The closure of a Pittsburgh area coke plant resulted in dramatic decreases in local air pollution and fewer emergency room visits, a new study has found. The Shenango Coke Works on Neville Island closed in 2016.

For researchers at New York University, it was an opportunity to see if reduced air pollution resulting from the closure could mean improved health for people living close by. “It was a natural experiment,” said Wuyue Yu, an NYU Ph.D. student who was one of the study co-authors. “The only factor that has changed in their life is the closure of this complex.”

The result was clear. The researchers found a 90 percent drop in sulfur pollution near the plant and an immediate 42 percent decrease in emergency room visits for cardiovascular disease among nearby residents. And over three years, those ER visits dropped even further – 61 percent compared with past years.

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Coke is a key component in steelmaking. It’s made by baking coal at high temperatures. It produces a toxic mix of sulfurous gases and particle pollution, and carcinogenic air pollutants like benzene that seep out of coke plants into the broader community. The Shenango plant was closed by DTE Energy after years of protest from neighboring communities. Among those who fought it was Angelo Taranto, who co-founded Allegheny County Clean Air Now.