By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The owner of AK Steel withdrew its permit requests to increase allowable thresholds for manganese and lead emissions in the south end of Dearborn.
The move comes after months of conversations, led by U.S.Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-12th District), state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-15th District) and community advocates, an Aug. 6 press release from Dingell’s office said. Cleveland Cliffs owns AK Steel, 4001 Miller Road, after its acquisition of the company in March which followed the merger agreement announcement in December.
“As Cleveland Cliffs acquired AK Steel, we began conversations on how we can work to prioritize the concerns and well-being of our community,” Hammoud said in the press release.
“The withdrawal of these permits is a strong signal from the new ownership that they hear us and want to work with us. We’re hopeful this is just a first step on a long path to improve the quality of life for our residents.”
Dingell said that after lengthy and productive conversations with Cleveland Cliffs, it fully understands the community’s concerns and has expressed its strong desire to change the relationship of previous owners with the community.
“The action today is a demonstration of that commitment, Cleveland Cliffs has indicated they have begun what they intend to be regular meetings with community leaders on a regular basis and intend to work together to hear and respond to the needs and concerns of the community,” Dingell said in the press release. “We will keep working together to ensure that goal is met.”
For years, Hammoud and Dingell have participated in or held town halls and community meetings to discuss the environmental impact AK Steel has on the air quality in the south end along with health risks for residents.
On March 25, Dingell and Hammoud were joined by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-13th District), state Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-3rd District) and state Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-1st District) called on Cleveland Cliffs to immediately take all necessary measures to protect the safety and health of the workers.
The elected officials are aware of at least one worker at the plant who has tested positive for COVID-19 and also received numerous complaints from their constituents.
Allegations included lack of adequate cleaning and disinfecting at the plant, ignoring social distancing guidelines by making workers sit near each other on vehicles at the site, and informing potentially non-essential workers that they must continue working.
The AK Steel homepage currently says COVID-19 preventative measurers have been implemented across all his mining and steel operations, which includes 12,000 employees.
“As part of our governance principles, Cleveland-Cliffs and AK Steel have proactively implemented many preventative measures during this COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce potential exposure to the virus and to keep our people safe within the workplace,” the website reads.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])