According to news reports this week, PennEnvironment and Clear Air Council plan to sue US Steel for Clean Air Act violations. The lawsuit will focus on the company’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-area facilities, including Clairton Coke Works, Irvin Steel Mill and Edgar Thomson Plant.
“For far too long, the Mon Valley Works has put residents’ health at risk,” said Ashleigh Deemer, PennEnvironment’s Western Pennsylvania Director, in a statement to media. “We’re sending a clear message to US Steel and all other polluters: We won’t let you run roughshod over cornerstone environmental laws and put our communities at risk.”
The statement said that the Clairton Coke Works continued to operate without key pollution controls following a fire at the plant on Dec. 24, 2018, and noted a study had found that asthma symptoms in children from the area have increased 36 percent since the fire. The statement also said that the Irvin and Edgar Thompson facilities have been burning uncleaned coke oven gas since the fire, resulting in pollution above permitted levels.
A spokesperson US Steel released a statement in response, saying, “US Steel is committed to continue working in full cooperation with relevant stakeholders, state and local government officials and the Allegheny County Health Department to achieve our common goal of protecting our shared environment and the jobs of thousands of skilled Mon Valley Works employees.”