Allied Metal Co.

The Allied Metal Company is located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest smelters of aluminum in the world. The facility also alloys zinc. The company is primarily engaged with the supply of material to the appliance, automotive, electronics, furniture, hardware, housewares, sporting goods and toy industries.

The company was founded in 1953. Since that time, it has demonstrated a steady growth trend. The company has expanded to operate facilities in Illinois and Tennessee.

Facilities

The primary aluminum ingot production facility is at 2059 S. Canal Street in Chicago. This facility is located within a 40,000-square-foot building.

Across the street from 2059 South Canal Street, Allied Metal Company operates a 20,000-square-foot facility for zinc ingot production.

At 4528 W. Division Street in Chicago, Allied Metal Company operates a facility for the production of aluminum ingots and a shipping and receiving hub. This facility also contains scrap metal processing equipment and a trailer yard that houses Allied Metal's unique "mobile furnace" - a trailer-mounted crucible for the transport of molten metal.

At 3440 Lightfoot Mill Road in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Allied Metal Company operates a zinc production facility with three sweat furnaces, a 240,000-pound zinc furnace and three 32,000-pound zinc kettles.

Aluminum Smelting

Allied Metal Company has the capability of producing aluminum alloys in ingot, molten and sow form. Aluminum is processed from a raw material called alumina, which is commonly produced from the mineral bauxite in Australia. Allied's electrolysis process calls for a molten bath of aluminum to undergo electrolysis, which results in the accretion of pure aluminum on the cathode. This method is highly toxic and results in an exhaust composed of carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride, which is corrosive to glass and organic material. There are serious hazardous for those who work in close proximity to the toxic fumes generated by the smelting process.

Asbestos and Aluminum Plants

For most of the 1900s, whenever flame or extreme heat was a concern, various forms of asbestos were chosen as an insulator. Facilities like Allied Metal Company, as a result, were often built with materials containing asbestos. Resistance to electrical current is perhaps a less well-known property of various types of asbestos. Given the requirement for large amounts of electricity when smelting aluminum, asbestos, therefore, appeared not only in factory buildings, but also in motors and machinery in the plant. Asbestos' resistance to caustic chemicals also meant it was useful in lab equipment and bench tops. The ironic thing with asbestos is that while it does a great job of guarding against the harm associated with high heat or flames - it is one of the most effective insulators known and has been used for this purpose since ancient times - it also poses significant risks to people's health.

Generally, chrysotile was the variety of asbestos utilized. Despite scientific proof to the contrary, for a number of years chrysotile was described by corporations as "environmentally friendly". Although it was prohibited from use as a construction material in the 1970s, chrysotile, which was often combined with amphibole asbestos and formed into asbestos transite, was used for decades in aluminum plants across the country.

Asbestos transite displayed qualities similar to cement; it could be laminated, sprayed onto pipes and ductwork and molded into working surfaces. As long as it remained solid, this form of asbestos offered little danger. As this transite grows older and become prone to becoming powdery, however, lethal, tiny particles are able to flake off into the air. That is, such asbestos is friable, or able to be reduced to powder by hand pressure alone.

Why Is Friable Asbestos a Problem?

Friable asbestos is hazardous since in this condition the fibers can be readily released in the atmosphere. Medical conditions such as cancer and asbestosis can result from the inhalation of asbestos. Mesothelioma, a rare and all too often deadly cancer of the mesothelium (the lining between the lungs and the chest cavity), is strongly linked with asbestos exposure. Swallowing asbestos fibers, which happens if the microscopic fibers become airborne and settle on food or in beverages, can be the cause of pericardial or peritoneal mesothelioma.

During the past twenty years medical researchers have uncovered a lot concerning the risks associated with being exposed to asbestos, and as a result there are stringent rules controlling its use. However, when plants such as Allied Metal Company were built, asbestos was more prevalent. Any asbestos remaining from that time can yet pose a health hazard if people are not careful during demolition and remodeling projects.

The Lurking Danger of Asbestos

Asbestos cancer, unlike typical job-related injuries, which are readily observed and known about soon after the causing incident, may take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to manifest. With such a long time between exposure to asbestos and the manifestation of symptoms, the worker may not connect the current health problem with work he or she did 10 or more years ago. So, it is vital for everyone who worked in or resided around sites like Allied Metal Company to tell their health care professionals about the possibility of exposure to asbestos. Furthermore, spouses of these people are also at risk, as unless effective decontamination protocols, like the use of on-site uniforms and showers, were enforced, it was common for personnel to bring particles of asbestos on their skin, in their hair, or on their clothes.

Sources

Allied Metal Company -Facilities
http://www.alliedmetalcompany.com/facilities.htm

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) - Laboratories and Shops
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/ASB/acmimages3.html

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Disposal
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/HAZEXCEPTIONS/a.html