My wife and I have really noticed the particulates the still hot days the last few weeks - you can see it and you can smell it. I've been glad to see many more "Clean up Mittal For Real" signs in my neighborhood - Ohio City. These should be up all over the region. As long as we think of Mittal pollution and pollution in general as a localized problem, we are not going to transform our economy. While the old timers may think pollution is okay, smart young people do not want it in their lives, and will not live near it. In NEO, some of the best areas for long term redevelopment are near heavy polluters. We need to shut them down... that should be our pledge to developing our new economy, being to reduce pollution in Cleveland and other areas of NEO to a set low level by 2010, and a lower level for 2020 and each decade after... everyone in the region must agree to pursue these objectives, including sprawl commuters and union steel workers.

Disrupt IT

Nice to see Ohio Citizen Action posting here. I came across your work when I was researching for a posting on Mittal I put on REALNEO on July 4, 2006... really great work. Keep us informed here of any related actions or events.

Disrupt IT

Though it may be from other causes, I have had a lot of breathing problems this past spring. Is Mittal Steel's increased pollution responsible for my cough (the worst I ever remember having in my life) and my nasal congestion and irritated eyes? I probably will never know the cause, but I do live in Ohio City. I consider myself a very healthy person. I have seasonal allergies which are usually so I mild I don't take any medication. But lately these symptoms have made me concerned about my health and the effects my environment may be having on my health.

From the OCA site:

How can Mittal Steel become a good neighbor?

"Mittal Steel can reduce the dangerous emissions coming from its stacks and pipes by investing in modern pollution prevention technology. Mittal could follow the lead of another Ohio steelmaker - AK Steel in Middletown - which has committed to put new pollution controls on its steel mills and is working towards a 99% reduction in their air emissions, going above federal standards.

ISG was the recipient of tremendous goodwill and subsidies from Northeast Ohio taxpayers and Mittal inherited those benefits. It can respond to the community's need by becoming a good neighbor and making the decision to modernize its operations and protect public health."

The phone calls I have had from OCA have mentioned the clean up and drastic reductions in pollutants made at AK Middletown. If Mittal would go there, we would see a huge improvement in our air quality. I’m not sure they need to shut down, but surely they need to clean up. They are an example to others on the econominc benefoits of cogeneration:

From Edgar Online: Mittal Steel USA

Mittal Steel generally procures its electricity requirements from local,regulated utility companies at prices fixed by either contract or tariff. In the
United States, however, a significant portion of its electricity requirements are also purchased from onsite generation owned by third parties. These cogeneration facilities utilize waste gases from Mittal
Steel's blast furnaces to supplement its electrical power requirements and control its energy costs.

PS I have been contributing for many years now and I very much appreciate the work Ohio Citizen Action does in our community and throughout the state. Kudos -- you have my continued support! I have a sign in my yard and in fact there are signs on almost half of the yards on my street in Cleveland Heights and more on the homes on adjacent blocks!

Is a thorny, but needed cause in our community.  Northeast Ohio is toxic.  It's not the PLUS that we so desperately want to portray, because of our history of industrialists and manufacturing.  At the same time, we want business and we want residents to return to the core.  Sometimes, I feel like I am living in a sci-fi movie like omega man and solyent green.  Fight the good fight Ohio Citizen Action.  We don't have to relive the past.  Set a standard for new technologies and manufacturing processes.  Don't let the fat cats run highways through our neighborhoods (Opportunity Corridor), especially when they know the residents can't fight back.  And on a personal note--I lived in Tremont for seven years while LTV Steel, Osterland asphalt and rendering companies along Train Ave. still operated.  My childhood breathing problems resurfaced and I had bone-crushing, antibiotic resistant bronchitis and coughing every winter for seven years.  I moved to Brooklyn Centre to a house with radiators, rather than forced air, and no more bronchitis and my allergies have subsided. Brooklyn Centre is no less toxic in terms of housing than Tremont (still have lead paint here).  But the air quality is better because of prevailing westerly winds and TREES. We need more TREES--everywhere. We need a return to the Forest City.

