OUCH!

By Dave Frazier—Retired #4 B.O.F.--September 21, 2007

One of the guys who worked on the furnace crew told me a story about a new hire’s first day at #4 B.O.F. The new guy was walking to the Labor Office to get lined up for the days work located on the far south side of #4 B.O.F., beyond the furnaces. You are told to always walk around the furnaces on the east side during your two-minute orientation, because there is a lot more room to avoid falling slag, sparks and other hazards that occur during the “blow”.

There is a “charging” machine that travels on rails in the floor and is also on the east side of the two basic oxygen furnaces. The basic oxygen furnaces are known as vessels. The charging machine is used to dump the scrap steel into the vessels. It is very large and travels as slow as a snail on those rails.

When a basic oxygen furnace “taps out”, it empties its contents of steel through a small “tap hole” located in the side of the B.O.F. vessel. The steel then goes into a 250-ton ladle that is located on a railcar under each of the two vessels. The ladles are as large as a small house and are lined with high temperature brick.

The vessel then tips in the opposite direction to dump its slag waste into a large iron slag pot that is similar in size and shape to the steel ladles. They are also located under each furnace on railcars and are used to collect the slag waste from the furnace before the next burden of scrap steel and molten iron is put in them for refining.

Sometimes there is a small amount of water in the slag pit, which is located below the slag pot railcars. If the red-hot, molten slag contacts the water, it will explode. The explosions sometimes can be small and harmless, or they can be as loud as nuclear bomb and just about as dangerous to life and limb.

After being around this noise for some time, you become used to hearing it. Then you know what it is and you also know when its time to run for cover. Since the new hire was quite unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of a steel mill, every new pop, snap, hiss, and siren made him jump around and fidget.

The gigantic charging machine was positioned in front of the south most furnace, which was slagging off waste before the next charge of steel scrap and molten iron was to be made.The new guy was behind the massive charging machine, which was now blocking his way to the Labor Office. Suddenly, one small explosion occurred, it sounded more like a popgun. Nothing to get under a desk about. But he had never experienced any noise like that before! He was so nervous he took off running wildly, and ran directly into the back of that big ol’ charging machine, full face, SPLAT! He bounced off of it, fell down, got back up and he ran face first into the behemoth charging machine again! CRUNCH!

When the new hire finally reported to the Labor Foreman’s Office, his nose was bloody and the crimson fluid was dripping all over the Labor Foreman’s Office floor. He put a handkerchief to his bloody, broken nose and he barked through it in a muffled voice, “I QUIT!”

As he made a hasty exit through the Labor Foreman’s Office door, he AGAIN banged his broken, bloody nose by running it into the door on his way out and yelled, ”OUCH!!