Sep 21:  One whiff and people get miffed downtown

CLEVELAND -- "Every time Jennifer Maurer comes to Cleveland she holds her nose. Something stinks along Interstate 77 -- a strong smell that rises from the industrial end of the Flats. 'It's so potent, you almost feel like you're tasting it,' said the 35-year-old Akron woman, who teaches music in the Cleveland schools and smells the odor while driving into downtown. She called the city's smell police. Maurer is one of many people who have complained to air pollution inspectors about a strong, solvent-like odor since early February. Inspectors from the Cleveland Division of Air Quality tracked the odor to General Environmental Management LLC, which treats liquid industrial and hazardous wastes," John Kuehner, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


CLEVELAND -- Cleveland tries to resolve odor complaints, Associated Press.

Sep 20:  Photo Gallery:
Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival



CLEVELAND -- "Ohio Citizen Action participated in the Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival on September 17th and 18th. A few of Mittal Steel's 390,000 neighbors showed up to learn more about the air pollution campaign with the Mittal Steel Cleveland Works. They visited our table-top steel mill and made mini smoke-stacks to wear. The festival was held at Lincoln Park, located on Starkweather between West 14th and West 11th streets in Tremont," Katarina Popovic, Ohio Citizen Action.

Sep 16:  Mittal air emissions on the rise



CLEVELAND -- "Mittal Steel's Cleveland Works air emissions have gone up by 206% from 2003 to 2004, according to the latest TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) figures submitted by the company to the Ohio EPA. The Toxic Release Inventory is a database of toxic chemical emissions into the air, land, and water in the United States. Zinc, cadmium, and copper air discharges from Mittal Steel all increased dramatically. The reopening of the West Side Works at the beginning of 2004 is partly responsible for the overall rise in emissions. Offsite land disposal also increased as the company expands its onsite landfills," Katarina Popovic, Ohio Citizen Action.

Sep 14:  Mittal Steel to spend $1.5 billion in '05

LONDON, UK -- "Mittal Steel, the world's largest steelmaker, said it's spending $1.5 billion this year on plant expansions and other projects designed to tap a surge in demand. The spending is part of $4.5 billion earmarked by the Rotterdam-based company for 900 projects in 14 countries, it said. The company expects global demand for steel to grow between 3 and 4 per cent in coming years. 'The basic fundamentals for our industry are more positive than they have been for many decades,' billionaire owner Lakshmi Mittal said in a newsletter on the Web site. Demand will grow 'for the foreseeable future,'" Sify.

Aug 27:  Mittal will restart West Side Sept. 7

CLEVELAND -- "Mittal Steel USA plans to restart the basic oxygen furnace and continuous caster on the West Side of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland on Sept. 7, but only for six to eight weeks, Mittal spokesman Dave Allen said Friday. The operations have been idled since early April because of market conditions. The restart is designed to take care of a bulge in demand in the Cleveland market, he said, and to process iron created while both blast furnaces on the East Side of the river are in use. Workers sent to the East Side when the West Side operations were idled will return to their old jobs," Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Aug 12:  Mittal Steel USA bringing one furnace back, idling another

CHICAGO -- "Mittal Steel USA is returning one blast furnace to service, then will idle another for maintenance, in order to maintain stable production in its eastern region over the next several months. Mittal Steel USA - Cleveland will restart blast furnace C-6 Aug. 23 in preparation for the scheduled idling of Cleveland's other ironmaker, blast furnace C-5, in October. The company took C-6 out of production in May, accelerating maintenance that had been scheduled to be done later, in response to inventory-related market softness. Similarly, C-5 will be idled in order to perform extensive repairs to the furnace top. The overlap also will enable the Cleveland plant to cover the company's steelmaking needs during an upcoming 20-day mainentance outage at Mittal Steel USA - Sparrows Point, where a complete reline is needed at one of the Maryland plant's basic oxygen furnaces," press release, Mittal Steel.

