County health officials pledge action against U.S. Steel for air pollution
Questioned by Allegheny County Council on their response to pollution following a Dec. 24 fire at the Clairton Coke Works, county health department officials said Wednesday that an enforcement action against U.S. Steel could come within a month.
County health department solicitor Michael Parker said they did not want to tip their hand on specifics, but, “We are definitely working on it.”
The enforcement action could come within “four weeks” and certainly under three months, Mr. Parker said. The action, which could consist of fines or other measures such as imposing conditions on permits, may be grouped with the regular quarterly enforcement actions the agency issues against U.S. Steel.
“It’s a large facility and there’s always violations,” Mr. Parker explained.
After the fire, the county’s air monitor in Liberty recorded sulfur dioxide levels above the federal standard on six days through Jan. 8, at which point the health department issued an air quality notice to the public. An additional exceedance of the standard was measured Feb. 4 by an air monitor in North Braddock.
“The exceedance this week was worthy of enforcement, but enforcement was coming anyway,” Mr. Parker said.
Officials discussed their plans for the enforcement action in response to questions from members of county council’s health and human services committee, which invited health department director Karen Hacker and her staff to respond to concerns about air quality over the last month.
County council members were just the latest elected officials to get in on the action, ahead of another hearing in front of state legislators Thursday. While the health department put out a
notice about the fire on Dec. 24, it did not warn the public about the air quality concerns until Jan. 8.
Prior to Jan. 4, U.S. Steel was unable to enter the building that caught fire and evaluate the damage, Dr. Hacker noted.
“It seems to me that between [Dec.] 24 and Jan. 4, that’s a lot of time to pass between us knowing something is wrong and notifying the public that there could be something wrong,” county Councilman Pat Catena said.
“We’ve learned that people want to know, and we’ve learned who the best people are to let them know,” Dr. Hacker said. The department
has begun putting information out through schools and talking to local elected officials.
Councilwoman Sue Means pressed Dr. Hacker on the effects of sulfur dioxide, asking whether it accumulates in the body.
“My understanding is it’s an exposure issue, once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Dr. Hacker said. “In other years [sulfur dioxide levels have] been worse than it is this year,” she added. “It’s usually random.”
Other council members applauded the department’s handling of the situation. Councilman Bob Macey said, “I think any criticism certainly was unwarranted, and certainly in my opinion
it was unfounded.”
Dr. Hacker also assured the committee that other air quality issues over the past week are unrelated to the coke plant fire, instead resulting from cold weather and warm weather occurring in short succession. That results in hot air sitting on top of cold air, called an inversion, which stops the cold air from dispersing.
That “captures all the pollution down below,” Dr. Hacker said.
High levels of small particulate pollution and badsmelling hydrogen sulfide over the weekend both resulted from the inversion trapping normal emissions, said Jim Kelly, the department’s deputy director for
environmental health.
One direct outcome of the inversion, officials said, may have been the sulfur dioxide exceedance at the North Braddock air monitor. U.S. Steel has been flaring at the Irvin Works, and that produces sulfur dioxide.
“We were under the assumption that it was so high [in altitude] that it could really diffuse, but because of the issues around the weather, the terrible inversions, we’re now terribly concerned about that,” Dr. Hacker said.
Broadly, she said, U.S. Steel has been more compliant than in the past, putting in place mitigation strategies before being asked by the health department, but
Mr. Kelly said, “I had to personally tell U.S. Steel that they needed to start working with the community.”
State lawmakers also hope to get more cooperation between the community and U.S. Steel, state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, said.
Several Democratic lawmakers who represent the affected Mon Valley communities are holding a hearing at noon Thursday in Clairton with Dr. Hacker and other health department officials appearing alongside representatives from U.S. Steel, union leaders, and health and environmental advocates.
The joint hearing of the state Senate and House Democratic policy committees is being held at the request of Mr.
Brewster and state Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport. It follows a public meeting and a health department hearing in January.
Mr. Brewster, who represents Clairton and many surrounding communities, said he did not expect the hearings to result in legislation.
“I think it’s procedure, you’ve got to have agreements between U.S. Steel, the Allegheny County Health Department, local elected officials, state elected officials, the Allegheny County emergency management director. Those are the things we hope to leave with tomorrow, that those things get fixed,” Mr. Brewster said Wednesday.