Coupled with the 1998 drought, the high concentration of nitrates forced the nearby small city of Zelienople to ban use of the drinking water for five months. High nitrate concentrations, according to the report, especially threatens pregnant women and infants because the nitrate contamination reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. In 1997, the Butler mill ranked first in the country for nitrate pollution. AKSteel then broke its own record in 1998, when it released 31.7 million pounds. The corporation's huge mill in Middletown, Ohio has been cited numerous times for benzene emissions.
Short exposure can cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches and loss of consciousness.
Benzene does its greatest damage to children and the elderly or those who suffer with heart and lung conditions. The life-threatening effects of benzene have been known for nearly 30 years and the EPA initiated regulations in 1979. The EPA banned PCBs also in 1979 but that didn't faze AKSteel. Again at the Middletown mill, like Butler, the workers are represented by a company union. In both the benzene and PCB cases, the EPA reviewed annual company records of hazardous chemicals.