Aug 9:  Mittal shunned by analysts

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS -- "Imagine if an industry leader such as General Electric Co. or Exxon Mobil Corp. reported quarterly earnings, and no one paid attention. That's the case with Mittal Steel Co., the world's largest steelmaker...By contrast, 25 analysts cover Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. General Electric, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, had 23 analyst recommendations in the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg data. Mittal 'is a superb company but it's a very complicated company,' said Wayne Atwell, steel industry analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York...Mittal, which operates plants in 14 countries and employs 160,000 people worldwide, is seeking to raise its profile with investors. Onillon said that as part of that effort, the company will take analysts on a tour of its steel mills in Poland, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan in September," Financial Express.

Jul 28:  Metal flakes found at homes near Mittal Steel
The Closer to Mittal Steel, the Greater the Concentrations

CLEVELAND -- "Mittal Steel reports emissions of seven metals to the EPA (Toxics Release Inventory), including barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, vanadium, and zinc. Ohio Citizen Action took five swipe samples at homes and public places near the steel mill over a one week period spanning from 05/09/05 to 05/17/05 and had them tested at Tri-State Laboratories in Youngstown, Ohio. The results were compared to a clean swipe sample. The samples indicate the concentrations of the metals were higher closer to the steel mill," Katarina Popovic, Ohio Citizen Action.

Jul 27:  Can big steel be a good neighbor?


CLEVELAND -- "Why is the Cuyahoga Valley still stinky? As part of its Good Neighbor Campaign, Ohio Citizen Action has gotten 18,942 residents to send letters to Mittal Steel (formerly ISG, formerly LTV, formerly Republic Steel) asking them to reduce pollution and make their newly-purchased Cleveland Works a shining example of 'how to have a successful steel mill and protect the public's health,' especially since the Cleveland plant has more neighbors than any other in the country, Lee Chilcote, Cool Cleveland.

Jul 26:  Letter to Mittal Steel



UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- "Welcome to the neighborhood. Though we aren't neighbors now, up until three years ago we lived within smelling distance of your newly aquired ISG Cleveland Works. I would like to take a few moments of your time to tell you about life in Tremont, the neighborhood your new plant abuts...Though it affected it us in trivial ways, it affected us. The level of dust inside our house was annoying, but the black soot on the outside of the house was alarming...We were in a position where we could move. We could buy a house and leave Tremont and its pollution. We are lucky. The residents of the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority's Valleyview Homes housing project are not so lucky. They and their children are among the residents closest in proximity to your plant. It is for all the chldren of Tremont that we write this letter. They have no say, no ability to choose where they live, no choice but to grow up filling their lungs with polluted air," Stephanie and Garrick Lipscomb, Ohio Citizen Action members.

Jul 22:  Environment: Steel city



CLEVELAND -- "Ohio Citizen Action is entering year two of its Good Neighbor Campaign to clean up and prevent pollution from the Mittal Steel Co. plant in Cleveland. The sprawling plant, formerly known as ISG and LTV, is a major polluter in Cuyahoga County. Mittal aquired ISG in April. Ohio Citizen Action has been asking residents to write the steel company's top brass as its volunteers canvass Greater Cleveland. So far residents have written 18,942 letters, said Sandy Buchanan, the group's executive director. 'We'd love to see Mittal come and make Cleveland an example on how to have a successful steel mill and protect the public's health,' she said. 'This place is like a symbol of air pollution in Cleveland.' Because of its location, the plant has more neighbors than any other steel mill in the country, Buchanan said. The campaign will continue until changes are made, she said. Volunteers leave one-page blue-and-white fliers with information about the campaign," John Keener, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Jul 18:  Mittal Steel secures entry into Fortune 500

NEW DELHI, INDIA -- "Mittal Steel Company has been included for the first time in Fortune Magazine's Global 500 list, the ranking of the world's largest corporations. Mittal Steel is ranked the world's 253rd largest company in terms of revenues ($22.2 billion) and 55th in terms of profits ($4.7 billion), it said today. In its sector, Mittal Steel ranked number 1 for profits, with a profit margin of 21 per cent. The company was also ranked number 1 globally for the biggest increases in revenues, the biggest increases in profits and the highest returns on assets," Sify Finance.

• The 2005 Global 500, Fortune Magazine.