Coking? Make that choking.

On April 30, 2014 the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) will present its Consent Agreement with Shenango Coke Works at a public meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Avalon Borough Building. 

On April 8, 2014, the Allegheny County Health Department reached a consent agreement with Shenango Coke Works. The agreement aims to curb the facility's persistent, illegal, toxic emissions. Over more than three decades, the Neville Island plant has consistently violated air quality regulations despite numerous similar agreements established in the past. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlines the litany of agreements and fines levied over the years. 

Despite past corrective actions, Shenango violated air quality standards on 330 out of 432 days between July 26, 2012 and September 30, 2013. The health consequences of the company's pollution are severe. In March 2014, a group of 36 environmental organizations (including PennFuture), local businesses, and residents delivered a letter to the Allegheny County Health Department asking for specific actions to protect the health of residents living in Shenango's shadow. The letter cited a Pennsylvania Department of Health finding that "children in the Northgate School District, downwind of Shenango, have the highest incidence of asthma in the state - more than double the state average." The health problems are not limited to asthma. The EPA points out that coke oven emissions can lead to digestive problems and, yes, cancer.  

Will the 2014 agreement bring the air quality improvements promised? Doubtful. PennFuture has been reviewing the agreement and we have serious concerns about the lack of objective standards included, which would ensure that the end result is healthy air. Additionally, without more transparency regarding how the penalty was calculated, it is also possible that this agreement will fall short, simply enabling the company to pay-to-pollute rather than clean up its act. 

Clear your throat, then speak up, on April 30. Community members are encouraged to attend and to ask questions. Please join us and let the County know that an agreement is only the beginning. Shenango must stop polluting the air we breathe.

Valessa Souter-Kline is western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @ValessaSK.

Toxic overload

As Allegheny County air quality monitors edged into the red, unhealthy zone on Tuesday, the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and members of a multi-group collaborative (including PennFuture) prepared for a press teleconference about air pollution. The teleconference was aimed at stopping Shenango's Neville Island Coke Works from continuing to dump toxic chemicals into the air. The facility is one of the region's biggest polluters and, thus far, efforts to hold the plant responsible for its illegal emissions have failed to protect the many residents who live in Ben Avon, Avalon, Bellevue, Emsworth and beyond.

Source: www.airnow.gov

Coke oven emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes coke oven emissions as "among the most toxic of all air pollutants." The plants dump known carcinogens into the air along with unhealthy particle pollution that can lead to asthma and other severe health problems.

Enough is enough. 

Shenango Coke Works violated air quality regulations on 330 of the last 432 days. On February 6, GASP issued Shenango a 60-day notice of intent to sue under the Clean Air Act.

The notice, along with the teleconference and press release issued today, make it clear that citizens and environmental organizations won't sit back while pollution prevention laws are broken and the air we breathe makes Allegheny County residents sick.

Valessa Souter-Kline is western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture, based in Pittsburgh.