It’s often said that the devil is in the details. This is certainly true concerning chromium, the 24th element of the periodic table. Compounds and isotopes of chromium have been used in red and yellow pigments, and to make those shiny bits on a motorcycle that get thumbs-up from guys with handle-bar mustaches. But hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), refers to chromium compounds that cause contact dermatitis, organ damage, and cancers when inhaled or ingested. On the heels of an Environmental Working Group report that found Cr(VI) in tap water of cities throughout the United States, EPA issued new guidance to drinking water suppliers on how to monitor for these toxic compounds while EPA studies the latest findings to determine if a newer, lower standard needs set. One known source of Cr(VI) that can be tackled quickly is coal combustion waste (CCW). Various methods of removing pollutants produced by coal-fired power plants are very effective in cleaning smokestack emissions. But the pollutants are not destroyed–they are gathered and concentrated in the ash produced by these cleaning technologies. Often stored in unlined ponds or landfills, leachate from CCW can make its way into groundwater, raising Cr(VI) levels far above those considered safe. A new report by Earthjustice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Environmental Integrity Project entitled “EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash,” details 28 coal ash disposal sites that have contaminated groundwaters above federal or state standards. Two of those sites are in southwestern Pennsylvania, at Allegheny Energy’s Hatsfield’s Ferry plant in Masontown, and GenOn’s Seward Generating Station in New Florence. Allegheny Energy spokesman David Neurohr responded to questions about the report by saying, simply enough, “We operate the landfill in compliance with DEP regulations.” Whether that is true or not, it highlights what many environmentalists have been saying to EPA–if you leave proper handling of toxic CCW to individual states or companies to regulate, you might be left with weak (or no) regulations. GASP and many others spoke with EPA recently, telling the agency to consider CCW under strict guidelines as the dangerous waste that it is. Hundreds of others agreed with us and filled conference halls across the country. We agree with the new report.  EPA must keep this chemical out of our water by creating strong, federally enforceable regulations.  We can’t let our health be affected by choices made by politically motivated state administrations or behind the closed doors of corporate board rooms.

I’m looking at a map of Pittsburgh that looks like someone dropped rainbow sherbet all over it.  Lime is covering downtown and the flat areas of the South Side and the North Side, and then is strung up the Strip District and into various globs around the East End. Most neighborhoods with the word “Heights” in them are covered in raspberry, like Stanton Heights and Crafton Heights. As much as I love sherbet, I don’t want to see my city covered in it.  What I want to see all over Pittsburgh are coffee shops, grocery stores, book stores, banks, bus stops–all of the amenities that, when close together, make urban living exciting, convenient, and less polluting. And that’s what the sherbet is showing. The new version of Walk Score attempts to rate the walkability of an address, a neighborhood, or even the average of a whole city.  The color-coded map it provides is a quick way to look at a region.  (Note: Lime sherbet is good; raspberry is bad.) It takes all of the amenities I mentioned and more, combines them with data like intersection density and average block length, then pinches and pulls the whole mess with weighted counting and algorithms to finally say, “The South Side Slopes are very walkable.” Well…yeah. That’s why I moved there, in part–to be in walking distance to the glory of East Carson Street, while not too close that I have to bar my ground-floor windows. Walk Score is an OK way to think about what you already know about walking around your area. What’s more interesting than the simple Walk Score is arguing over the Score’s weak methodology. Walk Score is extremely open about their process, which makes criticizing it easy. Walk Score says “Convenience Stores are filtered out of grocery store results.”  Why?  The point of a convenience store is convenience. Sometimes, all I need is a jug of milk. I’ll pay an extra quarter if it saves me five minutes.  Walk Score gives high marks for a grocery store, but only counts one grocery in an area.  From Market District, to Whole Foods, and on to Trader Joe’s in the East End is only .8 miles. Am I the only one that loves that trifecta? Walk Score combines bars and restaurants together. That’s just dumb. I go into a bar maybe once a year but eat at a restaurant a few times a month. And Walk Score gives dramatically less weight to an amenity the further it is from your location, so that something one mile away gets only 12% of its full points. Hey Walk Score–sometimes I want to walk more than a few steps. That’s the point – walking. One mile away is the idea. In all, Walk Score is a great idea that needs years of work. Users should be able to change all of the data to suit their desires. Not allowing complete flexibility means one is at the mercy of the programmer’s morality and vision of a great neighborhood. One glaring error is not including topographical data. I live only a 10-minute walk from bustling East Carson Street–if I’m going downhill. Coming home, it might take twice as long to clamber up the 300-odd steps to get to my house. That’s a huge walkability factor for most people. For now, Walk Score will give you the most cursory idea of density of amenities, but it won’t come close to actually–you know, walking around and checking a place out.

