Allegheny health director joining CDC
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, will soon take her talents to Georgia and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In recent months, Hacker has been the voice reassuring Mon Valley residents in the aftermath of the Dec. 24, 2018, fire at the Clairton Coke Works that hindered the plant’s ability to clean coke oven gas, a byproduct of the coke-making process that includes harmful substances like sulfur dioxide, or SO2.
Hacker kept residents aware of any exceedance of sulfur dioxide and oversaw the daily air quality inspectors while U.S. Steel worked to repair the damage.
Hacker led her department’s proactive work in air quality, including putting more inspectors and environmental enforcement agents in place, instituting larger fines and taking strong regulatory actions to improve the air quality in the Mon Valley.
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