Free Republic

A spill at a U.S. Steel plant in northern Indiana that sent wastewater containing a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary was apparently caused by a pipe failure, the steelmaker said Wednesday. Tuesday’s spill of an unknown amount of wastewater led to the closure of two beach areas at the scenic Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and prompted a local water utility to stop drawing water from the lake out of “an abundance of caution,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. U.S. Steel said a preliminary investigation shows an expansion joint failed Tuesday in a pipe at its Portage,...

Oak Forest teen rescues boy at Ind. dunes July 10, 2004 BY MARY FOX As others watched, a 19-year-old from Oak Forest ran into the water at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, swam out about 150 to 200 feet into Lake Michigan and saved the life of a struggling teenager. "I was seeing him wave his arms, and everyone was just looking at him," Dave Garbe said of the 15-year-old boy, who was on an outing Thursday with others from the Mercy Home for Boys in Chicago. The boy was in the water at the park's Kemil Beach in Beverly Shores,...