PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — Documents show that U.S. Steel failed to test a Lake Michigan tributary for a potentially carcinogenic chemical after a spill from one of the company's plans in northwest Indiana.
The Chicago Tribune reports the incident was the second time this year that the company's Portage plant dumped chromium into Burns Waterway.
Details about the failed testing were in an inspection report posted online Tuesday by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
The records say plant managers told an inspector in November that they had opted not to test for hexavalent chromium, the most dangerous form of the metal.
Portage officials have said they're deciding whether to join a lawsuit against the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker that's planned by an environmental law center. Chicago officials also are also drafting a lawsuit.
