Clean Air Council Introduces pacokeovens.org to Community

MARCH 23, 2017 | POSTED BY CLEAN AIR COUNCIL

Post Headline — Pittsburgh - Image Courtesy of Allegheny County Health Department

Air pollution from the coke oven industry has impacted the health of residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and beyond. The Clean Air Council’s new website PACokeOvens.org is a powerful resource to educate and empower residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania. It contains interactive maps, reporting tools, and comprehensive information regarding the nature of coke oven operations, their air emissions, and their health impacts.

“The goal of PACokeOvens.org is to educate impacted residents about the dangers of coke oven pollution and provide the resources to report this pollution,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council.

“Numerous studies and monitoring programs have demonstrated the poor air quality in Southwestern Pennsylvania and that elevations in these air pollutants can be hazardous to the public’s health”, said James P. Fabisiak, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Pittsburgh. “Coke oven facilities are especially notorious as contributors to air pollution here because they generate large amounts of fine particulates, which are associated with premature death from heart and lung disease, and a mix of hazardous air pollutants such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known human carcinogens. In fact, coke oven emissions are even considered their own specific class of air toxic by the EPA.”

PACokeOvens.org’s reporting tool is easy to use and allows community members to share critical information about coke oven pollution with Clean Air Council and local regulatory authorities. This information will be used to alert officials about pollution incidents.

“Coke ovens can produce plumes of smoke and bad smells. The air pollution reporting tool helps track this information and report it to the local regulatory agencies,” said Annie Regan, Western PA Outreach Coordinator for Penn Future.

The website will be unveiled to the public at “Breathless-An Air Quality Expo”. The event will be on March 26, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at 282 St. Clair Avenue in Clairton, PA.

For a guided tour of the website, see the companion document.