Clairton Coke Works is a

coking factory A coking factory or a coking plant is where Coke (fuel), coke and manufactured gas are synthesized from coal using a dry distillation process. The volatile components of the Pyrolysis, pyrolyzed coal, released by heating to a temperature of betwe ...

in Clairton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(10 miles south of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

) on the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...

. Owned by

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

, it is the largest coking operation in North America or possibly the world. The 392-acre facility has operated since the beginning of the 20th century and is capable of producing 4.7 million tons of coke annually in its nine batteries. Its workforce over its century-long history has fluctuated with the steel industry's booms and busts; as of 2024 it employs about 1,200 people. The plant is one of the major sources of air pollution in

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

Early history

Steelmaking in Clairton dates back to at least 1903, when the newly-formed

purchased a half-interest in the Crucible Steel Company of America's furnace and steel factory in the city. The broader region was the epicenter of steelmaking in the United States, largely because of the Pittsburgh seam, an extensive deposit of high-quality coal. Clairton's position on the Monongahela allowed for both rail and barge transportation. Steelmaking requires large amounts of coke, which is produced from

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

by heating it in the absence of air. This was traditionally done in rudimentary beehive ovens on-site at coal mines. In 1910s, the industry began to prefer by-product ovens. These more advanced ovens capture a variety of industrially useful chemicals released by the coking process, like

coal tar Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoria ...

ammonium sulfate Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...

and

benzole In the United Kingdom, benzole or benzol is a coal-tar product consisting mainly of benzene and toluene. It was originally used as a "motor spirit", as were petroleum spirits. Benzole was also blended with petrol and sold as a motor fuel unde ...

. In 1916, U.S. Steel opened its Clairton Coke Works, a $18,000,000 by-product plant. It was the first full by-product plant in the region and easily the largest in the United States with 1,500 ovens. The plant grew rapidly, adding hundreds more coke ovens built by

Koppers Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Its headquarters is an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower. Structure Koppers is an integrated global producer of carbon compounds ...

. In 1919 the plant was processing 12,500 tons of coal every 24 hours. By the 1920s, U.S. Steel had abandoned the use of beehive ovens on-site at mines, instead centralizing its coke production at the Clairton works. Because it is much cheaper to transport coal by barge downstream than by rail, this caused many coal mines to no longer be economically viable due to their location. A large number of mines in the Pittsburgh seam were closed with coal still in them, and allowed to flood.

Labor

Following the passage of the

National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also e ...

, which guaranteed

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

rights, steel industry labor unions grew dramatically in size and number. Employees organized widespread strikes with support from the

Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) was an American labor union formed in 1876 to represent iron and steel workers. It partnered with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee of the CIO, in November 1935. Both organizations di ...

and

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

, fighting for local union recognition and contracts. On September 26, 1933, about half of Clairton's workers joined hundreds of coal miners in an around-the-clock strike. The work stoppage was denounced by leads of the national unions, who feared that they would undo the progress they had made with President Roosevelt and others. The workers persisted nonetheless. The miners signed a contract on October 30, but the steelworkers were unsuccessful.

Worker safety

In the 1960s, it started to be understood that the gases from the coke operation were causing

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and other health problems in workers, but it had not been demonstrated clearly in scientific studies. A

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

study funded by the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

found 2.5x higher cancer rates for coke workers in Allegheny County than other steelworkers. The increase in cancer mortality was primarily observed in non-white workers. Since different areas of the coking operation had substantially different racial makeup, the authors believed that specific environments in the plant were causing cancer. They found 5 to 10x higher rates among the predominantly black workers at the top of ovens, where fumes were most concentrated. For people that worked at the top of the ovens for at least 15 years, 28% died of lung cancer. This made a strong case that the coking byproducts themselves were carcinogenic. The

Occupational Safety and Health Act The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed b ...

was passed by Congress in 1970, establishing

OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

. Clairton union representatives and workers testified about the conditions at the plant at congressional hearings for this act. Coke oven standards were some of the first that OSHA instituted. The standards were somewhat controversial in their strictness, owing to the testimony of workers and epidemiological studies.

