Uses for
steel 14,15
Take your time
and look around you. Many important products that we use to make
our lives easier and better were made with steel and need coal
in order to be manufactured. The cars, electronics equipment,
buildings, railways, bridges and probably even the spoon that you
eat off of are made of steel; it is a fact that we should all be aware of but rarely stop to think about.
Construction
Steel is a basic building block and is very important
in the construction of bridges and buildings. Steel is used to strengthen
concrete, reinforce foundations and to make the pipes that carry water, gas, and other
liquids. Steel is also used to make the framework and roofs for
buildings like homes, schools, recreation centers and malls.
Photo of Yoshima Bridge in Japan
Cars,
trucks and other automobiles
After the construction industry, automobile companies are the
second biggest steel buyers in the world. Nearly every part of
a car is made with or has steel parts. Steel makes up close to
70% of the weight of a car. The body, engine, engine parts, and
exhaust system are all made from steel.
Everyday
Uses
Steel packaging is very common today. The cans that your Campbell's
soup and Chef Boyardee come in are made with tinplate steel.
Tinplate is steel that is coated with a thin layer of tin. The tube
that holds your mom's lipstick is most likely made with steel
as are the pots that are used to cook your dinner. If you paint your house or fence, you will find that
the containers holding the paint are also made of steel.
"Kitchen appliances made with steel and other products."
Courtesy of the Mining Association of BC
Stainless
Steel
Stainless steel is very stable and doesn’t need to be coated
with any other material. It is healthy and doesn’t change
the taste or the colour of the food that it touches. Stainless steel
is used to make many kitchen utensils like knives and forks, plates,
pans and casserole dishes. Things that are made with stainless
steel are very easy to keep clean, and they resist water and other
detergents.
Communication
Special steel parts are needed in all types of electronic
equipment. These parts help us to communicate through
our computers, TVs, satellites and telecommunications systems.
Energy
and Health
The energy industry uses special steel equipment to keep our environment safe. Steel can
stand up to very tough challenges, staying strong against dangerous
chemicals, high temperatures and heavy weight.
Because stainless
steel is very stable and safe it is used to make artificial hips,
knees, surgical screws and etc. Stainless steel is also
used to make surgical tools because it does
not effect human tissue.
"Computer control room at a BC minesite."
Courtesy of the Mining Association of BC
The Eiffel
Tower, your family car, and paper clips are all made from steel.
Now that we know all about coal, where it goes and what it is
used for we can begin to see a much bigger picture. Our BC coal
doesn’t just disappear when it leaves Canadian ports, it
travels around the world in a big circle, stopping in countries
like Japan and eventually coming back to Canada. We may not see the black lumps of coal that left our
province several months before, but every time we cook a meal,
type on our computers and even put on lipstick we are making use
of this mineral.
By looking
at the world and the way that people live their lives, we can
see how each and every one of us is responsible for the millions
of tonnes of coal that are mined every year.
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