Safety is our highest priority at AK Steel, and our 2009 safety performance was about 8 times better than the steel industry average.

AK Steel actively participates in OSHA safety programs, and our outstanding safety performance has been recognized throughout the years by leading trade organizations and government agencies.

For the fifth consecutive year, AK Steel’s Ashland, Kentucky coke plant received the Max Eward Safety Award in 2009 from the American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute. The award recognized the men and women at the plant for operating the safest cokemaking facility in America. In fact, our employees at the plant worked the entire year of 2009 without any OSHA recordable injuries. That is an outstanding accomplishment, and the recognition marks the 12th time in the past 13 years that an AK Steel coke plant has received this award.

Our employees at Middletown Works, Zanesville Works and AK Tube in Walbridge, Ohio also received several safety awards from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Division of Safety and Hygiene in 2009. And, both of our AK Tube plants were recognized in 2009 by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International for their outstanding safety performance.

In addition, three AK Steel facilities have earned OSHA’s distinguished Star designation under the agency’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The OSHA VPP Star signifies that the plants’ employee safety programs go above and beyond OSHA requirements. Our Butler Works was the first steel plant in the nation to earn Star status in 2001. In 2002, our Rockport Works became the second steel plant in the country to receive the Star designation. And, in 2006, our AK Tube plant in Columbus, Indiana earned its VPP Star.

Of special note, AK Steel became the inaugural recipient of the National Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety Medal in 2000. Each year, this prestigious award recognizes a single business for demonstrating its strong commitment to the safety and health of its employees.