Costly Upgrades Questioned at U.S. Steel

Environmentalists are questioning whether a billion-dollar upgrade at the largest U.S. steel plant near Pittsburgh will be enough, health officials said.

U.S. Steel Corp. expects to spend $1 billion to replace its coke oven at the Clairton Coke Works, but how is it going to affect the people who work and live in Mon Valley for the next 40 years is the big question, Myron Arnowitt, director of Pennsylvania’s Clean Water Action said.

The company has applied to the Allegheny County Health Department to proceed with the first part of the upgrades, the Pittsburgh post-gazette reported Monday.

Part of the effort is to reduce soot, which has contributed to the American Lung Association’s ranking the Pittsburgh area as the sootiest in the nation, the report said.

The company’s director of environmental control, Tishie Woodwell, said the upgrades approach LEAR — the lowest achievable emissions rate.

Concerned residents, however, react with comments. What are our children breathing? What are the wives breathing? asked Lee Lasich, leader of Residents for a Clean and Healthy Mon Valley, the report said.

We want the jobs, she said. But we also want a clean environment and a healthy place to live.