A new
study found residents living near a US Steel plant in the Pittsburgh area experienced worse bouts of asthma and increased their use of breathing aids after a
2018 fire caused elevated air pollution in the area.
The Dec. 24, 2018 fire destroyed the pollution controls at US Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. For three months, the controls were offline, resulting in large releases of sulfur dioxide, a lung irritant that
Researchers asked asthma patients living near the plant whether their breathing got worse in those three months, then compared their answers to those from patients farther away.
“Significantly more people answered that question, ‘Yes,’ that lived close to the Clairton Coke Works than equivalent people who lived further away,” said study co-author Jim Fabisiak, associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Pittsburgh. “Here you have the same period of time, you’re getting this differential response and it’s all a