GASP Community Air Monitoring Project Finds High Levels of Benzene in Local Communities
- Group Against Smog & Pollution
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Media Contact:
Amanda Gillooly
Communications Manager
GASP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GASP Community Air Monitoring Project Finds High Levels of Benzene in Local Communities
The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) is thrilled to announce the publication of its first semi-annual report detailing findings from its Allegheny County Community Air Monitoring Project. This landmark initiative provides a new level of transparency regarding air quality in Allegheny County neighborhoods adjacent to major industrial emitters.
The project has created an expanded monitoring network and air sampling system, resulting in more detailed information about air pollutants that are consistently present in air pollution plumes, as well as trends in our region.
The initiative is the result of a robust partnership between GASP, Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN), Clean Water Fund (CWF), Protect Elizabeth Township (PET), and Valley Clean Air Now (VCAN).
Its purpose? To seek data-driven information about air toxics and emissions from industrial facilities located near our monitor sites. This data has been gathered through the monitoring and sampling of ambient air at designated sites in and around the Mon Valley, Neville Island, Uptown and West Elizabeth Township.
The monitoring program focused on five specific so-called "subject emitters":
U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works in Clairton
Lindy Paving Inc. in Uptown
Metalico Pittsburgh Inc. on Neville Island
Neville Chemical Company on Neville Island
Synthomer Resins Company in West Elizabeth Township
While the report is conducted under an EPA-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan, it should be noted that the findings are intended to inform future studies and community awareness rather than for direct regulatory enforcement.
“This monitoring program provides local residents with insight into what their air looks like, what it is composed of, and what impacts these components can have on their health and wellbeing,” ACCAN Executive Director Aarushi Pant said. “It puts science in the hands of community members who are directly impacted by air pollution, and gives them the tools, knowledge, and resources to bring about the changes they wish to see in their community!”
Scott Taylor of Protect Elizabeth Township agreed.
"Through this air monitoring project, we are finally gaining the hyper-local insights necessary to understand the true quality of the air we breathe in the Elizabeth Township area. We are particularly concerned by the short-term spikes in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) captured by these monitors - particularly benzene. While long-term averages are important, these acute 'bursts' of pollution can cause immediate respiratory irritation and headaches, and their presence near industrial sites demands further review," he said. "We hope the data gleaned from these monitors provides a roadmap for accountability, helping us identify specific pollution plumes and ensuring that our community's health is no longer overlooked by regulatory gaps."
Ana Hoffman, Air Quality Program Director at CREATE Lab, said she looks forward to what’s to come with the project.
“We're hopeful that this project can build on the many years of community-based air monitoring effort led by local, dedicated advocates for public health,” she said. “These early adopters of democratized air monitoring technology built networks to expand available knowledge, and in doing so they also garnered a sense of trust and motivation for action among Allegheny County residents.”
The full report details monitoring efforts from July 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025, is available for download on the GASP website here.
###
Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit in Southwestern Pennsylvania working for a healthy, sustainable environment. Founded in 1969, GASP has been a diligent watchdog, educator, litigator, and policymaker on many environmental issues, with a focus on air quality.
Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN) is a non-profit founded in June, 2014 to give a voice to the residents living downwind from the DTE Energy's Shenango Coke Plant on Neville Island. It is the successor organization to the Neville Island Good Neighbor Committee that was formed by the communities surrounding the coke plant and Clean Water Action in the late 1980s.
Clean Water Fund has helped people successfully campaign for cleaner air, cleaner and safer water, and protection from toxic pollution since 1974.
CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University works with partners to co-design tools to document air pollution, building on the combined power of crowd-sourced reporting, continuous sensor measurements and innovative monitoring technology, time-lapse imagery and visualizations to engage, empower, and inform the public and policy makers.
Protect Elizabeth Township (PET) is a grassroots community organization dedicated to advocating for environmental protection and promoting responsible development in Elizabeth Township.
Valley Clean Air Now (VCAN) is a non-profit organization fighting for the residents of the Mon Valley who continue to suffer from severe health, economic, climate, and environmental injustice by galvanizing the community to take action through local politics, grassroots organizing, community building, education, and community health initiatives.