Steelmaking equipment, massive and complex, requires the skills of many people such as millwrights, pipefitters, carpenters, welders, and various craftsmen who perform necessary maintenance and repair work. Others behind the steelmaking scenes who contribute greatly to steel production are those employed in the Service Division and Energy and Utilities Division.
Exposures to the asbestos products at the mill can cause Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, and other cancers 10 – 40 years later. Even if you smoked you may be entitled to compensation if you are suffering an asbestos related disease.
There are numerous departments and occupations that experienced heavy asbestos exposure, highly active areas at Zug Island were the Boilerhouse/Powerhouse 1 and 2, Blast Furnaces, Coke Ovens and Byproducts area.
Boilerhouse/Powerhouse No. 1:
This is the oldest boilerhouse at Great Lakes Steel. Seven boilers are currently in operation. Three of the boilers were built in 1936 and were manufactured by CE. Two Bandenhausen boilers were built in 1938 and one in 1949. One CE was built in 1951. The powerhouse which houses the turbines is in the same building. There is high asbestos exposure to asbestos covered steam pipes, block insulation and boiler jackets.
Boilerhouse/Powerhouse No. 2:
There are four boilers currently in operation. All are CE boilers that were built in the 1951. The turbines are in a separate building called No 2 powerhouse. There is high asbestos exposure to asbestos covered steam pipes, block insulation and boiler jackets.
Boilerhouse/Powerhouse Job Classifications and Descriptions:
Boiler Operator: Inspects and operates boilers.
Water Tender: works under the direction of boiler operator, monitors the high-pressure steam equipment.
Boiler Cleaner: Assists in cleaning inside and outside of steam boilers and auxiliary equipment.
Laborers: Helped in clean-up work after tradesmen.
Mechanical Repairmen: Responsible for multi trade work including turbine repair, pipefitting, and mechanic work.
Pipefitters: maintains steamlines and worked with turbine repairmen on big jobs.
Turbine Repairmen: Maintained boilers and turbines – covered turbines, pumps, drums, and feed pump heads. Also removed boiler jackets and helped pipefitters tear-out and recover lines.
Coke Ovens: Coal is converted to coke at the Coke Ovens. There are 5 coke oven batteries at Zug Island. The No 1 Coke Plant houses the No 1 and No 2 coke oven batteries. It was built when Zug Island was built in 1929/1930. There are at least 70 ovens for each battery – over 140 ovens. No 2 Coke plant was built in the 1950’s. It houses the No 3 and No 4 coke oven batteries. There are 78 or 79 ovens at each battery. No 5 Coke oven battery is the newest battery built 1968-1970. It has approximately 85 ovens. It takes a minimum time of 20 hours and 30 minutes to push one oven of coke. They schedule the ovens 13 minutes apart. The ovens are sprayed and patched in between charges. There are many pipes.
Coke Oven Job Classifications:
Patcher: Patches worn brick on the coke ovens with refractory mortar, sprays the ovens with fireproofing spray.
Heater: Controls and maintains proper oven temperature; inspects and maintains ovens-instructs patchers and heater helpers in patching walls.
Heater Helper: Assists heater and patcher in maintenance and operation of ovens.
Pipefitter: Maintains pipes, covers steam pipes and pipes in danger of freezing.
Bricklayer: Maintenance of worn coke oven linings; rebrick when necessary.
There are 15 or more miscellaneous production jobs at the coke ovens including: pusher, quench car operator, larry car operator, door cleaner, door operator, tar chaser, wharfman, spellman etc. There are detailed descriptions of these jobs.
Blast Furnaces: There are four A-D blast furnaces at Zug Island. Iron ore pellets, scrap, and limestone are melted into iron-ore at the blast furnaces. The iron-ore is transferred by hot metal cars to the open-hearth furnaces in Ecorse, where it is converted to steel. The four blast furnaces produce over 11,000 tons of molten iron ore daily.
Blast Furnaces Job Classifications:
Keeper: Taps iron from furnace; maintains tap hole troughs, and runners.
