EAST CHICAGO | Steelworker James Wingfield was fatally crushed at ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor plant about 10 a.m. Monday.
Wingfield, 55, of Munster, was working at the No. 4 basic oxygen furnace on the east side of the plant when he was crushed by a tundish cover, said Jim Robinson, United Steelworkers Distinct 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.
A joint management/union safety investigation began immediately after the accident, company spokesman David Allen said.
Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators were at the scene shortly after the accident to begin IOSHA's investigation into the accident, said Jeff Carter, Indiana deputy commissioner of labor.
Monday's accident is the second fatality at the ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor plant this year. Jason Belko, 23, of Hobart, was killed 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.
