Recovery from gas holder explosion at Nagoya Works

The state of the recovery from the above accident as of today is as follows.

Regarding the blast furnace operation， we obtained the confirmation of the authorities concerned on September 13 that the proposed use of BOF (converter) gasholder for blast furnace gas satisfied the technical standards under the Gas Industry Law. Accordingly， we resumed the two-blast-furnace operation on September 17 paying close attention to the assurance of safety and accident prevention.

We are endeavoring to restore the normal blast furnace operation， carefully adjusting the gas balance in Nagoya Works and always giving top priority to safety and accident prevention. Although further confirmation is needed， the production of pig iron， about which we previously said that 90% would be restored by the end of September， is likely to be moved up considerably. As a result， pig iron production losses up to December are also expected to be much smaller than initially thought.

The rolling processes are also being operated with careful attention to the maintenance of gas balance. By now， all lines are more or less smoothly functioning.

As for products delivery， the entire company will devote effort to minimize the effects of the accident to our customers. To our regret， however， the low pig iron output during the several days following the accident is making the matter challenging. Each line is increasing production to the extent possible under the current feed supply. Despite emergency measures so far taken such as diverting production to our other steelworks while taking inventory conditions into account， we are still compelled to request adjustments in lead-time to our customers on a case-by-case basis. We deeply regret the great inconvenience caused them by this situation.

We request kind understanding and cooperation of our customers and those concerned.



Contact about this matter:

Public Relations Center
General Administration Division
Nippon Steel Corporation
Phone: +81-3-3275-5021 and -5023