New Environmental Protection Agency rules aim to crack down on toxic air pollution from US steelmakers by limiting pollutants such as mercury, benzene and lead that have long poisoned the air in neighborhoods surrounding the plants. The rules target contaminants released by steel facilities’ coke ovens. Gas from the ovens creates an individual cancer risk in the air around steel plants of 50 in 1,000,000, which public health advocates say is dangerous for children and people with underlying health problems.
New bill could bail out US farmers ruined by ‘forever chemical’ pollution Read more The chemicals do not travel far from the plant, but advocates say they have been devastating for public health in “fenceline” low income neighborhoods around steel facilities, and represent an environmental justice issue. “People have long faced significant health risks, like cancer, due to coke oven pollution,” said Patrice Simms, Earthjustice’s vice-president for healthy communities. The rules are “crucial for safeguarding communities and workers near coke ovens”.
Coke ovens are chambers that heat up coal to produce coke, a hard deposit used to make steel. Gas produced by the ovens is classified by EPA as a known human carcinogen and contains a mix of hazardous chemicals, heavy metals and volatile compounds. Many of the chemicals are linked to serious health issues, including severe eczema, respiratory problems and digestive lesions.
Amid increasing evidence of the gas.
