CONTACT: Group Against Smog & Pollution Joe Osborne GASP Legal Director 412-325-7382 joe@gasp-pgh.org McConway & Torley David Margulies 214-368-0909 davidm@prexperts.net MCCONWAY & TORLEY AND GASP ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS FROM LAWRENCEVILLE STEEL FOUNDRY McConway and Torley, LLC (M&T) and the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) have finalized an agreement regarding air emission reductions at M&T’s Lawrenceville steel foundry.  M&T has operated its Lawrenceville foundry since the 1860s.  The foundry manufactures steel castings and employs 273 individuals.  GASP is a Pittsburgh-based environmental nonprofit that has worked on air quality issues in southwestern Pennsylvania for over 40 years. In January 2011 the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued an air permit for the reactivation of an electric arc furnace at the Lawrenceville foundry.  GASP appealed the permit based on concerns about potential emissions of heavy metals from the facility.  M&T approached GASP to collaborate on a potential solution. M&T and GASP agreed to supplemental emission controls over and above that required by the EPA or ACHD, including a more effective collection hood on the existing furnace and membrane fabric filters on the furnace baghouses.  The improvements further reduce emissions of particulate matter and heavy metals from the facility.  The agreement allows M&T to proceed with its planned plant modernization, simultaneously providing more manufacturing jobs and improved air quality. “This agreement once again disproves the notion that a healthy environment and a healthy economy are incompatible,” said Rachel Filippini, GASP’s executive director. M&T and GASP are pleased with the working relationship they have established and the additional air emission reductions that will result from this agreement. #McConwayandTorley #AlleghenyCountyHealthDeparment #emissions #ACHD #airquality

March 10th, 2011, 5:00 PM 4th Floor-Gold Room, 436 Grant St., Allegheny County Courthouse Come hear and be heard in County Council Chambers. Register to speak by 3/9/11 by clicking here and craft a three-minute masterpiece, or just come and listen to your fellow citizens. Expect a crowded room and an energetic buzz as democracy is put to work. #AlleghenyCountyCouncil #MarcellusShale #publichearing

Title: Medical Professionals’ Support for Diesel Legislation Location: PCHS Clinic (First Floor), Hill House Association, 1835 Centre Avenue Description: Join GASP, Clean Water Action, and other partners to draw attention to the health effects from diesel emissions and the Clean Construction legislation being considered by City Council, and to highlight the support for the bill from the medical community.  This legislation would require that large construction projects receiving public subsidies would have to use cleaner construction equipment.  The bill is the final one in a trilogy of bills introduced by a broad coalition of labor, faith, environmental, and community groups. Start Time: 10:00 Date: 2011-02-17 #airpollution #airquality #CleanConstruction #dieselemissions

“Mapping Mortality,” the eight-day, multi-article series recently published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, made some waves in our region. Looking at mortality rates from various illnesses related to air pollution, and the location of major, stationary sources of that pollution, the series gave fresh momentum to the fight for clean air. GASP recently joined with PennFuture to petition EPA to reject the Pedal Pittsburgh Title V Operating Permit (TVOP) of GenOn’s Cheswick Power Station in Springdale, PA.  The TVOP has several notable issues which GASP and PennFuture raised.  For example, the permit does not include limits on mercury emissions.  Nor does the permit include all monitoring requirements necessary to ensure that the facility’s pollution control devices are operating effectively.  (Read our full petition here.) The Sierra Club has now petitioned EPA to block GenOn’s Shawville Power Plant in Clearfield County for similar reasons.  Read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article here, and check out our “Coal” Project page to stay informed on GASP’s work to keep trained eyes trained on the coal industry. #pittsburghairpollution #MappingMortality #CheswickPowerStation #airpollution #TitleV #SierraClub #Pittsburghairquality #ShawvillePowerPlant #airquality

