LETTER: Arc furnace at Algoma Steel creates new environmental concern

SooToday received the following letter to the editor from a concerned reader regarding new arc furnace installed at Algoma Steel. 

Upon researching arc furnaces, I have learned that the dust created is toxic and considered hazardous waste.

Why wasn't city council or the public made aware of this before letting the steel plant progress with this technology? Where does the steel plant propose to dispose of the toxic, hazardous waste?

It can't be disposed of in a traditional landfill as it would leech into the ground. So we switch to an arc furnace to lower emissions, but now we have to live with a toxic, hazardous waste disposal site contaminating our environment?

How do they plan to dump this dust without having it become airborne?

These and many more questions should have been asked before this project should have been allowed. Technologies exist to scrub the emissions before being released into the atmosphere. Why hasn't this been done at the Steel Plant?

There is no need to have the levels of benzene and benzo(a)pyrene released into our environment.

Why is Algoma Steel allowed to poison us at no cost to them? Why do the government and ministry allow them to continue to go above limits without penalty?

It's obvious to me that the dollar matters more than the people. This situation is appalling, to say it mildly.

Lester Hopkins