Vacuum degassing of liquid steel is one of many secondary-steelmaking practices that can be used by today's steelmakers. Secondary steelmaking is the processing of liquid steel after it has left the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) or the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and before the steel is poured into ingots or processed through a continuous caster. Vacuum degassing involves exposing liquid steel to a low absolute vacuum. The actual process vacuum needed depends on the goals of the steelmaker, but absolute vacuum levels below 1 Torr are common.