The Allegheny County Health Department issued the fines for visible emissions at the company’s Clairton Coke Works for infractions over the last nine months of 2021.
Plaintiffs want U.S. Steel charged with 12,000 air quality violations from the 2018 Christmas Eve fire that knocked out pollution controls for three months. U.S. Steel argued that the number of violations is inflated.
The rules targeted hydrogen sulfide, a gas with a rotten egg smell. The officer said the rules violated a settlement between the health department and the company.
For those new to Pittsburgh, the realization that the air isn’t always healthy to breathe can come as a shock. That’s what happened to producer Susan Scott Peterson and her family.
Documents from a lawsuit regarding the 2018 Christmas Eve Fire at the Clairton Coke Works show problems went undetected for years; conditions at the plant were described as “decrepit” and “alarming.”
The Clairton Coke Works is the biggest emitter of H2S in Pennsylvania and is "likely a substantial contributor" to the stinky toxic pollutant in the Mon Valley.