Pollution

The 1970s also brought new environmental regulations. In 1970, new county air quality regulations meant that process water, which was too contaminated to be released into the Monogahela river even with pretreatment, could no longer be used to quench coke. The municipal water treatment authority

ALCOSAN Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (also known as ALCOSAN) is a municipal authority in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania that provides wastewater treatment services to 83 communities, including the city of Pittsburgh. Its principal sewage treatmen ...

would not accept the process water either. The company tried to acquire a variance to violate the regulation, arguing that it was technologically impossible to comply, ceasing operations would harm the local economy, and that there was no evidence that the released gases posed a health hazard. They were unsuccessful in attaining a variance, although the case was referred to a higher court. (Ultimately, the company invested in their own water treatment facilities for process water. By 1977, the plant was treating 2.5 million gallons on-site in a 3.5 acre bacterial system.) Thus began decades of tense negotiations between the company, local, state, and federal authorities. The Clairton plant repeatedly violated new air pollution regulations. After 33 separate violations in October 1971 alone, the Allegheny County Air Pollution Appeals Board was convinced that U.S. Steel "will delay cleaning up the Clairton Coke Works until it is forced to take action."

1970s consent decree

In September 1972, U.S. Steel and Allegheny County entered a legal agreement (a

consent decree A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). Most often it is such a type of settlement in the United States. The ...

) to come into compliance with air pollution regulations within 10 years, and to meet weaker standards in the meantime. Days later, the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

conducted a surprise inspection of Clairton Coke Works with news media. Mid-Atlantic EPA director

Edward Furia Edward W. Furia was Project Director of the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia during the first Earth Day in 1970. Earth Week The Committee was made up of 33 students, professionals, leaders of grass roots organizations and businessmen who were ...

described the plant during his media appearance as "Dante's Inferno." Allegheny county officials alleged that the surprise visit sought to "sabotage" the consent decree. The EPA argued that the consent decree effectively offered the company immunity from new antipollution laws for ten years. The EPA argued that they could never support this clause, as it would be "illegal" and "unconstitutional" under the Clean Air Act. U.S. Steel insisted upon this clause. Newspapers reported that the EPA had issued a 30-day ultimatum for the plant to come into compliance with air standards or be fined $25,000 a day, but EPA officials denied these claims. Only months later, in March 1973, the Department of Environmental Resources and Allegheny County sued U.S. Steel for 241 violations of the interim standards they had agreed to. Silvestri Silvestri, the judge in the case, found that they had clearly violated the agreement. Instead of fining them, he engaged a technical team to determine whether it was possible for them to comply at all. This action was overturned by a higher Commonwealth Court. Silvestri was accused by the state of favoritism towards the company. The county argued that the company entered the consent decree voluntarily, and should not have done so if it could not comply. Assistant Attorney General Marvin Fein said "U.S. Steel has violated every provision of the consent decree under which they agreed to undertake a cleanup at the coke works." U.S. Steel invested in a $100 million emissions control program in 1974. However, the State Department of Environmental Resources believed that the expenditure was mostly on maintenance or work that would have been done anyway, not on pollution controls. They sued to get an itemization of the expenses. DER Secretary Maurice K. Goddard called Clairton Coke Works a "national disgrace," and "probably the worst pollution source in the country." By January 1975, the consent decree seemingly fell apart. U.S. Steel argued that it was impossible to comply as 16 of its officials were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury initiated by the Justice Department at the behest of the EPA. Environmental groups argued that emission-reducing technology does exist, and that U.S. Steel was already using it at their own plant in Fairfield Alabama. In November of that year, there was a regional "air pollution crisis" concentrated at the plant, which the EPA linked with 14 deaths. Acrimony continued between the company and regulatory agencies, with the dispute becoming increasingly political. Deputy Administrator of the EPA, John R. Quarles Jr. announced that "U.S. Steel has compiled a record of environmental recalcitrance which is second to none." U.S. Steel ran full-page ads in local papers, declaring "U.S. Steel can't make steel in Pittsburgh without coke from Clairton. Period." Many locals sided with the company, often because of jobs and other economic impact of the factory. A

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

editorial called U.S. Steel an "integral part of this community," "like the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

and the

Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...

