Ministry of Environment investigates emissions incident at steelmaking facility in Hamilton

A steelmaking facility in east Hamilton is under investigation following an unexpected incident which released rust-coloured plumes into the sky.

On Saturday (Oct. 28) shortly before 3:30 p.m., ArcelorMittal Dofasco— the company where the incident occurred posted a message to their official website, stating there was a malfunction during the steelmaking process, specifically when oxygen was being blown at its KOBM (oxygen steel converter) vessel.

The company further said that the visible emission lasted for 14 minutes and would have primarily consisted of iron oxide.

It is unknown how far the emission cloud spread within the region or if it had drifted beyond.

While iron oxide emissions are typically orange-brown, the potential health impact remains under assessment.

According to ArcelorMittal Dofasco  they alerted the Ontario Ministry of Environment, as the emission allegedly exceeded permitted levels.

The company is reportedly cooperating with the Ministry as the investigations continue.

Ministry of Environment investigating earlier red smoke at @ArcelorMittal Dofasco on Burlington Street in Hamilton. @HamiltonFireDep crews called for incident, no fire detected. Crews confirming a “blowout”incident #HamOnt pic.twitter.com/t7iGQvTLtH

— Andrew Collins (@ACollinsPhoto) October 28, 2023

As of today (Oct. 29) the company reported no injuries, and the equipment involved with the incident has been restored.

This is the second time this year that ArcelorMittal Dofasco has made headlines.

In May (2023) the company was convicted and fined $175,000 after one of its employees was seriously injured while working at its steel mill in Hamilton.