Rail, Pipe Could See Biggest Impact from Evraz Explosion: USW Official

An explosion over the weekend at Evraz North America’s steel mill in Pueblo, Colo., injured eight people, three of them critically, a union official told Steel Market Update.

The resulting damage will disrupt production at the mill given that its electric arc furnace (EAF) feeds three downstream operations, some of which do not have an external source of semifinished goods, United Steelworkers (USW) union Local 2102 President Eric Ludwig said. Local 2102 represents workers at the Pueblo steel mill, which makes rail, seamless pipe, and wire rod and coiled reinforcing bar.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.