Contact: Joe Osborne Legal Director Group Against Smog & Pollution (412) 325-7382 \ GASP, Residents Speak out Against Plan to Increase Toxic Lead Emissions at Cheswick Power Plant Pittsburgh, PA (Feb. 22, 2010) – Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and residents living near RRI Energy’s (formerly Reliant) Cheswick power plant are demanding that RRI and the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Air Quality Program abandon a recent proposal to quadruple the Cheswick plant’s emissions limit on toxic lead. In 2006, RRI announced it would install an air pollution control device known as a scrubber at its 637 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Cheswick, PA. RRI has repeatedly characterized the long-delayed scrubber installation as a project to reduce air pollution emissions and improve air quality, but now the company is seeking an amendment to its scrubber permit that would substantially increase the amount of toxic lead the plant is allowed to release in the air. “It’s incredibly misleading for RRI to spend years describing the scrubber as an environmentally friendly project and then turn around and try to slip in a permit change that would actually allow increased pollution,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. Lead is highly toxic. Exposure to lead is associated with damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, and the reproductive system. Lead is particularly harmful to children because their brains are still developing. Childhood lead exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. “Though lead levels in Allegheny Country children have dropped in the past 10 years, one in 20 children younger than 6 here continue to have lead in their blood at levels high enough to affect brain development and behavior,” said De. Peri Unligil, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. Recent studies of the health dangers from lead exposure prompted the US EPA to drastically tighten its health-based standard for airborne lead in the fall of 2008. While the proposed change to the scrubber permit would increase permissible lead emissions, the scrubber will also reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter. “We’re not opposed to the scrubber project in itself, in fact we look forward to it reducing noise and pollution from the plant, but the lead increase is absolutely unacceptable. RRI can’t ask a community to trade one type of pollution for another and call it environmentally friendly,” Cheswick resident Bob Kristof said. Though RRI received an installation permit for the scrubber in April 2007 and the installation is nearly complete, RRI has repeatedly pushed back the startup date. At one time RRI predicted the scrubber would begin operating as early as the spring of 2009. The Amended Installation Permit is open for public comments through March 5, 2010. A copy may be obtained by calling ACHD nat 412-578-8191. More information: ACHD’s announcement of the proposed Cheswick permit amendment Reliant’s 2006 press release on the scrubber project Information about lead air pollution from the US EPA 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 policymaker on many environmental issues with a focus on air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania. ###

Contact: Joe Osborne GASP Legal Director 412-325-7382 GASP TO COUNTY: LIBERTY-CLAIRTON CLEAN AIR PLAN INADEQUATE Yesterday the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and PennFuture submitted comments to the Allegheny County Board of Health identifying numerous serious problems with the county’s draft plan to reduce fine particle pollution (PM 2.5) in the Liberty-Clairton area. The county plan is required under the federal Clean Air Act to bring the Liberty-Clairton area into compliance with federal health-based standards. In its current form, the county’s proposed cleanup plan simply won’t do the job. Among the plan’s flaws: Even after the plan is completely carried out, portions of the Liberty-Clairton area will continue to exceed the health standard for PM 2.5. “The county argues that it doesn’t need to meet the health standard in these areas because they are ‘unpopulated areas.’ However, we’ve identified at least 80 occupied homes in these high pollution areas,” GASP Legal Director Joe Osborne said. The county wants to push back the April 2010 deadline to meet these standards to 2015 but provides no evidence that such a lengthy extension is necessary. “The county proposes pushing its deadline back five years. That’s five additional years the residents of the Mon Valley will have no choice but to breathe air we know for certain is unhealthy,” Osborne continued. “Even if the county can make use of every available extension opportunity, their proposed plan would still miss the deadline,” Osborne stated. It is possible for the Liberty-Clairton area to meet the standard before 2015 and it is crucial that we do so as soon as possible. We identify specific, practical actions the county can take to meet the standard more quickly, including: setting an accelerated schedule for the shutdown of batteries 1-3 and startup of battery D at the Clairton Coke Works; replacing one or more of the remaining old quench towers at Clairton Coke with a tower of a newer, less polluting design; establish control measures for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—a class of toxic pollutants that convert to PM 2.5 in the atmosphere. “The message is clear: We can have clean air in the Mon Valley, and we can have it soon, but the political will has to be there, and we need to keep the pressure on U.S. Steel to follow through on its promises to make improvements at its Clairton Plant,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. Joining GASP and PennFuture’s comments were the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania, Clean Water Action, the Environmental Integrity Project, the Sierra Club Allegheny Group, and Sustainable Pittsburgh. More information: GASP/PennFuture Comments Draft Liberty Clairton SIP General Particulate Matter Information from EPA 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 has served as a watchdog, educator, litigator, and policymaker on many environmental issues with a focus on air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania. ###

PennEnvironment’s new report on solar water heating, “Smart, Clean, and Ready to Go,” provides a comprehensive overview of the technologies of using the sun’s power to heat our water, the potential reductions our country could achieve in electricity and natural gas usage, and how we stack up globally in use of these technologies. There are some eye-opening numbers included. If you don’t count our solar-heated swimming pools, we rank lower than Albania on a per-capita heating capacity basis, and Germany, per-capita, has 14 times our capacity. Read the full report or the executive summary to learn more about where we rank, how we can improve, and what it would mean to our economy and our air quality.

