Stelco to blow up a blast furnace this weekend

STELCO NEWS RELEASE

************************* Explosion to be heard throughout Hamilton and area

HAMILTON, ON, Sept. 1 - Stelco Inc. (TSX:STE) announced today that it will demolish its D Blast Furnace using explosives on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at about 11 a.m. local time.

The approximately 250-foot-high D Blast Furnace, located in the industrial north end of Hamilton, was built in the early 1950s and has been idle since 2000.

The project will be conducted by Triple M Demolition, an independent contractor with experience in projects of this nature.

This experience includes the demolition of buildings, manufacturing and other facilities for companies like Algoma Steel, Inco, National Steel Car and Stelco itself. Explosive demolition is faster and exposes workers to less risk than other procedures.

The contractor and others have advised that a Sunday is the least disruptive day of the week on which to conduct this activity. Stelco is working closely with the City of Hamilton to ensure that the process complies with all necessary requirements.

Stelco is also providing advance notice of the demolition to neighbours, community groups and all levels of government. The blast will generate an explosion that might be heard throughout the City of Hamilton and parts of the City of Burlington.

In the interest of public safety a 1,000-foot perimeter from the centre of the D Blast Furnace will be established.

The area inside the perimeter consists almost entirely of Stelco property.

No residential areas are affected and no evacuation from the surrounding area is required.

Roads within the perimeter are on Stelco property. In the interest of safety, no parking will be allowed within the area on the day before the demolition.

No public access to the area will be allowed on the day of the demolition.

The Stelco-owned roads within the perimeter will be closed, posted and staffed on that day.

Anyone at the outer edge of that area at the time of the explosion is advised to wear hearing protection as the noise is expected to be loudest within the safety perimeter. Scrap metal resulting from the demolition will be used by Stelco as raw material.

Any waste materials will be shipped out of the area by the Company in compliance with environmental requirements. Should weather conditions force a postponement, the demolition will take place at about 10 a.m. on Monday, September 6.

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