Keeper Helper: Assists in tapping iron from furnace, assists keeper.
Laborer: Clean up work.
Larryman: operates larrycar of ore, limestone, and scrap to charge the furnace.
Stove Tender: Adjusts and regulates heating and changing of blast furnace stoves.
Pipefitter: Maintains pipelines.
Bricklayer: Maintains furnace lining, hot metal cars, troughs, and runners.
Byproducts: The byproducts process is to extract all usable products from the coal. Some of the products removed are Ammonia Sulphate, Benzene, Tar, Light Oil, Pitch, Ammonia Liquer, Sulfuric Acid etc. Pipes run throughout the area because of this process.
Byproducts Job Classifications:
Byproducts Operator: controls byproducts operation, monitors gauges, temperatures, pressure, and recovery equipment.
Byproducts Helper: assists operator, maintains equipment.
Pipefitter: Maintains pipes.
Exhauster Engineer: operates turbo exhausters and air compressors.
Saturator man: operates equipment for recovery of ammonia sulphate. Monitors pressure, temperature, and flow levels.
Saturator man Helper: assists Saturator man in equipment operation and maintenance.
Sinter Plant: The sinter plant recycles iron particles from the blast furnaces. There are pipes in the building – mainly water and gas, some of these pipes were covered.
In addition to the Zug Island Plant, there were numerous departments and occupations that experienced heavy asbestos exposure, at Great Lakes Steel’s Main Plant.
Other occupations exposed to asbestos:
Maintenance Foreman and Supervisors: They schedule and supervise the maintenance and repair of the buildings and equipment.
First Line Supervisors/Managers Production and Operating Workers: They directly supervise and coordinate production and operations employees (Precision Workers, Inspectors, Machine Setters and Operators, Assemblers, Fabricators, and Plant and System Operators.
Maintenance: Construction and Millwrights, Bricklayers, Turbine Repairmen, Electricians, Insulators, Machinists, Oilers, Painters, Pipefitters, Welders and other trades. They construct, maintain and repair the buildings and equipment throughout the plant.
Heavy/Mobile Equipment Repair: Industrial Mechanics maintained and repaired Kress Carriers, payloaders, fork trucks, dump trucks, tow motors, hoists and other equipment
Material Handling: Hi-Lo Operators, Crane Operators, Equipment Operators, Laborers, Sludge Operators and Tractor Operators. They handle and move the raw materials, steel and equipment for the mill.
Transportation: Railroad Laborers, Switchman and Engineers operated the locomotives for transporting molten steel, Ingot molds, and other materials.
Receiving and Shipping: They receive and ship materials for the various plants and departments.
Asbestos exposures at Great Lakes Steel came from a number of sources including: asbestos containing blankets, brick insulation, brakes, clothing, electrical products, fireproofing, gaskets, granite, hot tops, furnace cement, insulating cement, pipecovering, refractory insulation and sideboards.
If you or a loved one have questions regarding asbestos exposure at Great Lakes Steel Zug Island or anywhere in Ecorse, Michigan, we have Michigan based and licensed lawyers with over 50 combined years of experience that would be able to assist you. John Kelsey and John Pomerville are Asbestos & Mesothelioma Attorneys with Goldberg Persky & White. They are very knowledgeable in regards to asbestos exposure at Great Lakes Steel, Mesothelioma and the other asbestos diseases caused by asbestos exposure. They have represented many individuals with mesothelioma, lung cancer or asbestosis in Wayne County Circuit Court in the past 20 years. If you have any questions concerning your exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma at Great Lakes Steel Division Zug Island in Ecorse, MI call John Kelsey or John Pomerville. Our Michigan-based mesothelioma lawyers may be able to give guidance if you were exposed to asbestos in Ecorse or Zug Island, MI.
If you have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma you should immediately speak with an experienced Michigan based Lawyer to preserve your legal rights as this is a time sensitive matter and knowing the facts will help you make the best medical and legal decisions possible and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering .
