Dofasco probing what caused black cloud emission

An issue with a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Dofasco caused a cloud of black smoke to belch out over the bayfront Monday morning.

General manager and director of environment John Lundrigan wrote in an email to the company's committee liaison committee that at 11:20 a.m., there was "an upset" at one of their blast furnaces. It caused a two-minute emission from safety valves, he said.

"Our teams worked very quickly to stabilize the furnace and the situation has been corrected," Lundrigan said. "They are currently analyzing the event to identify the root cause and any preventative actions."

He also said the company notified the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Jochen Bezner, a member of the community liaison committee, said it is "very unfortunate that this keeps happening."

Last year, ArcelorMittal Dofasco reported a similar emission from another blast furnace that happened when a facility that was closed for maintenance was restarted.

"The company has not learned enough to operate equipment safely," Bezner said.

"Any pollution issues that are that visible are a concern to the community."