Hot idle is when the plant stays running but doesn’t produce any coke. They say their health should be more important than the business of the Clairton Coke Works.
Some 30 people who cleaned up the ash have died with ailments that can be linked to exposure to toxic elements of coal ash, and more than 250 are sick or dying.
After years of decline, East Liverpool is banking on new economic life from the gas industry. But many are still struggling from pollution that has plagued this town for decades.
