Angelos, Beth Steel continue negotiations

Bethlehem Steel Corp. and Peter G. Angelos continued negotiations yesterday on environmental issues that constitute the last barrier to Angelos' $26 million purchase of the company's Sparrows Point shipyard.

"While we're making progress, we still haven't resolved the environmental issues of soil and ground-water contamination," Angelos said late yesterday.

Bethlehem Steel agreed with federal regulators in February on a consent decree to find and correct a broad range of environmental problems at Sparrows Point. Angelos wants a more thorough investigation than the decree requires.

The sale was scheduled to close June 30, but Bethlehem extended the deadline to Monday. The yard will be closed if it isn't sold.

On Tuesday, Bethlehem Chairman and Chief Executive Curtis H. "Hank" Barnette hinted at flexibility. "We're looking at a deadline that will be determined by when we can reach an agreement on all the particular terms," he said.

The shipyard, which employed up to 900 workers in recent months, now has about 50 because Bethlehem did not seek work beyond June.

Pub Date: 7/12/97