vessel.”

The company says the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Parks and Conservation’s (MECP) Spills Action Centre was notified. They added that their teams are investigating the cause and have resumed steelmaking.

A spokesperson from MECP told CHCH News in an e-mail that they believe “a valve failure caused excessive oxidation during the steelmaking process.”

The spokesperson added that ArcelorMittal Dofasco received one complaint about fallout. As a result, the ministry’s Hamilton office is assessing potential fallout in the area of the complaint.

MECP will be conducting an inspection to gather further information about the incident and assess compliance.

The ministry says they will continue to oversee ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s activities to ensure the company is effectively working to reduce emissions from its operations.

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