Air quality monitors on bicycles. It’s so cool that’s really all we need to say. But because that would make a very short blog post, I’ll elaborate. Our Bicycle Air Quality Monitoring Project puts data gathered by volunteers riding all around the city on an interactive map that you can use to help plan your next cycling route. Want to participate? On April 4, we’re holding a GASP RASP–a Ride Against Smog and Pollution. Volunteers will meet in the South Side and ride in shifts of one hour, in a loop on two heavily used trails: the Eliza Furnace Trail and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. We’ll ride from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., ensuring we’ll have a lot of numbers to look at–and thus a better picture of air quality on these two trails throughout daily changes in temperature, nearby vehicle traffic, etc. This data can also be used by policymakers and trail developers in future efforts to reduce air pollution. At the end of the day, we’ll be raising a pint at Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe. We have great gift bags ready to go and some raffle prizes too. All we need is you! Please fill out this Doodle poll, giving us your availability. We’ll get in touch with the hour where we need you the most. Make sure you use your email in the Name field, so we can contact you. Oh, and bring your own bike if you have one–otherwise we’ll happily loan you a clunker. Contact sam@gasp-pgh.org or 412-924-0604 with any questions, and happy trails! #ElizaFurnaceTrail #ThreeRiversHeritageTrail #airpollution #airmonitors #airquality

by Sam Thomas, Athletes United for Healthy Air Coordinator On Saturday October 19th, 2013 GASP held the first Clean Air Dash and Festival on Pittsburgh’s South Side Riverfront Trail. This community festival and 5K was made possible thanks to the Heinz Endowment’s Breathe Project and the many sponsors, community partners, athletes, and volunteers who came together to make the event a success. The event highlighted GASP’s Athletes United for Healthy Air campaign (AU). AU educates athletes about air quality issues in the Pittsburgh region, gives them tools to minimize their exposure, and empowers them to champion for healthy air. In the wee early hours of the morning, GASP employees filtered into the South Side Riverfront Park under a full moon’s glow. Despite the chill in the air, and the lingering darkness, race volunteers arrived next and were greeted with hot coffee, bagels, and gratitude. They were soon deployed to hang banners, set barriers, and prepare race shirts and bibs for runners. The sponsors, community partners, and food vendors came next. Soon the runners began showing up, and the park was transformed into a sea of athletes adorned in kelly green Clean Air Dash shirts. Many athletes rode their bikes to the event, and the bike valet provided by Friends of the Riverfront and Bike Pittsburgh quickly filled up. GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini led the event off with some words about GASP and Athletes United for Healthy Air. Rachel also spoke a few words in remembrance of Michelle Madoff, GASP co-founder and ex-City Councilwoman who passed away on October 12, 2013. Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of the Allegheny County Health Department, and City Councilman Bruce Kraus also spoke. Next, the Yoga Hive led runners in a yoga stretch. Wattley, Duquesne Light’s mascot tried keep up, but it’s awful tough for a light bulb to touch its toes. Dr. Hacker then led kids and their parents on an educational fun run, courtesy of Mom’s Clean Air Force. Children walked or ran along the gorgeous South Side Riverfront Trail, learned about air quality, and received a T-shirt and a medal. At 10 AM it was time for the race to start. Councilman Kraus manned the starter’s pistol, and with a bang more than 300 athletes were off! The runners ranged from first-time racers to experienced 5K veterans. The top female finisher ran a stellar time of 21:11, and the top male finisher blew in at a blistering 16:45. Also in the race were a group of young students from Clairton and teams from Clean Air Dash sponsors such as Copies at Carson, G-Tech Strategies, and pair Networks. After the last runners crossed the finish line the fun really began. Festival attendees roamed the park and met with local businesses and nonprofits. Activities at the festival included the Venture Outdoors climbing wall, football drills with a member of the Pittsburgh Passion, pumpkin painting with Women for a Healthy Environment, and views of air quality monitoring from CMU’s mobile air quality lab. The Steer and Wheel, The Vegan Goddess, and The Muscle Maker Grill served delicious food. The Yoga Hive took the stage again and led the crowd in more yoga. GASP and Athletes United for Healthy Air thanks all the volunteers, runners, and sponsors who made this fantastic event a success. GASP also thanks Councilman Bruce Kraus and Dr. Karen Hacker for their roles in the event. Stay involved! Find some more event pictures here. Keep connected with us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest on air quality and other environmental issues, and start training for next year’s race! Please click here to see all of the sponsors that made this possible. Editor's Note: Photos courtesy of The Breathe Project and Joshua Franzos Photography #airquality #AthletesUnited #MomsCleanAirForce #RachelFilippini

