Burns Harbor, Indiana - Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs announced plans to delay the scheduled maintenance investment at one of the two blast furnaces at its Burns Harbor facility in Northwest Indiana for a second time on Thursday. Originally planned for a reline, a major maintenance investment, in 2025, the hundreds of millions of dollars project at BF C was delayed in 2023 until 2026 after advocates spoke out in support of transitioning to clean steel. Now, the expensive decision has been delayed again until 2027.

“Every year this coal project is delayed, the future of steel comes into focus a little bit more,” said Hilary Lewis, Steel Director at Industrious Labs. “Now, Cleveland-Cliffs needs to get serious about clean steel and develop a plan to rebuild this furnace with clean, modern technology.”

Burns Harbor ranks in the top 3 biggest polluters in the state among industrial sources for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide and lead. According to a study by Industrious Labs based on industry-reported data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Burns Harbor is responsible for up to an estimated 256 premature deaths, over 74,000 cases of asthma symptoms and over 13,000 school and work loss days (each), annually. Two blast furnaces at Burns Harbor contribute to these health-harms with BF C accounting for roughly 50% of production.

“The adverse health effects of air pollution on multiple organ systems are well-documented and indisputable. We would hope this postponement in re-lining the outdated and highly polluting blast furnace indicates Cleveland-Cliffs’ reconsideration of building a more cost effective and economically sustainable direct reduced iron furnace, a proven technology that can reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions by over 95%,” said Dr. Allan Halline, an Ogden Dunes resident. “Such a move would demonstrate a commitment to the health of their workers and the surrounding communities and to the long-term stability of jobs in our Region.

Relining blast furnaces also carries a climate toll. Burns Harbor was the 4th largest emitter of carbon dioxide in Indiana in 2022. That year, Burns Harbor released approximately 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, so based on production BF C released approximately 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. A typical reline extends a blast furnace’s life by about 18 years, potentially locking in more than 63 million tonnes of carbon pollution over that investment, the equivalent to running nearly 17 coal-fired power plants for a year.

“Located next to the Cleveland-Cliffs’ Burns Harbor steel mill are Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Park. With globally unique ecosystems officially considered “vulnerable” due to proximity to industrial pollution, these precious natural resources will be further harmed by continued fossil fuel use,” said Susan Thomas, Policy & Press Director, Just Transition Northwest Indiana. “As a Dune’s community resident, I was not surprised when the American Lung Association just gave a “F” rating to Lake and Porter counties here: There are days I must curtail my activities based on air quality alerts. With this delay, we call on Cleveland-Cliffs to move off dirty coal-reliant steel making, pursue green technologies to enhance our quality of place, and prove that jobs and a thriving economy can co-exist with community health and a sustainable environment.”

Relining a blast furnace means replacing the refractory bricks that line its interior. These bricks protect the furnace during the high-temperature process in which iron ore is reduced with coke (cooked coal) to produce pig iron. Over time, the intense heat and chemical reactions wear down the bricks, which then requires a reline.

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