10 Replies to "UPDATE: 'Fire in building' response at Nucor Steel plant in North Delridge"

• Delridge October 13, 2018 (11:31 am)

  I think it’s time the city started regulating the safety and health concerns of Nucor steel. They’ve been slacking in care for the environment, and have been an eyesore for the neighborhood for long enough.

  • WSB October 13, 2018 (12:01 pm)

    Here’s what the city regulates:
    https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations

    Regarding environmental regulation, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has a major role. Here’s a document of interest from Nucor’s 2015 permit renewal:
    https://www.pscleanair.org/DocumentCenter/View/271/Statement-of-Basis-PDF?bidId=

    Some other docs are linked from this list:
    https://www.pscleanair.org/182/List-of-Approved-Permits

    • Delridge October 13, 2018 (4:07 pm)

      Thanks for the info WSB!!!

• Swede. October 13, 2018 (12:23 pm)

  Didn’t know Nucor did titanium 3D printing. Interesting.
  More than rebar and beams out of there!

• Alanah October 13, 2018 (5:14 pm)

  @ Delridge – as the above references indicate, clearly NOT slacking in care for the environment. As for being an eyesore… it’s a working industrial facility which provides roughly 300+ jobs and has been in the neighborhood for over 100 years. I’m glad to see a working production facility which provides an American-made product for export…something which is becoming more and more rare.

• John October 13, 2018 (5:50 pm)

  Nucor is ISO 14001 certified, which is an environmental certification and is VPP star certified, which indicates that it exceeds OSHA and DOSH/WISHA standards, this certification is issued in conjunction with OSHA, DOSH and L & I, by the way. In order to retain these safety and environmental certifications there are constant audits by both Nucor environmental and safety auditors and by outside auditors. Nucor also has to treat its storm water so that it meets state/city requirements prior to it entering Puget Sound. This is also monitored.

  Nucor provides all of its employees clothing to wear at work and launders them. It also provides showers and places for employees to keep their personal clothes. It also provides employees with, what I presume is, state of the art personal protective equipment.

  While on a tour I saw employees wearing purifying air respirators (I asked) when working around the big furnace and for all of the maintenance personnel. They provide gloves, safety glasses, hard hats, head lamps, batteries, etc, free of charge, in vending machines (the machines are for tracking costs) and more. The injury board outside of the plant, by the parking lot provides an honest picture of safety. It goes to zero if there is ANY injury, to include even minor injuries, like bruises, rather than only recordable injuries, which is what most businesses report.

  This is a company that provides well paying jobs, manufactures a product that is actually exported, uses nothing but scrap steel, employs hundreds of people and who knows how many ancillary jobs when equipment needs to be sent out to be repaired or replaced or maintained

  The mill has been present in its current location for more than 100 years and the surrounding neighborhood used to be known as Little Pittsburgh. There were no neighbors, in fact, Bethlehem Steel (a prior owner) owned more than 600 acres around the mill, including what is now Terminal 5 and the River Mill (now home to a heavy freight company) next to the RR bridge on W. Marginal, where they made nuts and bolts. I’m always fascinated when I hear complaints about the mill by folks who move next to an active steel mill and then are surprised by the clamor that accompanies it. What did you expect?

  I, for one, am glad that this mill is here. It’s interesting. It has an interesting history. Perhaps Delridge should call and ask for a tour, they are always happy to provide them. I’ve been more than once.

  • John Smith October 13, 2018 (7:34 pm)

    John,

    Thanks for the info about the tours; I think that would be fun.

  • Ken October 14, 2018 (10:28 am)

    John, Thank you for the fantastic details about the inner workings at Nucor. I’m also glad the mill is here and it definitely is a nice alternative from a shopping mall, pizza joint, coffee shop, cinema, etc. Actually, to backtrack a bit, wasn’t Terminal 5 intended to be developed as shopping mall at one point several years ago? So glad it wasn’t.

    As you mentioned, it’s amazing that people move next to such a facility and then complain about the noise generated. No different then folks who move next to some pasture in the countryside and start complaining about the smell from the animals. Absolutely ridiculous. The working mills have been here first. The farmlands and ranches have been here first. The railroads have been here first. Folks, if you don’t like them, then use your time in front of the computer to search for a home where none of them will impact your entitled lives.

    I’ll be contacting Nucor for a tour before the year is out. Sounds wonderful.

• second that October 14, 2018 (9:52 am)

  I agree with John – West Seattle cannot survive on cupcakes and coffee in every other store front. Nucor provides jobs and takes their environmental citizenship seriously. If you don’t like – get out of west seattle – you’re not welcome here.

• dunnkld October 14, 2018 (10:37 am)

  In my experience Nucor has been very engaged with the community and responsive to their concerns. Clearing the bike/pedestrian trail of overgrown blackberry bushes is one little example of where we contacted them and they responded with action.

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