Local environmental groups in Western Pennsylvania say Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel should lead to cleaner operations at the company’s Pittsburgh-area plants. However, they haven’t heard much from U.S. Steel’s new owners about what it plans to do, and they’re worried the company will put environmental compliance at the bottom of its priority list.
“We are not against steel, we are against being poisoned,” said Qiyam Ansari, president of Valley Clean Air Now, a local advocacy group based in Pittsburgh’s Mon Valley. “We are not against investment, we’re against neglect.”
Ansari said his group has received no response to the multiple requests it has sent, asking to meet with Nippon officials. At issue is the environmental performance of U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works, a string of three plants near Pittsburgh…