"The current way that coke ovens are regulated, by allowing a certain percentage of leaking equipment and allowable seconds of visible emissions, is insufficient to protect public health," Jay Ting Walker, an organizer from Clean Air Council [and co-chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania], said during Wednesday's meeting. "The Allegheny County Health Department must do much more to adequately address the environmental injustices resulting from allowing preventable air pollution that burdens the health of nearby residents."
This fall, the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) named a new executive director: Patrick Campbell. The Allegheny Front’s Kara Holsopple spoke with Campbell about his new role and the future of this mainstay of clean air advocacy in the region.