A state grant is paying for the demolition of an Ohio building that once housed the largest independently owned steel operation in the country, Youngstown Sheet & Tube.

According to the Business Journal Daily, the dismantling of the administration building for the company's Brier Hill works has begun following removal of asbestos from the interior walls of the structure, which was built in 1920. The hazardous mineral was commonly used in building materials installed over the years until the building shut down in the 1970s. Asbestos exposure has since been linked to a number of diseases including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

After the steel company stopped using the building, it was a warehouse for Gasser Chair Company until the city acquired the site in a property swap with Gasser. That led to an agreement with a nearby company, V&M Star, which will use the land to expand the entrance to its new USD 650 million rolling mill. Funding for the demolition came through a state grant to the city and totaled about USD 630,000.

V&M recently broke ground on its new plant, which will add 350 full time employees as well as about 400 temporary construction jobs. The mill will produce small diameter, seamless piping used in the natural gas exploration market.

(Sourced from www.mesorc.com)