Toxic Chemical Spill 100 Yards From Lake Michigan Closes Beaches
April 13, 2017
The United States Steel company reported the leak occurred on Tuesday due to equipment failure at its Portage, Indiana.
Multiple Indiana beaches have been shut down following a spill of wastewater containing hexavalent chromium, a highly toxic chemical linked to cancer. The United States Steel company reported the leak occurred on Tuesday due to equipment failure at its Portage, Indiana plant, a lapse that “resulted in a chemical leak into the waterway that forced the shutdown of a drinking water intake along Lake Michigan and several nearby beaches,” the Northwest Indiana Times explained.
Local outlet The Indy Channel also documented the circumstances, acknowledging the release of hexavalent chromium into the water:
“The USS Midwest Plant reported that they had a spill into the Burns Waterway Tuesday afternoon. The Environmental Protection Agency says the spill contained hexavalent chromium from the US Steel facility in Portage, Indiana.”
