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Show Air Pollution Control Program Completed by Geneva Steel SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 1 Columbia-Geneva Steel Division revealed today that it has successfully success-fully completed a long and cosily program to control the problem of air pollution at Geneva plant, its integrated steel operation located south of Pleasant Grove. Virtual elimination of air pollution, pollu-tion, particularly of fluorides, has been accomplished by the installation installa-tion of electrostatic precipitators and other specially designed air cleaning equipment costing several sever-al million dollars, together with the adoption of new operating practices, it was announced by Al-den Al-den G. Roach, president of this division of United States Steel Corporation. "Because of our keen interest in the welfare of this community in which we operate, we are delighted de-lighted to report the success of our effoits in this direction," Mr. Roach- said. "We have been hard at work in trying to overcome this problem from the moment it arose. Faced a ith a situation entirely new to Lhe s:eol indu.itiy, we have designed, de-signed, developed, and successfully placed in operation corrective equipment which exceeds the rigid goal we established for ourselves. No effort or expense has been spared spar-ed in reaching this objective." Mr. Roach pointed out that his announcement was being made only on-ly after more than 900 separate tests had proved the successful operation op-eration of the equipment and the new practices which were placed in effect. The entire program, he said, involved the expenditure cf a tremendous amount oi money nnd an uncounted volume of man-hours of highly skilled technical experts. Because of the suecejslul operation oper-ation of the corrective equipment and the new practices, the Division is not renewing the leases it has held cn a number of farm properties prop-erties in the vicinity of the plant, Mr. Roach announced. These leases weie taken in the course of the Division's adjustment of claims for alleged damage to livestock and vegetation as a result of fluoride emissions from the plant. Principal features of the corrective cor-rective equipment are electrostatic precipitators installed at the sintering sin-tering plant and at- the open hearth department of Geneva plant. These precipitators operate like giant magnets in removing particles from the air pouring from the furnaces. The installation at the sintering plant, the department depart-ment where fine iron ore is .subjected .sub-jected to high temperatui e.s and lormed into chunks for use in the blast furnaces, was completed in the spring of 1951. Addition of a precise proportion of limestone in the sintering mix eliminated 50 percent per-cent of the problem in the sintering sin-tering plant. The balance of the problem was collected by converting convert-ing the gaseous fluorides into solids, sol-ids, which in turn are collected by the electrostatic precipitators. In the installation at the open hearths, where steel is made, all gases from the 10 open hearth furnaces fur-naces are collected in a collector flue from which they are rcdis-pei rcdis-pei sed to eight individual treatment treat-ment units. Kach of these is composed com-posed of a diffusion chamber where solid chemicals are added, multiple cyclone sections, recycle equipment, equip-ment, and a four-section precipitator. precipi-tator. This complicated clearing apparatus treats upwards of 50.000 cubic feet per minute of gas. The open hearth precipitator installation in-stallation was placed in operation in the spring of this year. "We have deferri'd announcement announce-ment of these large installation:! until sufficient time had elapsed to permit the most exacting li sts possible," Mr. Itoach said. |