Documents from Severstal Sparrows Point — subpoenaed in a state probe and obtained by the Brew — show that the steel mill’s blast furnace repeatedly released hazardous gases into the Baltimore atmosphere after a September explosion rained scalding debris across the plant.

The “L” blast furnace “slipped,” or malfunctioned, roughly 400 times between the September 2009 explosion and February 1, 2010, according to shift logs, which represent daily reports by furnace operators and supervisors.

Some employees say the slips – which cause extremely hot gases to build up suddenly in the furnace – became so regular that they were concerned about their personal safety.

In fact, a second explosion caused by a gas buildup did take place on October 12, 2009, according to the subpoenaed documents. The explosion shot burning coke from the furnace and damaged employee cars. Other incidents required the replacement of piping and other equipment.

Despite such mishaps, the company kept the furnace in full operation during this period. The L furnace is currently out of service and the Baltimore mill is itself up for sale, with New York billionaire Ira Rennert one purported bidder.

“No Timetable” for MDE decision

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has yet to cite the company for violations of air pollution laws, spokesman Jay Apperson said Friday.

“We have finished our review of the documents from the company, but no decision has been made regarding any enforcement action. We don’t have a timetable for making that decision,” Apperson stated in an e-mail.

The state requested information after an article in the Brew last December disclosed a large number of slips at the furnace. The company refused to hand over the furnace logs voluntarily, which resulted in a subpoena by the state attorney general’s office.

In supplying the logs to MDE, Severstal said they were protected from public disclosure because they contained “confidential commercial information.” The Brew appealed this claim under the Maryland Public Information Act. Last week the website reviewed 160 pages of logs.

Avoiding the Root Cause

Despite blacked-out gaps in the entries (redacted by state lawyers), the logs flatly contradict a January 8, 2010 letter to MDE by Sparrows Point’s senior environmental engineer, Russell Becker, that the furnace malfunctions were corrected after the September 2009 explosion.

Instead, the logs show that the number of malfunctions increased through October, peaked in late November, and remained a constant source of delays in January, when the subpoena was issued.

Severstal tried many patchwork fixes, but did not attempt to change the root cause of the malfunctions – the poor quality of iron pellets used in the furnace.

Senior management, led by Severstal North America CEO Sergei Kuznetsov, insisted on using low-cost pellets to feed the furnace and closed down a plant that processed higher-grade raw materials.

The cheaper pellets, which often contained dirt and other impurities, caused the furnace to “hang,” or stop the movement of raw materials down through the hearth. This was followed by a “slip,” or an uncontrolled release of the stuck raw materials.

Hot gases that had accumulated in the air pocket below the hang were suddenly forced by the slip to surge upward through the 300-foot-high furnace.

Production Continued Despite Leaks

The only way to keep the furnace from exploding is to release the hot gases through “bleeder valves” in the stacks, which act much like the regulator on a pressure cooker.

During such an emergency, escaping gases often bypass scrubber equipment and are released untreated. Blast furnace gas typically is laced with iron dust, zinc, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases.

The constant use of the bleeder valves battered the equipment and caused the valves to sometimes stick in the “open” position or spring leaks.

For example, inspectors found a ½-inch hole in a bleeder on November 12. “To patch it will require a shutdown,” the log entry notes, but then adds, “We will continue to operate the furnace with the leak.”

On some days, the furnace slipped about every hour. From the October 31 log came these entries:

7:00 pm – “The DGB [dirty gas bleeder] opened up for high top pressure.”
7:20 pm – “We have slipped again.”
7:55 pm – “The furnace started to hang.”
8:30 pm – “The furnace slipped off.”
10:30 pm – “They are hoping to have it back in less than 2 hours.”
11:30 pm – “We did take another slip.”

The following day, the entry reads, “We have been slipping and hanging most of the turn… About every hour… Not sure what is going on.”

Company Denied “Excess Emissions”

While discharges from the bleeders took place in the past – resulting in fine black and red dust settling in nearby communities – the sheer number and duration of the discharges last fall and winter were unprecedented.

The company never reported these discharges to MDE, despite state laws requiring such disclosures.

In his January 8 letter, Becker said, “Severstal Sparrows disagrees that furnace slips are causing frequent and substantial releases of uncontrolled excess emissions.” Answering the agency’s request for information would therefore be “wholly inappropriate, as it is based on a false premise.”

At the same time the letter was written, log entries show a near constant procession of gas discharges, which were then carried by wind around the Baltimore region.

Mark Reutter can be reached at reuttermark@yahoo.com.