Pittsburgh’s Achilles heel

I would like to express my strong support for the many insightful points made in Howard Rieger’s guest column, “Pittsburgh’s dirty little secret,” in the July 26, 2019, edition of the Chronicle.
Air pollution and the emission of carcinogens by Clairton Coke Works and other facilities represents Pittsburgh’s Achilles heel, and is why Pittsburgh ranks in the bottom 10 of cities nationally in regard to pollution levels. This is indeed harming our health. And Rieger is absolutely right to emphasize the quizzical silence on the part of local health and medical experts, as well as the inadequacy of pollution control measures instituted by the Allegheny County Council.

The culture of deference toward U.S. Steel and other western PA polluters — including Royal Dutch Shell which is building a giant ethane cracker plant in Monaca — must end.

Joshua B. Forrest
Pittsburgh

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