Worker was treated on site after molten slag comes into contact with water
An Algoma Steel worker got hurt on the job in Ontario when a fire broke out in a piece of equipment Tuesday afternoon, according to a report.
The incident happened at around 1:45 p.m. at Algoma’s on-site slag reprocessing area.
A molten slag came into contact with residual water from Tuesdaý’s heavy rainfall, Algoma spokesperson Laura Devoni told CTV News via email.
“The resulting reaction caused a fire in a piece of mobile equipment. One worker was treated on-site for injuries,” she said, according to the report.
The company has notified the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development of Ontario of the incident.
Algoma is also conducting its own investigation.
In February, a total of 12 workers were hurt – and five of them were sent to hospital – after a blast involving molten metal at Algoma Steel’s worksite in Ontario.
The employer believes “slag made contact with moisture in the hot iron trough,” causing the Feb. 7 incident.
‘Crisis mode at Algoma Steel’
Following the two incidents, Mike Da Prat, president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2251, claimed that “we are in a crisis mode regarding safety at Algoma Steel,” according to a separate CTV News report.
Da Prat said the company isn’t doing enough to prevent these incidents.
“It used to happen in a controlled way, based on the design of where the slag, etc., was being dumped,” he said.
“And the fact that everybody knew enough to look for the water and to make sure that there was no water around. And then if it was raining hard, some extra precautions were taken. The answer is they're not doing that.”
Overall, there have been four similar incidents “in very close order” since late 2023, Da Prat noted in the report.
“How can anybody say that anything … was rectified or that safety procedures were enhanced or anything of that nature? If it had, we wouldn't be having them. But we are.”
