ArcelorMittal Dofasco is not only preparing to pay out $390,000 in fines for releasing coke oven dust into the atmosphere, but also faces a government order to cut pollution at its steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
While pleading guilty this week to six charges of ‘exceeding visible pollution standards’ – smoke plumes that linger in the air for more than six minutes are excessive – the company has had seven charges dropped and has claimed that an $87m investment has improved the environmental performance of its coke-making plants.
Where visible pollution standards are concerned, ArcelorMittal emitted illegal smoke plumes lasting between 30 minutes and 5.5 hours, but the lengths of polluting incidents had shortened in recent weeks, it is claimed.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has claimed that it is working closely with Ministry of the Environment and is focused on continuous improvement.
Source: www.ourwindsor.ca