EAST CHICAGO | Steelworker James Wingfield died Monday after he was crushed at ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor plant.
Wingfield, 55, of Munster, was working at the No. 4 basic oxygen furnace about 10 a.m. on the east side of the plant when he was crushed by a tundish cover, said Jim Robinson, United Steelworkers District 7 director. Wingfield was a mechanic at the mill and member of USW Local 1010, Robinson said.
A tundish distributes molten steel from the ladle into the mold in the caster, Robinson said.
Monday's accident is the second fatality at the ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor plant this year. Jason Belko, 23, of Hobart, was killed on Jan. 12 when he was pinned between a train and a dump truck near the blast furnaces on the west side of the Indiana Harbor plant.
A joint management/union safety investigation began immediately after Monday's accident, company spokesman David Allen said.
Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators were on the scene shortly after the accident to begin IOSHA's investigation into the accident, said Jeff Carter, Indiana Deputy Commissioner of Labor.
