Group Against Smog & Pollution

A Connecticut engineering firm retained by U.S. Steel to investigate the deadly Aug. 11 explosion at its Clairton Coke Works facility today released preliminary findings. The firm, Engineering Design & Testing Corp., issued the following information on its website Thursday: The explosion took place in the 13-14 Coke Battery transfer area when an 18-inch cast iron valve ruptured, releasing flammable coke oven gas, which subsequently exploded. The valve was originally manufactu

Calling all Westmoreland County residents: The time to weigh in on the long-awaited Title V operating permit for the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station is NOW.   But how we got here and what’s in that permit will take a little bit of explaining…   How We Got Here   A couple of years ago, we blogged  about testing issues at the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County. For the uninitiated: Tenaska is a 940-megawatt, natural

We need to start with a little science lesson so we can drive home an air quality issue that probably isn’t on your radar. The subject? Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are a family of chemicals used mostly in refrigerators and air conditioners.   For such uses, they have replaced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were phased out worldwide by the so-called Montreal Protocol, an international agreement struck in 1989. CFCs damage the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects u

Now for something completely different - some GOOD news out of the EPA:   The agency signaled in an Oct. 3 notice its intent to kill an...

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week published a proposed rule  to eliminate greenhouse gas reporting requirements for...

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) on Friday released new details related to air quality monitoring in the wake of the deadly...

Last month’s deadly explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works left the community reeling, and while the Allegheny County Health...

Did you know that every year, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) must publish an air quality network monitoring plan providing a detailed description of how - and where - air pollution is monitored in Allegheny County? It’s true! The annual Air Network Monitoring plan is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and details the specific location of each monitoring station, as well as the department’s monitoring methods, monitoring objectives, frequ

The federally required annual review of Title V Air Quality permitting by the Allegheny County Health Department showed repeat concerns...

The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) on Thursday testified at a public hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - speaking out against a plan to delay full implementation of the revised National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for Integrated Iron and Steel making facilities.   Here's what you need to know about the EPA proposal, which would (among other things) allow U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works to emit greater amounts of

GASP on Wednesday testified at a public hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding an interim final rule...

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) is requesting public comment on its 2026 Air Monitoring Network Plan, an annual report that...

GASP on Wednesday voiced our vehement opposition to the Trump regime’s proposal to dismantle what’s known as the 2009 Endangerment...

It was a big deal: On Aug. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposal to revoke its own 2009 Endangerment...

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) announced Mobile Air Units provided by state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) will be stationed in the Mon Valley today and tomorrow. Here's the press release issued Thursday afternoon: This increased air quality monitoring is part of the ACHD Air Quality program's continued investigation of the incident at the Clairton Coke Works on Monday, August 11, 2025.   The addition of the Mo

Yes, public officials, the Allegheny County Health Department, regulatory and citizen monitors all confirmed that before, during, and...

UPDATE: Late Monday afternoon, Allegheny County released this update: Allegheny County Emergency Services (ACES) and Allegheny County Police (ACPD) remain on scene of the confirmed explosion at U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant. Officials can confirm there has been a second fatality in connection with this incident. This was the last of the two individuals that was initially unaccounted for. Additionally, ten people were transported to area hospitals to be treated for a va

In early June, Mon Valley residents were dealt three straight days of persistent rotten egg odor caused by elevated hydrogen sulfide...

Over the last few weeks, we have blogged about myriad (bad) decisions by Trump’s EPA leaders to delay the implementation of Clean Air Act...

Here at GASP, we are on the front lines of the fight for clean air. We know first hand how communities -  especially those living in the...