If Severstal decides to build a new coke plant to create fuel for its steel furnaces, it won?t be anything like the smoke-spewing beast shut down 17 years ago over environmental and health concerns.
A 1990 amendment to the federal Clean Air Act mandated that all coke-making plants nationwide comply with the standards developed by SunCoke, a division of Sunoco.
“The technology is fundamentally different. Sunoco produces coke by what?s known as heat recovery coke technology. The ovens pull air in from the outside, to burn the volatile matter and release the heat,” SunCoke spokesman Thomas Golembeski said.
“All the hazardous pollutants are burned in the process of making the coke. The ovens continuously operate under negative pressure; that eliminates leaks through a door or valves.”
Before any new smokestack is allowed, the company must show it will not violate any air quality standards for six federally regulated pollutants ? nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, carbon monoxide and ozone, said Kim Lamphier, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.
It also monitors toxins such as benzene that the original Sparrows Point coke plant pumped into the air.
The impact a single plant would have on asthma sufferers, the Bay and the overall environmental health of the region can?t be measured, Lamphier said.
“In general, the air quality in Maryland is getting better; the problem is that the standards are continually getting more stringent,” Lamphiersaid. Ozone levels and particulate levels have been dropping the past several years due to local and regional pollution reduction programs.”
Baltimore residents could use a little more fresh air.
Particle pollution is a significant public health concern, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Particles small enough to be inhaled deeply into the lungs can cause heart and lung health problems, and can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
Baltimore City residents are under the gun from a variety of airborne pollutants, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Asthma deaths per 1 million residents were three times higher in the city and almost twice as high in Baltimore County than other jurisdictions in Maryland.
Staff Writer Aaron Cahall contributed to this report.