1980s decline

As the 1980s began, the strength of the

U.S. dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

meant that imported steel became far cheaper, and U.S. steel producers faced a major decline. U.S. Steel sold off $2.5 billion of assets, including its headquarters building in Pittsburgh. The workforce at Clairton Coke Works, which had been 7,000 strong at the end of the 1970s, was slashed to 4,800 by 1983. In 1985, 1,600 workers were furloughed—more than half the remaining workforce—and by the end of the year, only about 1,100 worked at the plant. The reduced tax revenues were devastating to the city of Clairton, which faced bankruptcy. The city shut off street lights, laid off all 14 of its police officers and its 10 fire fighters (the firefighters continued to work without pay). The layoffs placed additional strain on labor relations. Union officials alleged that U.S. Steel was laying off union workers paid $9/hr. and rehiring them as "consultants" making $3.50 for the same work. A USW strike in 1986 stopped work at the factory as the company attempted to cut wages. Picketers, including union members who had been laid off that year, prevented management from entering or exiting the gates. A negotiator for the company declared that the job- and cost-cutting measures were necessary to compete internationally, saying that "there are not enough seats in the steel-lifeboat for everybody." Despite the reduced production, the Clairton factory continued to be a major source of pollution. A 1986 amendment to U.S.

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

laws added " right-to-know" provisions, requiring companies to publish data on releases of toxic pollutants even if the substances are not federally regulated. In the first report in 1987, Clairton Coke Works was responsible for 4.1 million pounds of toxic emissions (of the 22.8 million total across Allegheny County). Prominent emissions included 880,000 pounds of

benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...

(classified as a

carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...

) and 420,000 pounds of

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , often abbreviated as , where Ph stands for the phenyl group. It is a colorless, water Water is an inorganic compound with the c ...

. In addition to air emissions from regular operations, singular releases from industrial accidents were a common occurrence. In February 1985, pipes broken from freezing temperatures resulted in a discharge of benzene into the Monongahela River. Benzene levels were 100x higher than state limits and detected as far away as

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, with leaching continuing for months. Cities along the Ohio River comprising some 3 million people who use the river as a source of drinking water sought to bill U.S. Steel for the cost of cleaning up the contamination.

Gallery

File:COAL BARGE ON THE MONONGAHELA RIVER MOVES PAST A UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION COKE PLANT AT CLAIRTON... - NARA - 557216.jpg, EPA photo showing the factory with barges in the Monongahela. April 1973. File:SMOKE EMITTED FROM A COKE PLANT OWNED BY THE UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION. IT IS LOCATED ALONG THE MONONGAHELA... - NARA - 557222.jpg, Aerial view of the facility (EPA). May 1973. File:US Steel Clairton Works, Clairton PA (8899993845).jpg, Clairton Coke Works' "Continuous Improvement To Environment" mural. May 2013.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , work = Monessen Valley Independent , editor = Harry R. Pore, Jr. , title = The Clairton Example , date = 1971-11-16 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/monessen/monessen-valley-independent/1971/11-16/page-4\ , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , work = The Military Engineer , title = New Koppers Contract , volume = 45 , number = 304 , date = March–April 1953 , page = 142 , jstor = 44561590 , url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/44561590 , accessdate = 2024-07-21 {{cite news , url = https://triblive.com/local/2-2m-fine-is-latest-entry-in-clairtons-air-pollution-history/ , title = $2.2M fine is latest entry in Clairton's air pollution history , date = 2024-02-04 , author = Justin Vellucci , accessdate = 2024-07-16 {{cite news , title = (AMM) Blast at USS Clairton Works injures 15 (UPDATE 2) , author = Lisa Gordon , work = Metal Bulletin Daily , date = 2010-07-09 , issue = 220 , page = 216 {{cite web , url = https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2019/04/15/razorblades-and-feathers-in-my-throat-a-fire-at-a-u-s-steel-plant-near-pittsburgh-made-a-major-polluter-even-worse/ , title = 'Razorblades and feathers in my throat': A fire at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh made a major polluter even worse , author = Reid Frazier , work = StateImpact Pennsylvania , date = 2019-04-15 , accessdate = 2024-07-16 {{cite periodical , title = The Iron and Metal Trades , date = 1903-07-16 , volume = 72 , magazine = The Iron Age , page = 33 , editor = Charles Kirchhoff , location = New York , accessdate = 2024-07-27 , publisher = David Williams Company , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VqU-AQAAMAAJ {{cite book , title = Cloud by Day: A Story of Coal and Coke and People , author = Muriel Earley Sheppard , date = June 2012 , pages = 356 , publisher = University of North Carolina Press , isbn = 9780807879405 {{cite book , title = Making Industrial Pittsburgh Modern: Environment, Landscape, Transportation, Energy, and Planning , last1 = Muller , first1 = Edward K. , last2 = Tarr , first2 = Joel A. , isbn = 9780822986997 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MyK4DwAAQBAJ , date = 2019-10-22 , publisher = University of Pittsburgh Press , pages = 464 {{cite book , title = Big Steel: The First Century of the United States Steel Corporation 1901–2001 , page = 102 , date = 2001-07-15 , publisher = University of Pittsburgh Press , isbn = 9780822970590 , author = Kenneth Warren {{cite periodical , magazine = The Iron Age , title = The Great Coke Plant at Clairton , volume = 103 , location = New York , number = 22 , publisher = David Williams , date = 1919-05-29 , page = 1427 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ir7gL2esCLQC {{cite periodical , magazine = The Iron Age , title = New Iron and Steel Works Construction , volume = 103 , number = 1 , location = New York , publisher = David Williams , date = 1919-01-02 , page = 65 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ir7gL2esCLQC {{cite journal , title = Touring the Coke Region , journal = Pittsburgh History , first1 = David , last1 = Demarest , first2 = Eugene , last2 = Levy , year = 1991 , volume = 74 , number = 3 , url = https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/4273/4090 , accessdate = 2024-07-21 {{cite book , title = Workers' Struggles, Past and Present: A "Radical America" Reader , first1 = Staughton , last1 = Lynd , year = 1983 , publisher = Temple University Press , editor-first = James , editor-last = Green , chapter = Chapter 9: The Possibility of Radicalism in the Early 1930s: The Case of Steel , isbn = 978-1-4399-1784-8 , pages = 191–193 , jstor = j.ctv6mtdnm.15 , url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv6mtdnm.15 {{cite book , title = The Secret History of the War on Cancer , author =

