MidStates Steel and Wire: Success and Failure By: Chris, Mark, Alex and Brittany
Dec 26, 2015
MidStates Steel and Wire: Success and Failure
By: Chris, Mark, Alex and Brittany
MidStates; The Beginning• Industry has played a vital role
in the growth of Montgomery County since the late 1800’s.
• Organized in 1900, the Crawfordsville Wire and Nail company grew from a small beginning to one of Crawfordsville's greatest assets
• The plant drew its wire from rods shipped from the Keystone plant at Peoria, Illinois.
History• MidStates was formed in March 1928,
when the Wire and Nail Company was purchased from its owners.
• By 1929,the plant had a wire drawing capacity of 175 tons every 24 hours.
• It was eventually merged with the Dwiggins Wire Fence Company of Anderson to become MidStates Steel and Wire Company.
Progress• MidStates introduced many new
technology machines and ideas. • They supplied many jobs for people in
and around the Crawfordsville area. • It was one of the most successful
businesses of its kind in the Midwest.• It helped business in Montgomery
county boom.
Brand New Technology
• The Hooded Automatic Pickler (HAP).
• It was the first company in the nation to put this process into working condition.
New Technology Contd.
• It cleans rods using a sulfuric acid and water solution.
• There are only five of these such processes in the world, and it was started by Gus Generis.
Inside the HAP• Cost: $2 million• Contains its own closed circuit.• Allows the operator to select a
cleaning process and transports the rods through the machine within seconds.
• The wire isn’t manually handled until it is transported to the next station.
Acid Pollution
• Nails and equipment were rusting• The sulfuric acid was used to get
rid of rust• Leftover acid was dumped
underground• Trees started growing over waste• People started to doubt Midstates’
procedures
Closing open Doors • Midstates closed in
1997 due to loss of business partners.
• The owners never came back to clean up
• Many chemical barrels were left
• Became a huge fire threat.
The End of MidStates
• Two tragic fires eventually engulfed the building
• Arson was thought to be the cause
• Homeless people and/or teenagers were blamed.
Explanation of The First Fire• The first fire,
happened on March 31, 2003.
• The fire turned out to be a three-block residential area evacuation.
• A local plant had to shut down and people were to leave their homes for the rest of the day.
Explanation of The Second Fire• The second fire, happened on April 29,
2003.• It was said that an adolescent who
started the fire. • Another possibility is that juveniles or
even mid-aged people may had methamphetamine laboratories.
• The second fire caused an evacuation and local companies to be shut down
Problems Caused By Fires..• Breathing Problems for local residents.• Burnt down building in a residential
area.• The company site still hasn’t been
cleaned up and it has been well over a year.
• Anyone who visits this area could become ill from these poisonous pollutants in the air.
Costs of Damages and Repairs
• The total cost of damages needed to be repaired will be approximately $279,000.
MidStates Today
• 2 Lafayette attorneys have bought the factory
• Improvements have been made since.
• Doubts still remain
The Pollution Conflict
Effects of zinc, lead, and oil/lubricant combustion, and many other pollution-related
problems
Oil/Lubricant Combustion
• The act of burning oil, lubricants, and other fuel-related chemicals in a non-proper form
• Also called PIC’s (Products of Incomplete Combustion)
• Midstates claims oil/lubricants were used to help manufacture products
What caused the pollution• Abandoned
oils/lubricants were left in the factory when Midstates shut down
• Fires have reached the chemicals, polluting air with smoke and combustion pollutants
Combustion pollutants
• Harmful chemicals caused by burning other dangerous pollutants
Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Odorless and colorless gas• Hundreds die each year from CO in their
homes• Reduces the ability of hemoglobin in
blood• Causes:
– Paralysis– Coma– Death
Nitrogen dioxide(NO2)
• Damages the respiratory tract• Highly toxic• Red-brown gas• Or:• Yellow liquid
Sulfur dioxide(SO2)
• Irritates:– Eyes– Nose– Respiratory
tract
Particulates
• Tiny particles that make up smoke• Damages:
– Eyes– Throat– Nose
Health effects
• Combustion pollutants can cause such problems as:– Headaches– Dizziness– Sleepiness– Nausea– Irritated Eyes– Breathing difficulties– Cancer
Lead and Zinc Poisoning
Lead (Pb) Poisoning
• No obvious symptoms• Causes loss of auditory memory• Destroys red blood cells• Brain damage
Zinc (Zn) Poisoning
• Causes:– Vomiting– Nausea– Liver/Kidney failure– Anemia
What is the Exxon Valdez
• The Exxon Valdez is an oil tanker that ran aground in Alaska on March 23 1989.
