News

Members of a citizens group are worried that emissions from the Erie Coke plant are harmful. They want the public to join them in speaking out against the company. The group believes there's no better time to take a stand against the plant. Erie Coke's operating permit has expired and the plant is applying for a new permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.(DEP)

A federal judge rejected Tonawanda Coke’s efforts to limit evidence of its emissions when it appears in court Friday, its second legal defeat in less than a week. In ruling against the company, U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny gave federal prosecutors the go-ahead to present proof of what they claim is an environmental threat to the community around the River Road plant. The company, as part of its motion for a streamlined hearing, offered to “stipulate” to violations at the plant. But prosecutors rejected the offer. “It is not for Tonawanda Coke to decide how the government will present... Read More

Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab is expanding the focus of its Breathe Cam network of air pollution-capturing cameras to include three U.S. Steel Corp. facilities in the Mon Valley: the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, the Irvin Plant in West Mifflin and its coke works in Clairton. The cameras, activated Tuesday, will provide 24-hour-a-day monitoring of visible air pollution, and give residents and government agencies an additional way to document smoke, fugitive emissions and other visible air pollution. Read the full article from the Post Gazette

Winters was distraught when she found out about the plant and its long history of Clean Air Act violations. She worried about her own declining respiratory health, but was even more concerned about the impact the air might have on her daughter’s young lungs. But then, in 2016, the Shenango plant shut down following several years of escalating community protest. It wasn’t long before Winters was able to stop taking her daily asthma medication altogether. She said her respiratory health has steadily improved in the last two years—and she’s not alone… Members of the community group, including Dawn Winters, urged... Read More

Those especially vulnerable to pollution, such as children and the elderly, should stay indoors on high-pollution days. But the findings also give activists more ammunition in their fight for tougher laws and stronger enforcement, provide regulators with more reason to do their jobs effectively and give image-conscious cities an additional reason to campaign for clean air.  Long after most of the steel mills have gone silent, Pittsburgh continues to struggle with poor air quality, and some have demanded that the Allegheny County Health Department up its game.  The issue must be on the front burner here. Pittsburgh’s universities attract and... Read More