In a press briefing on March 9, the Heinz Endowments released a report detailing how the region’s air pollution ranks among the most severe in the nation. The study, “Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone Air Quality in Western Pennsylvania in the 2000s,” was conducted by Dr. John Graham, a senior scientist with the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force. While the report confirms what we already know, one of its key findings debunks the myth that the pollution in our area is all blowing in from other states. The report found that much of the region’s poor air quality is due to in-state sources, implying that local communities have the power to make changes that will remove Pittsburgh’s label as one of the worst-air regions. In response to the report, the Heinz Endowments plans to launch a new effort focused on air quality. “The board and staff are committed to dedicating significant resources and manpower to lead a region-wide, public initiative that will build awareness of the problem and develop solutions," Endowments President Robert Vagt said. Part of the initiative will be to launch a new section of the Heinz Endowments website dedicated to air quality awareness and action. It will go live later this month. The initiative includes more intensive grant-making to press for more federal oversight, more fact-finding, and more partners to help forge solutions, including those from local industry. The Heinz Endowments also released, “Understanding Western Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Problem,” which summarizes the Clean Air Task Force report and states the position of the Endowments. Read the Heinz Endowments press release here. #pittsburghairpollution #HeinzEndowment #airpollution #Pittsburghairquality #CleanAirTaskForce #particulatepollution #airquality

Editor's Note: Our pals at ROCIS told us that they had an overwhelming response and that no more filters are needed at this time. THANK YOU to all who participated and reached out! Friends, we wanted to let you know about an opportunity to get involved in a local research project aimed at understanding the indoor contaminants that make their way into our indoor spaces. It’s SUPER SIMPLE to volunteer: All that’s needed are your dirty filters. Here’s what’s happening: Our community partners at ROCIS are collaborating with Pitt's School of Public Health on a project to analyze the contents of dirty air filters used in furnaces, central air conditioners, portable air cleaners, or do-it-yourself fan filters. While ROCIS has been collecting filters from those who are participating in its low-cost air quality monitoring project, more are urgently needed for a batch being submitted for analysis ASAP. That’s why we’re asking: Could you - would you? - do us a solid and check to see how your home’s furnace filter looks? If the answer is, “It’s kinda nasty” then we implore you to change the filter and send ‘em the old one (it’s just good practice to change them regularly - here’s why). You just have to follow these simple instructions. Editor’s Note: Questions? Contact Linda Wigginton of ROCIS at Lwigington1@outlook.com

A year ago GASP began urging the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to do more to eliminate violations of the County’s hydrogen sulfide (H2S) standard and the offensive rotten egg odors that go along with those violations. GASP documented that the H2S standard has been violated on average more than 50 times a year, over the past six years, according to readings from the Liberty Borough monitor in the Mon Valley. At the ACHD Air Quality Program Criteria Pollutant/Air Monitoring subcommittee meetings, we repeatedly insisted that ACHD staff look into the problem and do more to reduce these illegal emissions. We are pleased to report some progress is occurring. At a recent meeting of the subcommittee, ACHD provided a preliminary study that compared the frequency and intensity of H2S concentrations with weather conditions and other types of air pollution at the Liberty Borough monitor from 2013-2017. The study concluded that there was no seasonal trend in the occurrence of high H2S concentrations but there was a daily trend: most of the highest H2S readings occurred between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. It is likely our region’s frequent atmospheric inversions, which occur at night, are trapping the H2S closer to the ground. ACHD also concluded that sulfur dioxide (SO2), benzene, and fine particles (PM2.5) appeared to increase with an increase in H2S. These are all pollutants highly associated with coke-making. The study also revealed that most of the highest hourly H2S, SO2, benzene, and PM2.5 readings, at the Liberty monitor, typically came from the south, south-southwest, and southwest—which is in the general upwind direction of U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. ACHD concludes that, “Based on location and amount of reported emissions from USS Clairton, it is likely a substantial contributor to the H2S, SO2, benzene, and PM2.5 concentrations.” Is anyone surprised by this? We weren’t. U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works is by far the largest emitter of H2S in the county, emitting more than 109 tons in 2017, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s eFACTS online data portal. While we were glad to see ACHD put some effort into examining the problem, what we are most interested in is—what’s next? Evaluation of Hydrogen Sulfide Concentrations at Liberty Borough Monitoring Station-1 Now that ACHD has an answer as to the source of the smelly H2S, what will ACHD and U.S. Steel do to remedy the problem? In May, Jim Kelly, ACHD Deputy Director for Environmental Health, told the Allegheny County Board of Health that the Air Quality Program planned to revise the county’s coke oven regulations. Board of Health meeting minutes report, “[Jim Kelly] stated that fugitive emissions were responsible for the ‘rotten egg’ smell. He stated that the rationale for change is that the current H₂S limit in the rule was not protective of the SO₂ NAAQS and that fugitive emissions should be reduced to improve compliance with the H₂S State standard. Elements of the regulation to be changed include the door areas, which will impact allowable visible emissions; coke oven gas, which will impact the allowable H₂S concentration, and updating of equipment lists.” We know that the Air Quality Program’s Regulation subcommittee is currently reviewing the coke oven regulations. Will revisions to the regulations help to reduce H2S emissions coming from Clairton Coke Works and the rotten egg odor that permeates so much of the Mon Valley and downwind areas? That is yet to be seen, but we will keep you posted. This is a welcome but overdue step in the right direction. Any changes to the County’s air quality regulations must go out for public comment, and we will need your voice when that happens. –Rachel Filippini, Executive Director #cokeovenregulations #coke #H2S #airpollution #Liberty #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #Clairton #airquality

