Public deserves update on air standards
In 1873, Andrew Carnegie broke ground on which the world’s most efficient steel plant would rise. Two years later, the Edgar Thomson Works received its first order from the Pennsylvania Railroad — 2,000 steel rails — and the Braddock facility fast became a core site in the region’s steel- making supremacy.
The Edgar Thomson plant, however, is not a relic of the past. Today it is one of Allegheny County’s “toxic 10” most- polluting industrial sources, which contribute more than 70% of all air pollution in the county. The “E. T.” casts a very large shadow over life in Braddock, and its deleterious emissions are inhaled by upward of 90,000 people who live within 3 miles of the plant.
In November 2017, the Allegheny County Health Department — which assumes responsibility for air pollution control throughout the county — along with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, filed a joint Notice of Violation against U. S. Steel to address the company’s violations at Edgar Thomson. Nearly three years have passed and there has been no update for the public.
That is at the heart of the new petition issued recently to the ACHD by the Group Against Smog and Pollution. The group asks what is being done about U. S. Steel’s repeated failures to comply with county regulations. For example, have any fines been levied against the company? What equipment upgrades have been required by the EPA and the ACHD at the Edgar Thomson facility since 2017?
These questions, among many others, need to be answered by our public health officials. GASP argues that U. S. Steel has failed to take meaningful action to adhere to regulations, while public health officials — including the ACHD and the EPA — have allowed the company to continue violating the law.
Pittsburgh’s air quality is marked by high levels of particulate matter, which are tiny airborne particles of chemicals that cause heart and respiratory problems, and the Edgar Thomson facility is a repeat violator of these emission standards established by the EPA. According to EPA data, there have been “high priority violations” each of the past six quarters at the plant. This includes a June 17 incident in which “an opaque, reddish- brown plume” billowed from the mill’s stacks. High levels of sulfur dioxide were also detected near the Braddock facility a week later.
The GASP petition is asking the bare minimum: that public health officials communicate to the public. The ACHD claims that it prioritizes air quality, yet without transparency confidence erodes, especially as problems persist at U. S. Steel facilities and the industrial threats to public health continue.