Devra Davis Devra Lee Davis (born June 7, 1946) is an American epidemiologist, toxicologist, and author of three books about environmental hazards. She was founding director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer I ...

, date = 2009-02-24 , publisher = Basic Books , page = 314 , isbn = 9780465015689 {{cite journal , title = Coke, Clairton, and Cancer: A Three-Decade Push for Reforms , author = Paola Corso , journal = Western Pennsylvania History , volume = 91 , issue = 1 , pages = 40–49 , issn = 1525-4755 , url = https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/7817/7590 , accessdate = 2024-07-21 , year = 2008 {{cite book , title = Senate Hearing, 91st Congress, Part 1 - Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970. Part 1: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Labor of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare , publisher = United States Senate , date = 1970 , url = https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CHRG-91shrg42537Op1/CHRG-91shrg42537Op1 , page = 924 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite journal , last1 = Lloyd , first1 = J. William , last2 = Lundin , first2 = Frank E. , last3 = Redmond , first3 = Carol K. , last4 = Geiser , first4 = Patricia B. , title = Long-Term Mortality Study of Steelworkers: IV. Mortality by Work Area , journal = Journal of Occupational Medicine , volume = 12 , date = 1970 , issue = 5 , pages = 151–57 , doi = 10.1097/00043764-197005000-00002 , jstor = 45001317 , pmid = 5423391 , url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/45001317 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , title = U.S. Steel Appeals Clairton Ruling , work = Uniontown Morning Herald , date = 1971-12-20 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/uniontown/uniontown-morning-herald/1971/12-20/page-49 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 , location = Pittsburgh , page = 26 , volume = 65 , number = 293 {{cite news , title = U.S. Steel Sees Improvement In New Year , work = Uniontown Morning Herald , date = 1977-01-05 , volume = 71 , number = 306 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/uniontown/uniontown-morning-herald/1977/01-05/page-46 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 , page = 46 {{cite book , title = Clean Air: The Policies and Politics of Pollution Control , author = Charles O. Jones , date = 1978-06-15 , pages = 384 , isbn = 9780822974185 , publisher = University of Pittsburgh Press {{cite news , title = State Court Reverses Clairton Coke Ruling , author = David A. Milne , date = 1974-09-07 , accessdate = 2024-07-17 , work = Connellsville Daily Courier , page = 1 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/connellsville/connellsville-daily-courier/1974/09-07 {{cite news , title = State Environmental Chieftain Raps U.S. Steel Clean Air Work , date = 1974-09-27 , work = Kittanning Leader-Times , volume = 86 , number = 228 , page = 12 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/kittanning/kittanning-simpson-leader-times/1974/09-27/page-12 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , title = Plan To Cut Pollution at Coke Works Fizzles , work = Harrisonburg Daily News-Record , agency = Associated Press , location = Pittsburgh , volume = 78 , number = 99 , page = 5 , date = 1975-01-27 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/virginia/harrisonburg/harrisonburg-daily-news-record/1975/01-27/page-5 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , work = Franklin News Herald , title = Battle lines are drawn between Steel, EPA unit , location = Pittsburgh , agency = Associated Press , page = 19 , date = 1976-05-26 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/franklin/franklin-news-herald/1976/05-26/page-38 