We are completely perplexed that the Obama Adminstration did not include any funds to support the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) in their FY12 budget proposal.  Reducing diesel pollution is a win for jobs, health, and climate.  The DERA program has been a poster child for bipartisan cooperation and has diverse support among industry, labor, environmental, and health groups, and state and local agencies across the country. In a FY 2008 report to Congress, EPA estimated that for every dollar spent on the DERA program, an average of more than $20 in health benefits are generated.  During this past fall’s lame duck session, Senators Carper, Inhoffe, and Voinovich, leaders in both chambers, worked together to pass DERA reauthorization at $500M over five years. Over the last five years, the Pittsburgh region has greatly benefitted from the federal DERA program.  Most recently the Port of Pittsburgh Commission was awarded more than $1.1 million to oversee the extensive repowering of four marine towing vessels (eight engines) with new, cleaner, more fuel-efficient diesel engines and generators.  After being matched with $1.97 million from three private companies, this project will be able to cut 5 tons of particulate matter, 112 tons of nitrous oxide, 15 tons of carbon monoxide, and 2 tons of hydrocarbons from our air. Other local projects that have been funded with DERA funds include the retrofitting of 33 City of Pittsburgh garbage trucks with diesel particulate filters, the repowering of 9 Port Authority transit buses and the replacement of 2 transit buses with diesel hybrid electric buses, the repowering of a conventional diesel switcher locomotive with a GENSET diesel engine at the Demler rail yard in McKeesport, and the retrofitting or repowering of 28 pieces of off-road construction equipment utilized on area roadways.  These projects have reduced many tons of PM, CO, and NOx locally, and have touched on nearly every sector of diesel emissions in our region. Members of the national diesel coalition we are involved in are looking forward to having constructive discussions with EPA and OMB officials later this month to get a meaningful level of funding for DERA restored. #pittsburghairpollution #NOx #Pittsburghairquality #particulatepollution #emissions #dieselemissions

Nov. 23, 2010 Immediate Release Contact: Rachel Filippini Group Against Smog & Pollution (412) 325-7382 Over the past 15 years diabetes prevalence has more than doubled in the U.S. A major new study conducted by Harvard University researchers has established for the first time that particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air, a major component of diesel emissions, is linked to diabetes. Hundreds of medical studies have linked exposure to particulate matter to lung and heart disease and premature death, but this is the first nationwide study to quantitatively link diabetes to particulate matter exposure in U.S. cities. During November, which is National Diabetes Awareness Month, Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and Clean Water Action are calling for continued efforts to reduce diesel pollution in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, primarily through passage of the pending legislation in City Council that would require construction vehicles on large publicly funded development projects to drastically reduce their diesel emissions. Both organizations are also urging Congress to re-authorize the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, currently pending in Congress. “This new study provides compelling evidence linking higher diabetes prevalence with higher levels of particulate matter. We have known for quite a while now that chronic inflammation is strongly linked with obesity and diabetes, and that exposure to particulate matter can cause inflammatory responses, but this is the first study in humans to connect those dots,” said Bret H. Goodpaster, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The study found that counties with higher levels of particulate matter had an increased prevalence of diabetes even in counties that met the guidelines of the Clean Air Act. These results persisted even after they were adjusted for ethnicity, obesity, health insurance, and education. “The results of this new study underscore the importance of reducing diesel emissions in our region. While we have made some progress, further reductions are necessary, especially in the construction and marine sectors, which make up a large proportion of our diesel emissions locally,” said Rachel Filippini, executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution. “Proven technology exists to clean up diesel vehicles and is just begging to be used.” Because diesel emissions are a major source of particulate matter, results of the study suggest that people living around and working near diesels may be at a higher risk for diabetes. Commuters, people living in urban neighborhoods along truck or bus routes, and people that work with diesel construction equipment or in rail, bus, or trucking centers are among the most exposed to diesel particulate matter. Pittsburgh’s air is high in particulates and frequently is near the top in ratings of cities with a significant PM2.5 problem. “The more we study pollution from diesel, the more we find that it is extremely hazardous to people’s health. This study is just another in a long line of studies that show how dangerous diesel pollution is,” said Tom Hoffman, Western Pennsylvania Director for Clean Water Action. “Passage of the City Council legislation to drastically reduce diesel emissions on publicly funded development projects would go a long way in reducing Pittsburgher’s exposure to these fumes.” More information: Diabetes Care, October 2010; Association Between fine Particulate Matter and Diabetes Prevalence in the U.S. Proposed City of Pittsburgh Clean Air Act ### Bret H. Goodpaster is an Associate Professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is a nationally and internationally-recognized expert in the study of obesity and diabetes. The Group Against Smog and Pollution, Inc. (GASP) is Pittsburgh-based non-profit citizens group working for a healthy, sustainable environment. Founded in 1969, GASP serves as a watchdog, educator, litigator, and policy-maker on many environmental issues with a focus on air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania. Clean Water Action is a national organization dedicated to fighting for clean air and water. In Pittsburgh, Clean Water Action has been on the forefront of reducing toxic emissions in our air, promoting policies that will bring our area into compliance with the Clean Air Act and searching for solutions to our city’s stormwater runoff problems. #PM25 #pittsburghairpollution #DieselEmissionReductionAct #airpollution #Pittsburghairquality #particulatematter #airquality