We have represented people injured by exposure to asbestos whose work histories include Great Lakes Steel Division Zug Island in Ecorse, Michigan. Our extensive database of jobsites and asbestos product identification built over 30 years of specializing in asbestos lawsuits allows us to effectively and efficiently represent those injured by asbestos in the workplace.
Why does it matter that Great Lakes Steel Division Zug Island is in our jobsites database?
In order to successfully pursue an asbestos claim, your lawyer needs to be familiar with the jobsites you worked at, including
- the companies that employed you,
- the products they purchased and used, and
- the companies who produced those products,
- depositions, testimony of other Great Lakes Steel Zug Island asbestos disease victims
- documentation from the Plant and Defendants
After more than 30 years pioneering asbestos litigation, we have a vast knowledgebase covering things such as company diagrams, invoices from asbestos product manufacturers, revealing company memos demonstrating their knowledge of the risks, asbestos product packaging through the years, depositions from leading experts, and medical and scientific literature dating from the late 1800s to the current day.
Great Lakes Steel Division Zug Island is one of tens of thousands of jobsites in our database.
Being familiar with many different industries, manufacturers, and products means we can efficiently and effectively identify all the asbestos containing products that contributed to your injury. It’s a breadth of knowledge gained from years of experience representing people injured by asbestos and their families.
Asbestos Exposure Injuries
Asbestos exposure can cause a variety of non-cancerous and cancerous injuries such as:
- mesothelioma
- lung cancer
- colon and colo-rectal cancers
- throat cancer
- laryngeal cancer
- esophageal cancer
- asbestosis
We have successfully represented hundreds of Michigan USWA members in lawsuits against the responsible asbestos product manufacturers. Millions of dollars in compensation has been recovered for these asbestos disease victims. We have the resources and experience to take on the Asbestos Industry and demand fair compensation for you.
Did you work at Great Lakes Steel Division Zug Island in Ecorse, Michigan? Have you been injured by asbestos? Contact us today for a FREE, no obligation consultation: 1-800-799-2234
Asbestos on Zug Island, Michigan
Zug Island was once a part of the mainland located near the mouth of the River Rouge at the southern limits of Detroit. Originally, it was a marsh-filled peninsula and served as a Native American burial ground. It was owned by Samuel Zug, who purchased the 325 acre lot from Lewis Cass in 1859. After realizing that the land was inhabitable, Zug allowed the River Rouge Improvement Company to dig a canal through the land, creating Zug Island. The island was originally part of the city of Delray, but was annexed by Detroit in 1901.
Zug Island was sold once again in 1891 to George Brady and Charles Noble, who may have originally intended for the island to be used as an industrial dumping ground. This idea did not reach its full potential, as the need for industrial land grew tremendously during the early twentieth century. Industrialists built blast furnaces for steel production on the island in 1902, 1909, and 1938. These steel mills changed hands several times, and were one time owned by Hannah Furnace Company and then National Steel. They are currently called the Great Lakes Works and are owned by United States Steel. Today, Zug Island is one of only a handful of locations remaining in the United States that produce coke, an ingredient used in the creation of steel.
The island is home to the mills ironmaking facilities (the rest of the mill’s facilities, primarily steelmaking and processing, are located at the main plant a couple miles south in the city of Ecorse) which included g4 blast furnaces ( “A” “B” “C” and “D”) and raw materials storage areas.
Zug Island has a history of manufacturing in fields known for using asbestos-containing materials, placing workers at a high risk category for asbestos exposure. Malignant mesothelioma may result when workers and loved ones have been exposed to asbestos. If you have been exposed to asbestos on Zug Island you may benefit by seeking legal counsel from our Michigan based asbestos lawyers. Our lawyers John Kelsey and John Pomerville are very familiar with the Zug Island jobsites and the asbestos products workers were exposed to at these sites.
If you have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma you should immediately speak with an experienced Michigan based Lawyer to preserve your legal rights as this is a time sensitive matter and knowing the facts will help you make the best medical and legal decisions possible and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering .
