A quick tour of the 'worst place on earth' aka, BaoGang Steel Mill

I was lucky to be able to spend an hour or so wandering around BaoGang steel mill in Baotou, Inner Mongolia in 2011

My friend Lucy used to work there so had some contacts inside. BaoGang is considered to be the 'worst place on earth' by the BBC.

[joshuacheek]

I worked at a nickel and stainless steel foundry that was just as bad. They gave us protection to wear but it could only protect us from the little splashes or sparks. The alloys we made required two times the amount of heat compared to carbon steel (around 3200°f) for a good melt in and enough heat to transfer to molds(ingots and slugs). We had 30 to 40k pounds of it floating over head on outdated cranes that'd get stuck while we walked through ankle deep ash, and slag as sharp as glass. Our face shields warped and started melting while we used oxygen lances to stir the bottoms of the furnace or poured the metal. In the morning we took turns in the furnace to clean them because we could only stay in for a couple minutes before the heat came up through the souls of our boots and forced us to get out. We ran huge fans all night to cool them down but by 3am when we got back in while they would be easily over 200°f standing on bits of cooled slag. You could smell the rubber melting from our boots constantly. In less than a minute we would be drenched in sweat and it soaked through the layers of our "protective" suits. We dealt with lots of toxic carcinogens and after 4yrs I had to move on because I kept developing respiratory infections and a cough that only recently has subsided 5 yrs later. I now work in an air conditioned building doing half the work and get paid 3 times as much. I realize me and all my friends/coworkers from that place were treated poorly and paid just a few bucks over minimum wage to suffer and now we all will probably develop some type of cancer later down the road. But I feel blessed not to be one of the guys who got seriously burned. In my 4 yrs there 3 guys were burned reallybad and one guy pretty much lost his face. There were other pretty serious injuries that occurred there but the burns were the worst. The worst injury I had was being knocked out by a giant chain with links the size of my leg. I got hit in the temple and the lights went out for a sec. Anyway just thought I'd share. Remember kids don't work in foundries it's not worth it.

[bhartley]

Well, hearing "It's a Small World" playing in a steel mill is the most nightmarishly dystopian thing I've experienced in a while.

[thatsnodildo]

Just clocking in to work the live leak logo flashes above your head constantly

[Amogius]

”Why do These damn aliens hate my factory so much?”

My factorio base:

[LoneWolfZ]

the small world ride at disneyland has really turned dark since the last remodel.

[nulnoh]

Can you imagine this steelworker going on holiday in Disney land USA. and then hear this tune. Physical flinch.

[juztyn]

After a day or two of listening to "it's a small world" jumping into a vat of molten steel would seem like a viable option.

[MrNommerz]

I've delivered tools to places like this and the first time you go it is pretty mindboggling. Amazing in their sheer scale, honesty would be cool to do tours of. It's always an interesting feeling when you see miles of shipping containers or mountains of material. Like a monument that would take forever to build, but you realize there are thousands of them all over the world.

[youdoyouplayer]

I like how the siren sounded after it already started to pour...

Also, I’m convinced there are 5 employees running the whole operation.

[electrichellion]

WoW. This color or air probably a hint at what England looked like as the industrial revolution was up and going. That air is so dirty I’ll bet one can crunch grit between ones teeth.

[Rainaman-]

The only place where cigarete smoke might be actually healthier than the air

[realSethMeyers]

This video has fascinated me over the years, I keep coming back to it. The entire aesthetic of the place is something so distinct, and I wish I could find more content like this. The filming style and lack of added music are a big piece of the appeal.

[themadplumber]

As soon as i heard the small world music it felt like a scene from Silent Hill. Creepy as fuck

[Milkmans_Son]

Clear shots of their faces might not have been the best way to thank them for sneaking you in.

[Proer]

I used to make deliveries to steel mills in Detroit in the '70s, they pretty much looked the same as the one in this video only darker inside You can't imagine how hot those crucibles are even from a distance. They melt the steel with electricity and to check the molten steel a guy dressed in an fire retardant suit would open a small door on the gigantic furnace and take out a ladle full of the steel. There would be steel particles floating all over the outside, at times it looked like snow. The cars were covered with it and it would rust from the humidity in the air from the Detroit river leaving the cars looking like trash in just a few years. That place scared the hell out of me.

[Grunchy]

I worked in a steel mill, you never ever ever hang around anywhere near an elevated ladle. If it spills, the ground is suddenly covered in a racing flood of liquid fire. Everybody in the vicinity dies horribly.
It’s the most rudimentary form of safety: before something insanely dangerous happens, do you mind evacuating the area first, please?

[hulkthefuror]

This is the place that can kill a terminator.

[EnglishAddict]

I actually lived in this area for 4 years, whilst working as an English teacher. The steel work alone employs over 20 thousand people. Rare earth and coal is mined near here. The city is called Baotou. It is situated in Inner Mongolia - China. The 2015 movie 'BEHEMOTH' gives a vivid insight into the full scale of the industry and the side effects of the waste produced by it. The scale of the ground pollution is vast, making the area one of the most polluted places on the planet.

[dannybray]

I worked in a steel mill for 20 years. This is what they are all like! So appreciate anything you use made from steel!!

[Sbeve_One]

What blows my mind more is how the human body can breath in all that pollution and steel and keep on going for many years it’s all really horrifically beautiful