Awards and Recognition

Internal Awards

Bethlehem's Excellence in Environmental Achievement Awards

Six teams were selected to receive 1997 Corporate Excellence in Environmental Achievement Awards, Bethlehem's highest form of recognition for environmental performance. Formal awards were presented by Hank Barnette at a dinner ceremony in October 1997.

Burns Harbor Coke Ovens and Power Systems and Utilities

Team members include: Ed Balka, Rick Balunda, Frank Brown, Kenny Dillon, Al Kamanski, Todd Kramer, Tom McCort, Skip Rose and Tom Zendzian.

The team donated its $2,500 grant to the Porter County Parks Foundation, Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., for continued development of Sunset Hill County Park.

Burns Harbor Power Systems and Utilities and the Cold Sheet Mill

This multi-departmental team collected high acid condensate, which was discharged to the plant's wastewater treatment system, and reintroduced it into the acid tanks for reuse, saving $8,000 monthly in lime slurry needed to neutralize the previously discharged acid.

Team members include: Rick Balunda, Jim Campbell, John Cowger, Jim Fyock, Bob Hale, Tom Lewis, Lou Lietzan, Tom McCort, Rob Mills, Dallas Petry, George Sefton and Gene Windquist.

The team donated its $2,500 grant to the Michigan City, Ind., Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America for support of regional environmental programs.

Sparrows Point Multi-Media Agreement Negotiating Team

This team successfully negotiated a comprehensive agreement with federal and state agencies to address numerous environmental issues at Sparrows Point covering all media, minimizing the accompanying civil penalty and giving the plant time to develop and implement environmental projects and strategies. The agreement is the most comprehensive agreement of its type in the steel industry—a landmark agreement for a phased program to address issues of concern to the community and the environment at large.

Team members include: Sparrows Point: Bob Abate, Joe Dolan, Dennis Hanson, Erroll Hay and Joe Mendelson; Corporate Office: Bob Allen, Barbara Bachman, Ana Caram, Bill Riley, Joe Schindler, Monty Stuart, Dave Tomlinson and Ed Wilson; Legal Counsel: Brigid Kenney.

The team donated its grant to the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), Boston, Mass., for the support of the CERES Collaborative Model to solve environmental problems.

Sparrows Point/Betz Dearborn Cold Sheet Mill Team

This team devised a new surface protection process that annually has eliminated approximately 275 tons of chrome waste and saves more than $500,000 due to reductions in waste disposal, energy usage and customer quality claims.

Team members include: Fred Anderson, Dave Baker, Glen Evans, Jim Evans, John Floyd, Phil Giuffrida, Charlie Hartley, Vicki Heckel, Bob Heller, Dave Hoch, Tony Juarascio, Art Lader, Dave Trageser, Dick Vittorini and Rob Weber.

The team donated its $2,500 grant to the Susquehannock Environmental Center in Harford County, Md., for support of regional environmental programs.

Sparrows Point BOF Recycling Study Team

This team made substantial progress in developing a method of recycling Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) scrubber sludge filter cake back to the BOF, thereby reducing annual operating costs by $500,000.

Team members include: Sparrows Point: Richard Fekete, Lloyd Flack, S.W. Howanski, Glen Keyser, Stanley Pace, Scott Perry, Gorden Rupert, Calvin Smith, Tom Swift and Mike Vogler; Corporate Office: John Lynn.

The team donated its $2,500 grant to The Nature Conservancy, Chevy Chase, Md., for continued environmental efforts in Maryland.

PST Vacuum Degasser Water Treatment Team

The degasser team developed, designed, engineered and installed a new and innovative process for treating vacuum degassing waste waters, which removes certain contaminants to well below permitted levels and does not produce a hazardous waste.

Team members include: PST: Gino Cramer, Marshall Dews, John Feick and Bob Walker; Corporate Office: Bob Greenawalt and Stu Herman.

The team donated its $2,500 grant to the Pennsylvania Alliance for Environmental Education for scholarships to teachers in south central Pennsylvania, for environmental education.

1997 Environmental Leadership Awards

Thirteen teams and two employees were recognized with Environmental Leadership Awards in 1997. The winners were:

BethEnergy's Cambria Operations Team

This team pumps and treats 20 million gallons of mine water daily at five treatment plants. To ensure compliance, the team took innovative actions that reduced exceedances, including devising a system that allows the pumps to be turned off with a telephone call when an alarm is activated.

