Why Chinese steel in US chemical and power plants scares me more than Chinese toys or dogfood

[Karmageddon]

The least of our worries

http://www.dubyad40.com/html/clyde/2007/08/least-of-our-worries.html

Recently, a lot of focus has been placed upon goods coming from China because they pose serious health risks for both humans and animals. This problem exists because of lackadaisical quality control, inexperience and outright indifference by Chinese manufacturers. Compound that with an import system that does little to no inspection, as well as a Chinese government that places little value on human life, and it becomes a recipe for destruction.

While lead based paint on toys or seafood laced with antibiotics are of great concern, they could only be the tip of the iceberg and something far more sinister could be lying just below the surface.

Evidence is mounting that cheaply made goods from China do not meet the levels of safety that the American people expect and deserve. With that in mind, the question becomes a matter of not if a catastrophic event will occur, but when and how bad.

In 2002, this country imported about 10,000 tons of circular standard and structural pipe from China. This material is generally used in conveyance of water, steam and gas, as well as structural construction and fencing. In 2006, that number grew to 690,000 tons, an increase of 6,800%. And it gets worse when you consider that in the first quarter of this year that tonnage has grown by an additional 21%. This is approximately 60% of all imported products of this type.

The United States steel industry has lost hundreds of jobs and thousands more are in peril. Once a mainstay of American economics, the steel industry is on the verge of total collapse and the ever increasing importation of cheap Chinese steel products can only accelerate its demise. Trouble is, as devastating as that would be to our nation, even economic concerns pale in comparison to the dangers posed by these products being used in this country.

For example, below are two pictures of a ruptured piece of pipe that was installed in the Huadian Datong Power Station in the Qinghai Province of China.





From what is being reported, this piece of pipe is 18" in diameter and has a wall thickness of approximately 1 3/4". (455.62x43.01 mm) It had only been in service a short time when the failure happened during a test phase, killing at least three and possibly injuring dozens more with second and third degree burns. The actual numbers are unknown because the Chinese government has not been forthcoming with a confirmed total.

What makes this rupture so special are the circumstances under which it was produced and procured. The material shown in these pictures is supposed to be a type called A335 P91, which is used in very high pressure and high temperature applications. But many experts in this country are unsure if it is. Most experts think that the actual material grade will never be known because the Chinese government has taken possession and has yet to report any details.

Details from the action alert email I received is that the material was manufactured by Fushun Steel Mill in the Liaoning Province of China, pipe piercing and extending was performed by Chende Pipe Factory in the Jiansu Province, and surface finishing was done by Sumitu Special Steel Co Ltd, also in the Jiansu Province.

Here's the truly scary part of this whole ordeal: in no way had this material ever left China during the manufacturing process; yet, this pipe was stamped with one of the following fake markings: SMANT, USA - Hydratic, USA - WT, USA or Sumito, Japan. In effect, this material was sold as if it were a product of the United States even though there were no American entities involved with its manufacture.

When steel mills produce pipe, the amount of that pipe being produced is determined by size and type. Mill runs could range from a few hundred feet for very large products to thousands of feet for smaller sizes. Even though this accident happened in China, many believe that some of this particular mill run has made it into the American marketplace.

Even if this particular pipe run has not made it to American shores that does not mean other substandard material hasn't. More than likely, material from China is being used at this time in any number of ways.

What industries do not use metal of some type? Chemical refineries, water treatment and waste water facilities, natural gas/petroleum tank farms and pipelines are all susceptible to having these products installed as integral parts of their production and distribution systems. When you include other areas where steel is being used (buildings, railroads, bridges, and the automotive industry), one must wonder when and to what magnitude a crisis will happen.

The Chinese government has bolstered its steel industry through currency manipulation and subsidized capacity expansion and export rebate programs to the detriment of American companies. These efforts by the Chinese have made it impossible for American companies to compete because the cost of raw materials exceeds what the Chinese are charging for a finished product. We are, therefore, losing our capacity to manufacture these materials and doing so at an alarming rate. One might think that with quality becoming a concern the United States government would do something about it, but it isn't.

In years past, whenever a country threatened the stability of an American industry, the government would step in and give parity through tariffs and by setting import quotas. However, the Bush administration has repeatedly refused to stand up to the Chinese government on steel imports. Despite a recommendation from U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to enact tariffs and quotas on steel pipe coming from China, George W. Bush refused, citing the recommendation as ineffective because other nations would fill the gap.

This is pure fantasy because manufacturers in other countries have pretty much the same standards of practice as the United States does. It is only China that is committing these scurrilous business practices.