NY Teens to Gauge Air Pollution

Science & Technology

Surrounded as they are by power plants, a waste-transfer station, and a busy expressway, how do the residents of one
Brooklyn neighborhood breathe? A group of intrepid teenagers, who will soon be taking to the streets to monitor pollutant levels, intend to find out.

For about six months, volunteers from a New York-based Hispanic community organization, UPROSE, will be using handheld devices to monitor the levels of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other particles circulating in the air in Sunset Park.

Part of a wider campaign to map the air quality of several urban
U.S. neighborhoods, their efforts are only the start of a much wider campaign. "In order for us to really change things, we need to know what's there on a daily basis," said Frank Torres, director of youth leadership for UPROSE. "We want to educate the community, put the power in their hands so they can change their surroundings."

Air quality isn't just an environmental issue—it's also a social justice one. More than 80 percent of Hispanics and 86 percent of blacks in the
United States live in urban settings typically at higher risk for air pollution, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hispanics are also more than twice as likely as non-Hispanics to live in neighborhoods that don't meet the EPA's standards for airborne particle matter.

"We don't give a unified health message to people," said Jane Delgado, president of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, which is charting data from similar projects in Detroit, Watsonville, Calif., and
Brownsville, Texas. "We tell people go out and exercise, but for some kids, breathing the air in their communities will contribute to asthma attacks and other problems. We need to know exactly what is going on near our homes." Some air pollutants commonly found in urban areas can also cause skin and eye irritation, along with asthma, particularly in children.

Similar projects are charting data in Detroit, Watsonville, Calif., and
Brownsville, Texas. It costs about $2,500 to equip each of the four cities with the necessary technology, including GPS, a video camera, and pollution detectors. :: AP

See also: :: Air Pollution Guerrilla Marketing in Chicago, :: American Lung Association's 2007 Air Quality Report, and :: How to Green Your Community

From: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/ny_teens_to_gau.php

More at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/community_air_police_1

From this editorial today -

Editorial: Federal and state EPAs must look more closely at steel mill's neighborhood

Like social networks and citizen activists have been saying for sometime now, "New businesses aren't interested in moving to cities where air quality is a challenge. The city of Cleveland has to do better. It should begin by talking with ArcelorMittal." Oh and this issue long ignored by the PD, "Clevelanders living near the mill need to know whether the air they breathe is safe."

Wow! Someone is catching up on their reading at the PD.

Catch this - stormwater could be filtered by the ground and CSOs could be abated to an extent by green infrastructure which could cut back on the massive costs we will undertake to build storage tunnels. How hard is it to change a few lines in a building code to save millions? Is clean water important to NEO?

Lead safe deconstruction could be an industry in NEO - the opportunity is here BIG TIME!

Bioremediation, too, could have centers of research here in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County since the soils have been so polluted over the regions history by the heinous robber barons who made Cleveland the cradle of the industrial revolution. With clean soil, a local food movement could take off since NEO and Cleveland in particular have what Boston architect, Jane Weinzapfel calls a "loose weave".

Long ago when I had a dance company we had a visionary consultant come to speak with our board. His name is George Thorn (now in Portland). One of many things he said that still ring true for me is, "start where you are". Think about it; when you clean your house, it makes sense to begin at the ceiling - first sweeping away the cobwebs and dust from above, then finally sweeping and mopping the floors. Do you plan for dinner without checking to see what is on hand before you go to the store to purchase what you need? No, you assess what you have on hand and then purchase what is missing. These are simple concepts, ones every thrifty housewife knows.

The linked article above makes mention of stone soup and I suggest that we could have a feast here if we just start where we are. Before we go out and buy caviar to spread on a stale cracker and purchase fine crystal for wine that has turned to vinegar, we should first look at what we have on hand. Cleveland needs to do some housecleaning and some pantry cleaning and composting activities. Number one task for NEO - learn how to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Here's a study that gives good instruction.

Stop Arcelor Mittal Steel pollution in the Vaal. The activities of Arcelor Mittal Steel is destroying the environment terribly. Lets unite and protest against Arcelor Mittal's pollution. 

then count me in too.