Worker dies at Gary Works steel plant | Business Addresses Northwest Indiana

Mike Millsap, director of United Steelworkers Union District 7, said the death did not appear to have been the result of an industrial accident.

Millsap said a 39-year-old electrician collapsed and died while working on a crane at the 84-inch hot tape factory. It appeared to witnesses at the scene that the death was of natural causes.

“It wasn’t because of an injury,” Millsap said. “It was apparently a heart attack.”

The worker was a contractor belonging to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Milsap said attempts to revive the man at the scene were unsuccessful. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

“What happened is just tragic,” Millsap said. Our condolences to his family.”

US Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United Steelworkers Union and the company will investigate what happened to ensure that it was not a workplace accident or that any additional safety precautions can be taken to prevent such accidents in the future.

“We’ll definitely investigate, but it doesn’t seem to be working,” Millsap said.

Although safer than in previous generations, steel mills remain dangerous places to work with many natural hazards such as heavy machinery, roaring trucks, drum trains, molten metal, extreme temperatures, high walkways, and steel coils that It can weigh several tons. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration reports that steel plants had 7.3 recordable cases of illness or injury for every 100 eligible hours in 2020, making it one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.