Now does this mean all steel products coming from China are defective? No. Neither does it mean that all U.S. steel is superior. The one thing that is known as fact is that American companies have much better quality control and traceability systems in place.

What is not as well known is that because of quality concerns, the Chinese government will not allow Chinese made goods to be used in critical areas of their power plants. Hence, you have the scenario that was presented above. So if the Chinese government is concerned enough to place a ban on Chinese goods, shouldn't we?

(About the author)

I hold five certifications in nondestructive testing of welded pipe components used in the petro/chem. and power generation industry, and have worked in the petro/chem. and power generation industry for over 17 years. While I have rudimentary training in metallurgy I am not in any way an expert nor am I trying to present myself as something I am not. I am only a concerned citizen that had access to information most people didn't.

Kenneth Bolles



( Article posted in full with permission of the people at dubyaD40.com )

[Ezlivin]

1. You may be buying parts of the World Trade Center

Baosteel Group, the nation's largest steel firm, has purchased 50,000 tons of the scrap steel from "Ground Zero," the ruins of the September 11 terrorist attack, at no more than US$120 each ton, according to yesterday's Beijing Youth Daily.

snip

Another shipment of 10,000 tons of scrap from the WTC arrived in India earlier this month, reported Shanghai Morning Post. The metal will be melted down and recycled into kitchenware and other household items, the paper said.

India bought its lot at US$120 per ton from the New Jersey scrap processor Metal Management, which purchased 40,000 tons of the debris at an auction held by the New York City government. Dealers estimated that the WTC disaster created more than 300,000 tons of scrap metal.Source

Too bad that the steel was not kept for a proper investigation. If you grow tired of hearing of "9/11 conspiracies" you can only blame the authorities for not securing the crime scene and doing a full and thorough investigation.

And to think: The utensils you eat your next meal with may have been made from WTC steel.

[Canuckistanian]

2. That's a good point

Because of the massive pricing advantage Chinese steel manufacturers have, designers have no choice but to use them.

But rather than banning Chinese-made steel, which would present many economic problems, utilities and government agencies should be promoting aggressive, traceable quality control protocols and reports.

The author makes an excellent point here. Although we're not now seeing obvious catastrophic failures on Chinese made products, those failure may become apparent as pipes and other structures start failing well before their predicted life span.

[Karmageddon]

6. That's the scary part. Esp with them fraudulently stamping the steel as made in US.

Who knows where that steel is showing up. What will they make the new bridge in Minneapolis out of? What about the next generation of power plants, or nuke plants? How loud will they cry TERROR when a chemical plant fails in Newark, or we see "the smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud" over someplace like central Ohio because of something like this.

(yeah, I'm being overly melodramatic. But that kind of thing has worked for the neo-cons and fox news all these years, so what the hell?)

I think you're correct in stating that the author's purpose is not to ban Chinese (or any other country's) steel. Just that we need to monitor and enforce standards and regulations to make sure that the products we're buying (whether steel, or toys, or pet food) meet the specifications and minimum safety standards for it's intended use.

[Sirveri]

13. Nuclear Steel.

Nuclear grade steel components are tested via radiography for pipe wall thickness and defects. While something like this could get through in new construction there is a very high probability it would be caught before initial criticality at a new construction. Finally if such an event were to occur you wouldn't see a 'mushroom cloud' because it isn't possible for a nuclear power plant to cause a nuclear detonation as the physics involved are completely differant. Worst case scenario is a 3 mile island similar scenario, however a pipe rupture is more easily identified as a loss of coolant casualty than what occured at 3MI.

[PATRICK]

3. The global fix

I was very curious when the United Steel Workers union head, trying to work cooperatively with management, got a top invite to the Bilberberger meeting just before Bush swung into action. Other things showed a very public hand in conciliating, perhaps triangulating, the interests of steel, US workers and global trade agreements in a way to benefit the Bush administration with unions. Likewise the Teamsters seemed to be politically interested in deals that would include them backing the Alaskan purchase. If EVER Bush intended to be cognizant of these alliances or possibilities or the interest of the US it waned- as did any interest in helping the Israel/Palestinian situation or actually dealing with the war on terror. From the lackadaisical to outright failures which precipitated disappointments that made the unions useless on that one way street he finally simply sold them out. That began before 9/11 and the drawn out battle, the relentless quest for the Alaskan refuge, revealed that the gestures were idle and only tools for that purpose.

