An exotic species (the American worker) prepares to change out the nozzle on a tundish on a continuous caster. The nozzles are synthetic sapphire, yet even that can only take liquid steel for a brief time before failing. Workers get a couple minutes to let them cool from brilliant white hot, then they have to change them and reheat the tundish for the next ladle of steel.

The location is Claymont Steel in Delaware, just announced to be sold for "re-development", which means the end of a lot of decently-paid jobs.

These guys must ensure liquid steel flows continuously from ladles from the arc furnace into the continuous caster. If the caster stops, people get pissed. Hopefully a caster will run 30 to 60 days straight, if not more.