Potential connection between air quality in the Mon Valley and student absenteeism

Experts are examining the potential connection between air quality in the Mon Valley and student absenteeism.

Could the empty desks in Clairton's classrooms be linked to what's happening in the air outside? A new study attributes air pollution in the Mon Valley to school absenteeism.

"They're missing school and they're falling behind their classmates," said Dr. Deborah Gentile, medical director of Community Partners in Asthma Care and author of the study. "It can have an impact on them getting into post-secondary education for anything really, trades versus college, and even impact their likelihood of getting a good-paying job in the future."

U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works is less than 1 mile from Clairton's K-12 school building, where Gentile's 2020 study found one in every five kids