A study undertaken by the Allegheny County Health Department found that emergency room visits for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Pittsburgh dropped by 37.9% in the year following the closure of Shenango Coke Works, one of the largest polluters in the county. The health department also found particulate matter pollution decreased in the region by 11 percent in the year after the plant had closed. Despite the differences, the health department “is reluctant to attribute the drop in emergency department visits to the plant closing.”
For more information about the study, click here.
For a news article about the study, click here.