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , title = Ruckelshaus denies reports EPA ordered U.S. Steel to clean up Clairton coke operations , work = Bradford Era , page = 12 , date = 1972-10-12 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/bradford/bradford-era/1972/10-06/page-12 , accessdate = 2024-07-24 {{cite news , title = Clairton Coke Works suit: Renewal of talks ordered , work = New Castle News , page = 26 , date = 1976-06-03 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/new-castle/new-castle-news/1976/06-03/page-26 , accessdate = 2024-08-02 {{cite news , title = Clairton inspection irks Foerster , agency = Associated Press , page = 3 , date = 1972-09-29 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/monessen/monessen-valley-independent/1972/09-29/page-3 , accessdate = 2024-07-24 {{cite news , title = USW to vote on proposals , date = 1985-11-27 , page = 17 , work = Indiana Gazette , volume = 82 , number = 83 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/indiana/indiana-gazette/1985/11-27/page-16 , accessdate = 2024-08-05 {{cite news , title = U.S. Steel to lay off 300 at its Clairton Works , date = 1985-10-16 , work = New Castle News , volume = 106 , number = 31 , page = 31 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/new-castle/new-castle-news/1985/10-16/page-30 , accessdate = 2024-08-05 {{cite news , title = Depressed city faces bleak future , author = Bob Dvorchak , work = Kokomo Tribune , date = 1985-10-20 , page = 29 , volume = 136 , number = 47 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/kokomo/kokomo-tribune/1985/10-20/page-29 , accessdate = 2024-08-05 {{cite news , title = Pickets at U.S. Steel plant illustrate the growing strain , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/doylestown/doylestown-intelligencer/1985/10-07/page-5 , work = Doylestown Intelligencer , page = 5C , date = 1985-10-07 , last1 = Howell , first1 = Peter , last2 = Grace , first2 = Joseph , accessdate = 2024-08-05 {{cite news , title = Pipes leak contaminants , work = The Indiana Gazette , page = 1 , volume = 81 , number = 138 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/indiana/indiana-gazette/1985/02-02/page-1 , date = 1985-02-02 , accessdate = 2024-09-21 {{cite news , title = Costs for cleanup sought , page = 2 , volume = 97 , number = 49 , work = Kittaning Leader-Times , date = 1985-02-27 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/kittanning/kittanning-leader-times/1985/02-27/page-2 , accessdate = 2024-09-21 {{cite news , title = Cities May Bill In Benzene Spill , page = 2 , work = East Liverpool Evening Review , volume = 106 , number = 107 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/east-liverpool/east-liverpool-evening-review/1985/02-27/page-2 , date = 1985-02-27 , accessdate = 2024-09-21 {{cite news , title = Reports detail Allegheny manufacturers' pollution , date = 1988-11-14 , work = The Indiana Gazette , page = 11 , volume = 85 , number = 72 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/indiana/indiana-gazette/1988/11-14/page-11 , accessdate = 2024-08-18 {{cite news , title = Line limit prompts pay at Clairton , work = Monessen Valley Independent , date = 1986-08-06 , page = 1 , number = 33 , url = https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/monessen/monessen-valley-independent/1986/08-06/page-1 , accessdate = 2024-08-18 {{cite book , title = The toxic 500: the 500 largest releases of toxic chemicals in the United States, 1987 , date = August 1989 , author = Norman L. Dean , publisher =

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (i ...

, page = 2-208 1916 establishments in Pennsylvania Coking works U.S. Steel