By Alexander Gray
October 4, 2023
The Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice held a panel event on Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Homewood CEC on the issue of air quality and social justice in Allegheny County.
The event featured a distinguished panel of experts, including Dr. Nicole Fabricant from Towson University, Germaine Patterson representing Women for a Healthy Environment, NaTisha Washington from Breathe Project, and Sinan Dogan, a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Anthropology.
Dr. Fabricant started the panel by summarizing her work in Baltimore neighborhoods characterized by high industrial densities and zip codes experiencing alarmingly high asthma rates. She asked the other panelists what they saw as United States Steel’s (USX) role in creating the air quality issues many Clairton residents experience.
Patterson shared her personal transformation, having bought a house in Clairton and working with families grappling with asthma. She recounted a moment in 2020 when she mistook her health issues for COVID-19, only to discover that they were due to "environmental allergies" likely linked to the Clairton Coke Works.
Washington discussed her initial lack of awareness regarding the connection between asthma and pollution.
“I didn’t know that asthma was related to pollution at first. I had never thought it was weird that so many kids at the school I attended also happened to have asthma,” said Washington.
She also highlighted the prevalence of disinformation in affected communities, underscoring the crucial role advocates play in educating residents about the profound impact of pollution on their health.
Dogan brought up the economic realities faced by towns along the Monongahela after the mills shut down in the late 20th century.
“When you have a company town with no company, you wind up depending on charities and non-profits to make ends meet. And they might not even be able to assist you,” said Dogan.
At this point, the conversation honed in on the Community Benefit Trust established between the Allegheny County Health Department and USX. While the funds in the trust can be used to improve and alleviate environmental health issues like air pollution, the panelists averred that it had been spent elsewhere.
“A Community Benefit Trust was established between the Allegheny County Health Department and USX, but municipalities eligible for these funds have not taken the initiative to apply them to improving air quality issues. Doing so would imply an admission of guilt on the part of USS for causing the conditions to exist,” said Patterson.
The issue of the Community Benefit Trust will be discussed at a Southwestern Pennsylvania Town Hall event on October 10, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.