Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario – Algoma Steel is currently investigating a significant slag explosion that resulted in the hospitalization of five individuals on Wednesday evening. The explosion occurred at the company’s #7 blast furnace around 10 p.m, as confirmed by Laura Devoni, the director of corporate affairs at Algoma Steel.
Devoni did not provide specific details about the condition of the injured workers, but she did confirm that they were all taken to Sault Area Hospital for treatment. She also stated that an investigation into the circumstances and root cause of the explosion is underway to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This explosion comes just a day after Algoma Steel announced the restart of its #7 blast furnace. The furnace had been inactive for several weeks following a utilities piping structure collapse at the company’s coke-making plant on Jan. 20. The company estimates that it will cost up to $30 million to repair the damages from the Jan. 20 incident.
Despite the recent blast furnace explosion, Devoni assured the public that it would not impact the company’s timeline for restarting the blast furnace and resuming coke production. The United Steelworkers Local 2251 declined to comment on the incident as of Thursday evening.
The investigation into the explosion is ongoing, and authorities are working to gather more information about the incident. As the story develops, updates on the situation will be provided to the public.
For inquiries or more information about the incident, contact kdarbyson@postmedia.com.
The Local Journalism Initiative provided funding from the federal government for this report.