Study: DTE-owned EES Coke among worst polluters, causing premature deaths

A new report reveals the health toll of Michigan’s coal-based steel and coke facilities, with just two plants contributing to an estimated 40-80 premature deaths and over 20,000 asthma cases annually.

The report by from Industrious Labs, an advocacy and research organization focused on reducing emissions from heavy industry and advancing clean technologies, analyzed emissions from 17 facilities across six states and found that Michigan’s EES Coke facility in River Rouge, owned by DTE Energy, ranks among the state’s worst industrial polluters. The facility placed 5th out of more than 661 major Michigan emitters for sulfur dioxide emissions and 4th for fine particulate matter.

“The findings regarding EES Coke are pretty shocking,” Nick Leonard, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, told Planet Detroit. “We’ve known for a long time that EES Coke is one of the worst polluters in Michigan, but this report shows that it is one of the worst polluters even when compared to other coke facilities.” Leonard’s organization is suing EES Coke along with other advocacy organizations.

DTE-owned EES Coke outpaces other polluters

Leonard notes that EES Coke was the largest emitter of sulfur dioxide among all coke facilities reviewed in the report. “It emitted significantly more sulfur dioxide than even the Clairton coke facility in Pennsylvania, which has three times the production capacity. It also emits significantly more pollution than other coke facilities with similar production capacity, resulting in more severe local health impacts.”

The study’s findings for Michigan’s two facilities:

• EES Coke (River Rouge):
  • Contributes to an estimated 29-57 premature deaths annually
  • Linked to 15,387 cases of asthma symptoms
  • Causes approximately 2,707 work loss days
  • Leads to 3,329 school loss days
• Cleveland-Cliffs Dearborn Works:
  • Associated with 11-23 premature deaths annually
  • Contributes to 5,355 cases of asthma symptoms
  • Results in 1,156 work loss days
  • Causes 659 school loss days

Combined, these facilities generate an estimated $600 million to $1.2 billion in annual health costs for Michigan communities.

“This report shows that dirty, antiquated steelmaking is putting residents’ health at risk, contributing to asthma and premature deaths,” said Kathryn Savoie of the Clear the Air Coalition. “Our community deserves clean air. Cleveland Cliffs and DTE need to replace their dirty steelmaking with cleaner, greener technology.”

The Dearborn Works steel plant, while showing lower overall health impacts than EES Coke, still ranks 6th in the state for fine particulate matter emissions among major Michigan polluters. The facility also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, producing over 1 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2022.

Environmental advocates are particularly concerned about EES Coke’s sulfur dioxide emissions, which are central to a pending lawsuit against EES Coke and DTE.

“Overall, this report highlights what residents have long suspected: EES Coke is a facility that is causing severe health impacts in Detroit and River Rouge,” Leonard says. “This problem was made more severe when EES Coke, at DTE’s direction, sought and received a permit to remove pollution limits that would allow the facility to emit more sulfur dioxide pollution.”

“The thing I find most shocking is how big the impacts are for how few the number of facilities are,” said Hilary Lewis, steel director for Industrious Labs in a Canary Media article. She noted that existing research has tended to look at the health burden of individual steel facilities rather than their cumulative impact.

Low-income residents and people of color, who represent a high proportion of the population living near many of the nation’s steel facilities, tend to bear the brunt of these health impacts, according to the group’s analysis of federal environmental justice data.

While some steel companies are beginning to transition away from coal-based production, progress remains slow. Cleveland-Cliffs, which operates the Dearborn Works facility, has received federal funding for clean technology at other locations.

At its Indiana Harbor facility, the company plans to reduce some coal use by injecting hydrogen into the blast furnace, potentially sourcing from the federally backed Midwest Hydrogen Hub project.

However, experts caution that such partial measures may have limited benefits.

“Injecting hydrogen into a blast furnace can reduce [CO2] emissions by up to around 20 percent, if you blend at the maximum technical limit,” said Kaitlyn Ramirez, a senior associate at RMI. “But fundamentally, you’re still using a large amount of coal, and so it still produces a significant amount of carbon emissions as well as all the other health pollutants.”

The report calls for action from regulatory agencies to enforce and strengthen environmental laws and emission limits. It also advocates for transitioning to cleaner steelmaking technologies, such as green hydrogen-powered direct reduced iron and electric arc furnaces, which could eliminate coal use while maintaining production capacity.

Update 10/30/24: A DTE spokesperson issued the following statement in response to the report: For more than a century, DTE has been committed to protecting the environment and the health and safety of the communities where we live and serve. EES Coke operation is governed by regulations aimed at protecting public health and remains in compliance with these standards. EES Coke is dedicated to responsibly operating the plant, while it continues to serve crucial industrial and civic functions through the production of coke to fuel the steel industry and the provision of over 170 jobs.