August 26, 2004
Paul Ryder, Organizing Director
Ohio Citizen Action
393,385 people live and breathe within five miles of the ISG Cleveland Works. No comparable steel plant in the United States has so many neighbors.
Second to ISG Cleveland is Rouge Steel in Dearborn, near Detroit. Ranked third is the U.S. Steel Mon Valley Works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.
Steel plant pollution respects no boundaries, of course. The resulting health problems are suffered most, however, by people living nearby.
The mills listed are the U.S. integrated steelmakers with the most production capacity. Minimills are not included because the patterns of pollution aren't comparable.
The "Neighbors" column is a count of all people living within five miles of the center latitude and longitude of the plant, according to 2000 U.S. Census data in U.S. EPA databases. Since ISG Cleveland is not a single point, but a 1200-acre complex, the government population count is certainly lower than actual.
Sources:
|
|
| Plant owner |
Location |
Neighbors |
| ISG |
Cleveland, OH |
393,385 |
| Rouge Steel |
Dearborn, MI |
362,656 |
| U.S. Steel |
Braddock, PA |
262,023 |
| U.S. Steel |
Fairfield, AL |
138,864 |
| ISG |
East Chicago, IN |
121,720 |
| Republic |
Lorain, OH |
115,330 |
| U.S. Steel |
Gary, IN |
103,600 |
| WCI Steel |
Warren, OH |
95,464 |
| ISG |
Sparrows Point, MD |
82,315 |
| AK Steel |
Middletown, OH |
77,117 |
| AK Steel |
Ashland, KY |
66,004 |
| ISG |
Weirton, WV |
51,961 |
| Wheeling Pitt |
Steubenville, OH |
36,735 |
| ISG |
Burns Harbor, IN |
31,717 |
|