BethForge Primary Operations — Engineering Team

This team improved the performance of the emissions collection system at Press Forge No. 2, thus avoiding environmental citations, health issues and costly system replacement.

Bethlehem Coke Ovens Door Jamb Welding Team

This team repaired door jambs on Battery "A" to eliminate fugitive emissions, developing a method of grinding and welding the jambs and then manufacturing a special grinding mechanism for this purpose.

Bethlehem Coke Ovens Standpipe Water Seal Construction Team

This team replaced 160 standpipe expansion collars with water seals, which provided a flexible seal able to withstand expansion and contraction in extreme temperatures.

Burns Harbor Power Systems and Utilities

Burns Harbor Power Systems and Utilities

This team developed and installed a grease trap constructed of natural materials, which eliminated grease in the discharge from the lake water pump stations into Lake Michigan.

Burns Harbor Service Shops and Technical Maintenance Department

This department developed a comprehensive environmental project that reduced dust on slab hauler roads, satisfied requirements of Title V of the Clean Air Act, reduced spills over the previous year and promoted environmental awareness.

Burns Harbor Title V Project Team

This team quickly developed and executed numerous projects that allowed the division to certify compliance with all air pollution regulations in its Title V permit application.

CENTEC Foundry Operations

CENTEC Foundry Operations installed a ladle treatment facility to capture emissions and provide a fume- and dust-free work environment that eliminated the need for respirators and ensured compliance with environmental regulations.

Lackawanna Coke Oven Management Team

Batteries #7 and #8 achieved excellent performance by meeting alternate emission limits for coke side doors under a shed approved by EPA in 1993.

Sparrows Point Basic Oxygen Furnace Fume and Noise Suppression Team

The team of Mike Vogler, Ed Gearhart and Dave Frank developed a new fume suppression system at the oxygen lance opening in the BOF to reduce fumes and increase the life of the BOF hood.

Sparrows Point Coke Oven Demolition Team

Andrew Youngbar and David Saul managed the cleanup and demolition of the Sparrows Point coke ovens, the only such facility in the country to be decommissioned without incurring regulatory penalties.

Subsidiary Railroad Companies

The Subsidiary Railroads enhanced their environmental protection actions by installing catch pans to collect condensate and leaks, developing solvent recovery and reduction strategies, removing all underground storage tanks and eliminating more than one million gallons of above-ground heating oil storage.

Burns Harbor’s Robert L. Hogue

Bob Hogue's weekly flyers and personal contacts about spill prevention in the Service Shops and Technical Maintenance Department are credited with reducing spills and maintaining a high level of interest in spill prevention.

Patapsco & Back Rivers RR's Dan Bandy

After two cases of minor fuel oil leaks from damaged fuel oil level indicators, Dan Bandy had the sight glasses removed from all locomotives to eliminate potential leaks.

External Awards

Climate Wise Partnership

Bethlehem Steel Corporation received a certificate in April 1998 commemorating Bethlehem's participation in Climate Wise, a voluntary partnership between government and industry aimed at achieving major improvements in energy efficiency and environmental performance. Bethlehem became the 400th organization and first integrated steel producer to join Climate Wise, a program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

WasteWise Award

Bethlehem Steel Corporation was recognized by EPA as a Program Champion at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 9, 1998, for its participation and achievements in the WasteWise Program. Bethlehem was one of 20 companies receiving this award that recognizes businesses that find practical methods for reducing municipal solid waste.Specifically, Bethlehem implemented an Electronic Data Exchange system to replace forms and generate fewer reports, expanded its use of e-mail to save paper, and used 30 percent recycled steel scrap in producing tinplate steel for the manufacture of steel cans, consuming more than 125 million pounds of this postconsumer material in 1997.

The Corporate Office and all business units are actively involved in the WasteWise Program.

Harriman Memorial Award

The Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad (P&BR), one of Bethlehem Steel's subsidiary railroads, was presented with a Bronze Harriman Award in June 1998 by the E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Institute, Washington, D.C., for its outstanding safety performance in 1997 in serving the corporation's Sparrows Point, Md., Division. P&BR won the bronze medal as the third safest short-line railroad in the country in the switching and terminal group category. The railroad provides service to more than a dozen industrial customers located on its lines and at the Port of Sparrows Point. P&BR received a Bronze Harriman Award in 1976 and a certificate for showing the most improvement in 1987 in the switching and terminal group.

1997/98 Environmental Report Table of Contents