Report Air Quality Violations
If you are smelling foul odors or seeing heavy smoke, you may be witnessing a violation of county or state regulations. In Allegheny County, call the Allegheny County Health Department at (412) 687-ACHD or click here to report an odor or smoke problem.
​
In southwestern Pennsylvania, outside of Allegheny County, call the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection at (412) 442-4184 to file a complaint, or (412) 442-4000 for emergencies. Please let GASP know if you contact ACHD or DEP and how your complaint was handled.
We put together a resource that tells you everything you need to know to make an air quality complaint. We also have information on how you can identify air pollutants you might be smelling.
If you live in the Pittsburgh area and are curious if other residents nearby are smelling what you're smelling, check out SmellPGH, a mobile phone app created by the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. You can also see a map of other smell reports made using the app. Learn more and get the app here.
Smelling a “rotten egg” odor? This is likely coming from hydrogen sulfide. ACHD has a hydrogen sulfide monitor in Liberty Borough and it records violations of our hydrogen sulfide standard dozens of times each year. ACHD recently added an H2S dashboard to their website, which you can find here.
GASP consistently receives complaints from community members about foul odors and thick smoke. Please call ACHD or DEP every time you notice these problems. Let your officials know that you want polluters to be held accountable and that you want the laws and regulations enforced.
​
Want to know more about industrial sources of pollution in our region? Check out our Air Permits Clearinghouse, which includes a map of permitted sources of air pollution in SWPA.