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While it is economically devastating news for the Detroit area, it’s good news environmentally for residents on both sides of the border that U.S. Steel Corp. has announced it will “indefinitely” shut down all steel making operations at its Great Lakes Works facility on Zug Island and along the riverfront in Ecorse.

It could also potentially mean the end of the Windsor Hum, the low rumbling sound that has plagued Windsor’s west end for years and which some people believe originates at a blast furnace on Zug Island.

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“The company expects to begin idling the iron and steelmaking facilities on or around April 1, 2020, and the Hot Strip Mill rolling facility before the end of 2020,” said U.S. Steel in a press release.

The company is calling it a business decision and — just days before Christmas — indicated it will hand out over 1,500 layoff notices to workers at its Detroit-area operations, “although we anticipate the final number of employees who will be impacted by the idling will be lower.”