Clean Water Main Water Sentinels Main Arizona Illinois Kentucky -- Northern Kentucky -- Western Michigan Missouri Ohio Tennessee Contacts Environmental news, green living tips, and ways to take action: Subscribe to the Sierra Club Insider! About the organizer Susan Knight Water Sentinel Ohio Chapter 5150 Wyoming Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45215 (513) 761-4003 fax (513) 761-4988 susieknight@juno.com

Ohio Steel factory pollution threatens waterways Middletown, Ohio, located about 20 miles north of Cincinnati, is home to about 50,000 people. It is also home to AK Steel Corp, which operates steel plants in five states. Several AK plants have had serious environmental problems including polluted streams, soil and groundwater. The Middletown plant has had its share of problems. In 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued AK's Middletown facility for violations of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Federal officials have alleged 204 specific violations of the plant's water discharge permit over the past decade. The Sierra Club has petitioned the court to intervene in the federal suit. According to the U.S. EPA, there have been at least 40 spills of toxins into Dicks Creek and the Great Miami River. The spills of oil, cyanide, benzene, waste acid and other toxins have been as large as 1 million gallons, and have killed at least 23,524 fish. Dicks Creek is currently contaminated with high levels of PCBs, chemical compounds linked to cancer. The Sierra Club's Sentinels project is conducting highly specialized PCB monitoring in the stream. Air particulate pollution (soot) and chemical fumes from AK Steel are also causing a public nuisance to the nearby neighborhoods. For more than 25 years, the plant has emitted up to 8 million pounds of these particulates annually into the skies over Middletown. The Sentinels and ECO: Environmental Community Organization are also performing air-quality sampling near the plant, in an effort to determine what hazardous substances may be in the plant's smokestack emissions. The Sentinels are part of the Good Neighbor Campaign, a partnership of groups working to clean up AK's Middletown plant, including the United Steelworkers of America, ECO, Ohio Citizen Action, Rivers Unlimited, Friends of the Great Miami and United Neighbors Against Dirty Air. But to date, the giant steelmaker has flatly refused to meet with its neighbors or to open a dialogue regarding its corporate conduct. In a nutshell Accomplishments Failure to enforce the law Clean Water Act's 30th anniversary Sierra Club in Ohio Environmental Community Organization Ohio Citizen Action There are lots of ways to help Ohio Sentinels! Volunteer opportunities are available! To get involved, call the Sierra Club at (513) 761-4003, or contact Susan Knight. Show your support for the Good Neighbor Campaign. Put an "AK Come Clean" yard sign in front of your home. Call the Sierra Club at the number above for free yard signs, stickers, postcards and/or T-shirts. Write Richard Wardrop, CEO of AK Steel, and let him know that you are concerned about AK's disregard for neighbors' environmental concerns and the community's health: Richard Wardrop, CEO, AK Steel Corp. 703 Curtis Street Middletown, OH 45043 Photo: Children at play near the AK Steel plant. Photo by Rachael Belz. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use