About one week after a partnership between U.S. Steel and a Japanese company was finalized, environmental activists called on the companies to address the health, climate and economic impacts of the deal.
“It’s our conclusion that, whether in Japan or the United States, emissions from blast furnaces cannot be significantly mitigated,” said Roger Smith, Asia lead at SteelWatch. “The company should transition to a renewable energy-based approach that would achieve its net-zero target and fulfill its obligations as a leading global steelmaker.”
Speakers at a press conference organized by the Sierra Club highlighted their concerns with blast furnaces, which Nippon Steel has previously said is a technology it plans to invest in through the deal.
A more environmentally friendly alternative is a direct reduction furnace to create iron ore and then an electric arc furnace to create steel, Smith said.
“This is already in commercial use in the United States, the Middle East and beyond,” Smith said. “Switching from fossil fuel to green hydrogen and powering the electric arc furnace with renewable energy can nearly eliminate emissions from this production method.”
U.S. Steel released a statement in response to the Tuesday event, saying environmental stewardship is a core value, and they’re committed to protecting its workers.
“The finalization of the partnership is just the first step in an integration process that will take time to complete,” said a U.S. Steel spokesperson in an email. “There are still many things to be determined about how the companies will come together. We will share relevant information as this process continues.”
Other participants expressed their concerns with the steel deal, including Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, a Pittsburgh-based coalition that fights for better air quality.
Mehalik wants Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel to make it their highest priority to end severe health impacts in Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley.
“Real progress will only come when public health and community revitalization are treated as non-negotiable priorities for this new deal,” Mehalik said. “There have been too many years of promise breaking and too much emphasis on short-term investments that continue to perpetuate community health harms and workforce anxiety.”
Northwest Indiana activists asked for the same priority to be given in the region.
An October report from Industrious Labs found that most residents in Gary are in the top 10% of U.S. residents most at-risk for developing asthma and at-risk of low life expectancy. In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state’s counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
A 2016 JAMA Network report also found Gary as one of the top five U.S. cities with the lowest life expectancy at one point.
Dorreen Carey, president of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, participated in Tuesday’s conference, saying she believes now is the time to initiate newer steelmaking technologies.
“If investments are not made now in newer technologies, the long-term survival of Gary Works and the jobs it provides are in jeopardy,” Carey said. “(GARD) and the people who live in Gary want a clean environment, the good jobs a steel mill can provide and sustainable economic development. Investing in direct reduction ironmaking will provide a cleaner, greener future for the city of Gary, and we urge Nippon to commit to these investments.”
Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said Tuesday night that the region is “an epicenter of toxic air pollution.”
“Globally, this tragedy is preventable,” Thomas said. “We say to Nippon Steel, you have an opportunity and a responsibility to become a global leader in clean steelmaking technology here and now. It is urgent that you do so, for if you prolong the lives of coal-burning blast furnaces, you will be diminishing ours.”
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel announced June 18 that they have finalized the “historic partnership,” according to the Associated Press, making the combined company the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker.
On May 23, President Donald Trump announced that he would approve an investment from the Japanese company to U.S. Steel, according to Post-Tribune archives. Through the partnership, the U.S. government receives “a golden share,” which allows de facto rights on company decisions and appointments.
The “golden share” seemingly fixes national security concerns previously outlined by former President Joe Biden and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Before leaving office, Biden denied the deal. Both Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris said during campaigns that they planned to block the steel deal.
Through the partnership, the Northwest Indiana Gary Works facility should receive about $1 billion. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has been vocal about his support since August 2024, when it was first announced that Gary Works would receive $300 million from the deal.
In a previous statement, Melton said he will continue to meet with both steel companies about the projected job increases to Gary, improving environmental protections and future economic development.
“I am pleased thus far on how the current agreement has been structured that allows U.S. Steel to remain an American-owned and operated corporation under this new partnership,” Melton said. “I’m equally pleased the pledges made during this negotiation will be honored, and I’m optimistic that this was the best decision for steel workers and the communities like Gary across the country.”
Since it was announced that Nippon Steel would invest $300 million in Gary Works, Northwest Indiana environmental activists have been concerned. In October, GARD and Just Transition Northwest Indiana announced they supported a letter opposing the deal from the Sierra Club to U.S. Congress members.
“Nippon Steel’s revealed plans to extend the life of the most polluting parts of a steel mill currently operated by U.S. Steel leaves no doubt that the company is not acting on climate or accounting for public health,” the letter said.
Carey, on Tuesday, also mentioned concerns with U.S. applying for two-year presidential air exemptions from hazardous air pollutant rules for integrated iron and steel, coke and taconite iron ore process.
A previous statement from U.S. Steel said the company challenged the three rules because they were not supported by science or law and would impose significant costs while setting technically unachievable standards.
“The presidential exemptions provide an additional path to achieving reasonable, effective environmental standards, which we support as part of our commitment to environmental standards, which we support as part of our commitment to environmental excellence and to being a good neighbor in the communities where we live and work,” the statement said. “These requests do not change our continued commitment to environmental performance and safety.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
