Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel has announced that a refractory failure allowed a wash out of molten steel from the south electric arc furnace shell, resulting in an explosion and fire at its US subsidiary North Star BlueScope Steel in Delta, Ohio.
The company stated that all employees and contractors are safe and it is still assessing the damage. BlueScope presently expects a production loss of approximately 35,000 mt and total financial pre-tax cost, including capital repairs, to be in the order of $5 million. The plant continues to produce steel by operating the second electric arc furnace.