Shenango Group pays heavy price for exceeding air pollution law limit.

Local coke manufacturers worst offenders, according to county

NEVILLE ISLAND - From December of last year through this September, The Shenango Group tripped air pollution alarms 371 times, to the tune of $207,807.

The facility, which turns coal into coke for steel production, leads the pack in Allegheny County for air pollution penalties, followed by USX Corp.'s Clairton plant and LTV Steel Co., both coke manufacturers.

But a look at the top air pollution violators of the last year doesn't spell doom and gloom.

"Generally, there is improvement by companies," said Gary Zolyak, a solicitor for the Allegheny County Health Department Bureau of Air …