Whether you live near train tracks, work near a construction site, or are just standing in line for a bus, you are likely exposed to diesel emissions sometime during the day. Diesel particulate matter is a pervasive “toxic air contaminant” according to the California Air Resources Board, for which there is no safe level of exposure. Diesel particulate matter poses one of the greatest cancer risks from any type of outdoor air pollution in the region. In addition to causing cancer, diesel emissions are also linked to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, reduced brain function, and diabetes. Children are especially vulnerable as their bodies, including their lungs and brains, are still developing. The Pittsburgh region has made significant strides in improving air quality, but we continue to be among the cities with the most air pollution in the nation, and diesel emissions are contributing to the problem. In fact, for almost two-thirds of 2015, our region’s air quality was below what EPA considers to be satisfactory. In addition to being a threat to public health, black carbon, a component of diesel pollution, is a large driver of climate change. Black carbon is a form of particulate matter emitted by diesels (and other sources) that warms the atmosphere by absorbing sunlight and radiating heat into the air. Thankfully there are many strategies for reducing diesel pollution, including replacing old equipment, retrofitting equipment to meet new emissions standards, using cleaner fuels, and curtailing unnecessary idling. The many funding programs which are currently available are an opportunity for our region to reduce these harmful emissions. GASP urges eligible groups such as school districts, school bus companies, municipalities, and fleet owners to take advantage of these opportunities. Funding opportunities: Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-national-grants#rfp Eligible diesel vehicles, engines, and equipment may include school buses, Class 5–Class 8 heavy-duty highway vehicles, marine engines, locomotives and nonroad engines, equipment, or vehicles used in construction, handling of cargo (including at ports or airports), agriculture, mining or energy production (including stationary generators and pumps). EPA will host two Information Sessions regarding this Request for Proposals via teleconference/webinar on March 8th and March 10th. EPA will attempt to answer any appropriate questions in these public forums. More information here: http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-national-grants#rfp Deadline for applications: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 4 p.m. ET PA DEP’s Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant (AFIG) Program http://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/GrantsLoansRebates/Alternative-Fuels-Incentive-Grant/Pages/default.aspx#.VtRkI5wrLIX DEP is seeking applications for innovative, advanced fuel and vehicle technology projects resulting in cleaner advanced alternative transportation within this Commonwealth. Approximately $7 million in grants will be available for school districts, municipal authorities, political subdivisions, nonprofit entities, corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships incorporated or registered in the Commonwealth. Learn more at Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Seminar on March 18th. http://www.crcog.net/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7BECD4FF87-93F8-4F8B-AF9C-6BE1C8A30C24%7D&DE=%7B78CEAF11-1A1B-4BFB-99B8-F6635C8A30D3%7D Deadline for applications: Friday, April 29, 2016 Build it With Clean Diesel program http://dieselmidatlantic.org/allegheny Grant funded program that provides significant financial assistance to qualified small construction companies that wish to upgrade their equipment and help reduce emissions in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Neville Island Clean Diesel Program http://www.achd.net/air/neville/index.html Allegheny County is offering financial assistance to companies operating in and around the Neville Island area to upgrade their diesel equipment. Both on-road and off-road equipment is eligible. #CleanDieselFundingAssistanceProgram #airpollution #diesel #emissions #retrofittingequipment #dieselemissions #airquality