• It was one of the most know oil accidents in the World.
• The captain was Joe Hazelwood.
How Did the Accident Occur• The tanker was headed
toward icebergs, but was unable to be steered away by both Gregory Cousins and Robert Kagan
• Gregory Cousins was his third mate and was presumed to be fatigued during the accident.
How Did the Accident Occur
• Exxon hit the iceberg and then curved off toward the land
How Does This Compare to Other Accidents
• The Exxon Valdez is one of the largest oil spills in the United States.
• It is considered the #1 spill in terms of damage to the environment.
• 1,300 miles were impacted by oil.
• 200 miles were heavily impacted.
• It cause one of the hardest clean ups in the history of spills
Compared to Other Accidents
The Big Clean-Up• It took more than four
summers of clean up efforts before the clean up was called off.
• Not all beaches were cleaned.
• The clean up effort included; 10,000 workers, 1,000 boats, and 100 airplanes.
Clean-Up Continued• The clean up cost
about $2.1 billion• They used hot
water treatment, mechanical cleanup, and chemical agents.
Environment Effects• It is unknown how many
deaths of animals there were from the spill.
• The carcasses of more than 35,000 birds and 1,000 sea otters were found after the spill.
• The results of tests taken near the spill are still unknown
Another Case
• The MidStates building also had lead and zinc poisoning.
• A mine located in Marmorilik in West Greenland also had problems with lead and zinc.
Another Case• The mine resulted in
serious lead and zinc pollution of a large nearby fjord system.
• High levels of lead and zinc were found in seawater, sediments, seaweed, and fish around the area.
SolutionsWays to solve Midstate’s
problem
Solution I• Haul all harmful chemicals out of
Midstates• Pros-
– No more pollution by Midstates to affect Crawfordsville
– No more harmful fires
• Cons– Chemicals would affect other areas– Disaster could occur from car crash, acid
rain, etc.
Solution II• Demolish the Midstates building and
have a massive cleanup• Pros-
– The Midstates area will be clean– Make way for new economic opportunities
• Cons– Chemicals could escape and cause major
pollution problems– Demolishing the building could affect other
buildings
Solution III• Pollution-eating bacteria• Pros-
– Would break down all chemicals into atoms, causing no more harm
– Less labor work• Cons-
– Don’t know if product is 100% effective
– Bacteria may eat something else after done eating chemicals
Bibliography• EVOS-Oil Spill Facts-Q & A, April 21st, 2004
www.oilspill.state.ak.us/facts/qanda.html• EVOS-Oil Spill Facts-Photos, April 21st, 2004
www.oilspill.state.ak.us/facts/photos.html• Valdez Link.com, April 21st, 2004
www.valdezlink.com/inpol/pages/album.htm
• Batelle.org, April 21st
www.battelle.org/envirement/exxon-valdez.stm
Bibliography (continued)
• Chemical Elements.com, April 30th, 2004http://www.chemicalelements.com
· Chemistry: Webelements Periodic Table, April 30th, 2004http://www.webelements.com
• Corwin, Dan. Interviewed May 7th, 2004.• Zinc Poisoning, April 30th, 2004
http://www.birdieboutique.com/zincpoisoning.html
Bibliography (continued)
• Environmental Protection Agency – Sulfur Dioxide, April 30th, 2004,
http://epa.gov/air/aqtrnd95/so2.html • Sources of Indoor Pollution, April
29th,2004 http://www.epa.gov/iaq/no2.html
Bibliography(continued)• The Journal Review, May 6th, 2004,
http://www.journalreview.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=8697&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1
• Cline, Pat. “Mid-States pioneers new process in U.S.”. Montgomery. April 1978
• Curtin, Charles and Gineris, Gus.“Inland Wire Products Company”. Mid-Statements. 1957
Bibliography(continued)
• Posthauer, Ron. Interviewed May 7th, 2004.• Cline, Pat. Crawfordsville: A Pictorial History.
St. Louis: G. Bradley Publishing, 1991.• Pollution Eating Bacteria. May 3rd, 2004.
http://newsdesk.inel.gov/press_releases/1998/prpollutioneatingbacteria2.html
• CBC News: Pollution-eating bacteria may help with cleanups. May 3rd, 2004. http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/10/31/tca021031