U.S. Steel Great Lakes Works
From Global Energy Monitor
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U.S. Steel Great Lakes Works, also known as U.S. Steel Ecorse, U.S. Steel Zug Island, is a blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) idled steel plant in Ecorse, Michigan, United States.
Location
The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Ecorse, Michigan, United States:
- Location: Great Lakes Works, No. 1 Quality Drive, Ecorse, Michigan 48229, United States
- Coordinates (WGS 84): 42.263181, -83.121553 (exact)
Background
U.S. Steel Great Lakes Works began operating in 1902.[1] After over a century of operations, in December 2019, U.S. Steel announced it would be idling the plant in 2020 indefinitely due to weak demand and lower steel prices partly caused by Trump's steel tariff.[2] The move affected close to 1,500 employees.[3] The plant's blast furnaces were idled in the second quarter of 2020, and since then have remained idle.[4]
Environmental Compliance
From 2003 to 2007, U.S. Steel violated the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits at its Great Lakes Works facility over 170 times. It was fined $300,000 by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2007 for these violations.[5]
In 2016, the EPA fined U.S. Steel $2.2 million for pollution at several of its facilities, including Great Lakes Works.[6][7]
In 2019, the facility was fined $380,000 for air pollution.[1]
Worker Safety
From 2013-2018, three people were killed at the plant due to various accidents. In 2018, fifteen workers were injured after a blast accident at the plant. The Great Lakes Works facility has been cited with 20 "serious" safety violations from 2013-2018 and has been fined more than $33,000 in penalties by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).[8]
Plant Details
Table 1: General Plant Details
| Plant status | Start date | Pre-retirement announcement date | Idled date | Workforce size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mothballed[9][10] | 1902[11] | 2020[12] | 2021-12[13] | 500[14] |
Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information
| Parent company | Parent company PermID | Parent company GEM ID | Owner | Owner company PermID | Owner company GEM ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Steel Corp [100%] | 4295903049 [100%] | E100001000348 [10.1%]; E100001010595 [9%] | United States Steel Corp[10] | 4295903049 | E100000001319 |
Table 3: Process and Products
| Steel product category | Steel products | Steel sector end users | ISO 14001 | Main production equipment | Detailed production equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| semi-finished; finished rolled[10] | hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, coated sheets[10] | automotive[10] | 2021[15] | BF, BOF[16] | 2 BOF (began in 1970, idled in Jan. 2020)[10][17][17] |
Table 4: Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Capacity operating status* | Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity | Nominal crude steel capacity (total) |
|---|---|---|
| mothballed | 3500 TTPA[17][17] | 3500 TTPA[17][17] |
Table 5: Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Capacity operating status* | Blast furnace capacity | Nominal iron capacity (total) |
|---|---|---|
| mothballed | 2486 TTPA[18][18] | 2486 TTPA[18][18] |
Table 6: Actual Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Year | BOF Production | Total (all routes) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | – | – |
| 2021 | 2030 TTPA[19] | 2030 TTPA |
| 2022 | 0 TTPA[19] | 0 TTPA |
Table 7: Actual Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Year | BF Production | Total (all routes) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 329 TTPA[17] | 329 TTPA |
| 2021 | 0 TTPA[17] | 0 TTPA |
| 2022 | 0 TTPA[17] | 0 TTPA |
Blast Furnace Details
Table 8: Blast Furnace Details
| Unit name | Status | Announced date | Construction date | Start date | Furnace manufacturer and model | Current size | Current capacity (ttpa) | Decarbonization technology | Most recent relining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2 | mothballed[9][10] | unknown | unknown | unknown | – | 1645 m³[17][20] | 1216[18] | unknown | unknown |
| D4 | mothballed[9][10] | unknown | unknown | 1955[21] | Paul Wurth Bell-less Top[22] | 1666 m³[17][20] | 1270[18] | Investments in D4 off gas system to reduce emissions[23] | unknown |
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Steel Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rubin, Neal (2020-04-19). "Mill workers at Zug Island steel themselves for the end". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Singh, Rajesh Kumar (2019-12-21). "U.S. Steel delivers unwelcome Christmas surprise to Michigan town". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
- ↑ "U.S. Steel to "indefinitely idle' portion of Great Lakes Works facilities across river near Detroit | CBC News". CBC. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Coyne, Justine (2020-07-31). "US Steel expects to keep two US blast furnaces idled through 2020". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
- ↑ Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (2007-02-01). "U.S. Steel to Pay $300,000 Fine for Zinc, Ammonia Discharges -". Environmental Protection. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Matheny, Keith (2016-11-23). "U.S. Steel fined $2.2M, required to make repairs for Midwest pollution". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "U. S. Steel Corporation Agrees to End Litigation, Improve Environmental Compliance at Its Three Midwest Facilities, Pay Civil Penalty of $2.2 Million and Perform Projects to Aid Communities Affected by U. S. Steel's Pollution". Department of Justice. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Daalder, Marc (2018-08-13). "U.S. Steel plant where furnace blast injured 15 has history of safety woes". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220126160735/https://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2020/12/08/U-S-Steel-to-buy-remaining-stake-in-Arkansas-Big-River-mill/stories/202012080092. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125024713/https://www.ussteel.com/about-us/locations. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220126190226/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2020/04/19/mill-workers-zug-island-steel-themselves-end/2957131001/. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240119044658/https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/metals/073120-us-steel-expects-to-keep-two-us-blast-furnaces-idled-through-2020. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240119045440/https://www.ussteel.com/documents/40705/43725/2021+Annual+Report.pdf/85a0ab17-3f69-cf0f-262e-37dafcfcd17e?version=2.0&t=1683047348262&download=true. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220318141130/https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2021/01/05/steel-mill-zug-island-operating/4126148001/. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220214142646/https://www.ussteel.com/sustainability/certifications. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200918093413/https://www.ussteel.com/locations/great-lakes-works. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 "2023 AIST Basic Oxygen Furnace Roundup". Association for Iron & Steel Technology. January 2023.
{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2038793-us-steel-to-idle-blast-furnace-at-great-lakes-works.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 19.0 19.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20230311144635/https://s26.q4cdn.com/153509673/files/doc_financials/2022/ar/2022-Annual-Report.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 20.0 20.1 http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/2019/12/ecorsse-river-rouge-mi-us-steel-great.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220811081500/https://www.shorpy.com/node/6059. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://www.deq.state.mi.us/aps/downloads/srn/A7809/A7809_SAR_20180726.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211211200917/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/zug-island-steel-operations-chug-along-despite-choking-air-we-breathe. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