Stiff arm America, all potential political allies(a king doesn't brook dependence), and ruin everyone everywhere by such anti-American absurdities as noted above. This is surely the City of Hell model for governance where the betrayed, the compromisers, the greedy, all work to make this such a grisly, self-defeating, deadly show. There is no agreement, treaty, interest, rationale or anything on paper or in the head that has any sense dealing with this administration which thinks all claims in the universe other than its fraudulent own are illegitimate and exist only at the pleasure of the monarch and his appointed stooges. Continuing to believe that unions law or human civilization can co-exist with those people and their treacherous policies will remake this world into the mockery of what they still pretend to be. Like the union that promises to support both the "fine" GOP and Dem nominees equally in 2008. Shafted by one, ignored and later shafted by the other in the model of the defiant Great One who got away with murder.

[arikara]

15. Since when are union leaders

...supposed to go bilderberging with the corporate heads and gov't? I'd have to say that the union was infiltrated in a big way. How unfortunate for the workers, its obvious they were sold out by their very leadership.

[PATRICK]

18. I think they tried the Clinton route

and with Bush that was a complete dead end. Maybe it is just as well it was quickly snuffed so the reality hits sooner. Bi-partisanship, consensus, positive relationship with the corporate world...it has been absurdly matched to the Bush extreme, defined by betrayal and old time tyranny. The bland gloss and pretense of pragamtic cooperation HAS become part of the treason and not faithful to its own priorities.

[Dr.Phool]

4. K&R

Last week, I took a trip back to Cleveland, and visited my old employer, the former LTV Steel (now Mittal). The place was a ghost town. I saw a couple of train crews I used to work with, but no steelworkers. There used to be thousands.

I remember back in the late '60s and early '70s, the American auto industry was buying a lot of cheap imported steel from Japan. Cars would literally rust in half in a few years. Who knows what kind of shit the Chinese are pedaling.

[liberal N proud]

5. More of getting what you pay for

If you buy it cheap from China you can expect it to be cheap in quality as well.

[madrchsod]

7. former steel worker that knows all to well what the chinese

did to the american steel industry. of course neither party put up a fight to do anything about the chinese government dumping steel into the usa. every time my former employer tried to restart it`s production in ingots the chinese would cut their prices per ton..we could out produce the chinese because of our capacity but we could`t compete with their dumping

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. I wouldn't be suprised if the Chinese picked up that spent steel from a Cherynobyl plant.

[Gregorian]

9. China's learning curve.

This is incredible. I'm finding this news hard to believe. It shows us the darker side of the Chinese manufacturing. Here's how I see it. Our great demand for their goods overrides much of an ability to change this situation. I see this as the same learning curve American manufacturing went through. Only it took America a century to do. It's going to take China a decade. And that is because WE are going to give THEM our hard earned experience. This is the part that I've been the most afraid of. The part where suddenly their quality of manufacturing is at the level ours was at. And at that point, they're off and running into the sunset. So what if their cat food killed my beloved cat. I'm still in mourning. And meanwhile people are going to die. It's all in a corporate learning curve. Our businessmen are over there right now. I know some. Teaching them how to lay up carbon fiber molds. Doin g so with the knowledge that we gained from the decades of research now being taught in our universities. We're giving it away. For free.

So this steel manufacturing quality control will also become part of their manufacturing process. We'll run over there and show them how to avoid inclusions in their steels.

[OneBlueSky]

10. I've read that the U.S. won't stand up to China because of the amount of U.S debt . . .

and U.S. dollars that country holds . . . supposedly, they could force the collapse of the dollar and bring this country to its knees if they wanted to . . . anyone know enough about economics (I don't) to confirm/rebut this assertion? . . .

[TrogL]

12. Pretty much nailed it

Chinese credit is the only thing keeping the US economy alive at the moment.

If they call in their markers, it's all over.

[hedgehog]

11. My husband and his colleagues commented this week that they

assume that there is no such thing as a heat treated bolt any more. (A heat treated bolt will have a different strength and will give warning by stretching before breaking). Once a bolt, pipe or beam enters the distribution system, it's just about impossible to track.

[sarcasmo]

14. China is giving us a slow death and has been planned for quite some time.

Seventy five percent of everything we buy is from China. They owe most of the Government loans. Now they sell us stuff that kills us and our pets.

[1776Forever]

16. You got it - I remember Nikita Khrushchev's quote -

“I once said, "We will bury you," and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.” - He should have said the lack of your working class - shame on the greed in this country that are allowing the Chinese to do such harm to our people!:hide:

[FogerRox]

17. Entirely symptomatic of the US Empire past apogee, & the Chinese Empire in ascendancy