The medical oxygen breathed by COVID-19 patients in intensive care actually originates at the Port Kembla steelworks.
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Industrial gas company Coregas has what is known as an air separation unit within the steelworks, on the northern side of Allans Creek.
The plant was built by BlueScope and was run by them for some time before it was handed over to Coregas, who leases the site.
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The steelworks creates compressed air to help power the blast furnace and in the creation of electricity. But BlueScope's head of Australian operations John Nowlan said they make more air than they need and some of it is sold to Coregas.
"What we're doing to compress it, what's driving that is steam, which is generated by the off gases that come from the blast furnace and the coke oven," Mr Nowlan said.
"They're our indigenous gases that we generate from our processes. We burn them in boilers to make steam then we compress air for the cryogenic gas plant, or we produce blast for the blast furnace or we produce electricity."
Coregas takes the compressed air from BlueScope and, through a cyrogenic process where it is chilled, the oxygen, nitrogen and argon in the air is separated.
Then the liquefied gas is sold to a range of industries - BlueScope itself buys back oxygen to use in the steelmaking process.
Other users of oxygen are the hospitals in NSW and elsewhere in Australia.
"Coregas produces medical oxygen that is used to supply hospitals across Australia," a Coregas spokeswoman said.
"A majority of the medical oxygen supplied by Coregas is produced at Port Kembla however we also have another ASU facility in Mackay.
"This oxygen is then distributed via compressed gas cylinders or via bulk cryogenic installations on site at hospitals and supplied to patients via pipework installations."
Earlier this year, when the NSW government was considering business lockdowns due to COVID, the steelworks' role in creating medical oxygen was put forward as one of the reasons it should remain in operation.
"We put together about 10 points as to why the plant should keep running and that was one of the 10," Mr Nowlan said.
"The first ones were that we felt like we could do it safely, that we could keep people separated, we could put practices in place and do it safely.
"Also, shutting down these processes, that's not a minor issue. Shutting down the blast furnace and restarting it from cold is a pretty significant issue.
"It's not impossible but there's a lot of risk and a lot of cost."
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
