A coalition of environmental groups has prevailed in a federal lawsuit asserting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to regulate pollution from coke ovens around the country, including the Clairton Coke Works.
On a day when the North Braddock air monitor measured elevated sulfur dioxide levels in the Monongahela Valley, the Allegheny County Health Department also announced that it was investigating a June 17 emissions plume from the U.S. Steel Corp.'s Edgar Thomson Works.
A lot has happened since the Allegheny County Health Department finalized a settlement agreement with U.S. Steel over ongoing emissions issues at its Mon Valley Works this past summer.
Environmental concerns about heavy industry and natural gas drilling have stirred intense debate around Pittsburgh. A coalition of local unions and manufacturing companies has launched a new effort to advocate for "traditional and manufacturing industries."
The Allegheny County Health Department and U.S. Steel recently reached a settlement over air pollution violations at the Clairton Coke Works, but Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, isn't satisfied with it.
The Allegheny County Health Department has slapped U.S. Steel with $743,625 in fines for pollution violations at its Clairton Coke Works facility, the agency announced Friday.
Kara Holsopple and Kristina Marusic discuss the settlement of a class action lawsuit against U.S. Steel and how the Christmas temperature inversion that made Pittsburgh's air smell like "rotten eggs, sewer backup, burning plastic and hospital waste."
The Allegheny County Health Department has announced a new effort to fight weather-related air pollution events. The move follows six consecutive December days of small particle pollution exceedances downwind of U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, which were linked to temperature inversions in the Mon Valley.
Last Christmas Eve, a sprinkler pipe at a United States Steel Corp. plant south of Pittsburgh fell from the ceiling in a building at the 120-year-old complex. Within minutes, an area the size of a football field was engulfed in flame.
While the Ohio River Valley, long home to the coal and steel industries, is no stranger to air pollution, the region's natural gas boom and burgeoning petrochemical industry threaten to erase the gains of recent decades.
U.S. Steel has announced it aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2030. The plan relies in large part on upgrades at two large facilities.
US Steel reported releases of sulfur dioxide to local regulators after a Christmas Eve fire knocked out pollution controls. But two environmental groups said the company also should have reported releases of other hazardous pollutants.
Four of the fellows who participated in the program this year will discuss their ongoing research, activism, and experiences with publishing their ideas in the public sphere.
With job loss and stifled development in the renewable energy sector, economists, politicians, and advocates say policy action is necessary to stay on track.