On Jan. 16, GASP’s Athletes United for Healthy Air campaign proudly unveiled the Bicycle Air Monitoring Project’s new web site. This project, which relies on volunteer cyclists to gather air quality data, is a great way for people active outside to monitor air pollution on their favorite routes. Here’s how the Bike Air Monitoring Project works: volunteers strap particulate monitors to their handlebars and ride their normal routes. These monitors take a measurement of the air particles every six seconds. These measurements are then uploaded to an interactive GIS map. In this fashion, GASP is creating an accessible, visual array of particle pollution in the city. Some of our past volunteers, with the monitors on the handlebars: During the unveiling, folks were given the opportunity to ask GASP staff questions about the air quality and the project, use the map themselves, and hear from Bike PGH and Friends of the Riverfront. There was beer from East End Brewery and pierogi courtesy of Kate and Tomasz, the folks behind the monthly Pierogi Night in Lawrenceville. GASP hopes that the Bicycle Air Monitoring Project increases awareness of air quality issues in the Pittsburgh region among cyclists and other athletes. When preparing for a walk, a run, or a bike ride, people take many things into consideration including traffic patters, chance of rain, and time until nightfall. The Bike Monitoring program allows athletes to consider air quality as well before heading out. GASP also hopes that this air quality data will become a tool to push for policy both in reducing emission of air particulates and to develop bike lanes, trails, and routes that protect cyclists from concentrated air pollution. This project would not have been possible without the support of Google, who provided the seed money. GASP would also like to thank the volunteers who gathered the air quality data, the University of Pittsburgh School of Computer Science, and Carnegie Mellon University. A special thank you goes out to Bike PGH and Friends of the Riverfront for their partnership and dedication to improving cycling in Pittsburgh. This is an ongoing project! If you or anyone you know wants to take an air quality monitor on two-wheeled adventures, sign up by following this link: http://gasp-pgh.org/projects/bam/ And be on the lookout for exciting updates on this project! Oh, and one last thing. Do you have three minutes and 23 seconds to spare to take this survey? It will help us better understand who this project has reached and what’s most important to them. Thanks! #airpollution #BikeAirMonitoringProject #airmonitoring #AthletesUnited #airquality

A few months ago, I dreamed of GASP winning the Green Workplace Challenge, a “free, yearlong competition for organizations to save money and gain recognition for energy savings and other green initiatives” run by Sustainable Pittsburgh. (Read about my initial enthusiasm here.) An energy auditor poked through our office, the long ground floor we rent of an old three-story building on Penn Avenue in Garfield. He gave us a list of tasks that would save us money on cooling and heating costs, and I excitedly began to cross off items from that list. The caulking in our largest room was cracked, on several windows about 12’ high. Putting my palm near the cracks, I could feel cold air flowing in. Brrr. Old caulking out, and a lot of new caulking squished in. We then sealed the windows that opened with either window film or seam tape. I put several rolls of foam in door jambs to reduce drafts. I even put some in our mail slot. I sprayed expanding foam in gaps in a bunch of gaps around a door in the basement. This is easy! Victory is mine, I continued to dream. And then winter got more wintery. Very cold, for many days on end. So cold that our office couldn’t get above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, even with the heater running all day. My dreams of victory became hours of insomnia as I lay in bed, grinding my teeth over all the gas burned to barely warm our building. Starting during the cold spell and on and off throughout the winter, I plunged into our basement with only a roll of foil tape and 10 pounds of pure pluck. Going from the furnace and following the supply and return lines out, I found many, many spots where our heated air was blasting straight into the basement, wasted, or places where the return ducts were damaged, meaning cold, smelly basement air was being sucked through those leaks back into the furnace—and thus more money to heat that untreated air. The worst thing I found (other than the collection of over 1000 VHS tapes of movies copied off the TV) was a hole bigger than my fist, allowing hot air to rush into the basement. Next to the hole, resting on the ductwork, sat a cap. The exact shape and size of the hole. The cap was simply never placed in the hole. Oh, and next to the rushing hot air was this old box of rat poison. Sigh. OK, it was a hardened lump, probably 60 years old. But still. In many places, our return “ducts” were made of a sheet of metal covering the space between two joists. The joists often had holes drilled through them to make room for wiring. Or the joists leaked air where, due to being rough, natural wood, they didn’t line up as perfectly as they should. Or the duct work just…didn’t fit. Note the cobwebs: spiders often make these near drafts of air. Look for cobwebs and you’ll find air leaks. The upshot of all this? I have been certified as an HVAC Fixer-Guy. I certified myself. I taped, nailed, capped, and sealed up every leak I could find. Also, we will not come close to winning the GWC. All the time I had to go through the list of actions rushed away, like…hot air through a huge seam gap. More important than winning a contest, however, is understanding our heating and cooling systems, significantly reducing our heating and cooling costs, and giving our office better air quality. That’s what I’ll repeat to myself at the GWC awards ceremony, where I will sulk from the back of the room. #airquality #GreenWorkplaceChallenge #SustainablePittsburgh

To learn more about our previous work with Shenango Coke, including the text of our 60-day notice, please visit our project page here. Below is the text of our press release. For Immediate Release: February 12, 2014 at 11 a.m. Contacts: Rachel Filippini, GASP, 412-924-0604, rachel@gasp-pgh.org Chelsea Perkins, Clean Air Council, 215-567-4004 ext. 103, cperkins@cleanair.org Elaine Labalme, PennFuture, 412-996-4112, labalme@pennfuture.org Tom Hoffman, Clean Water Action, 412-523-2255, tomhoffman@cleanwater.org Shenango Coke Works Violates Air Quality Regulations on 330 of the Last 432 Days Residents worried about health effects of plant’s pollution team up with environmental organizations to file legal action Residents near Neville Island and environmentalists held a press teleconference today describing ongoing and numerous violations of air emissions standards at the Shenango Coke Works[1] on Neville Island. A review of recent Shenango compliance reports covering a 432-day period shows that on at least 330 of those days, one or more air quality violations occurred at the facility. In response, on Feb. 6, the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) filed a notice of intent to sue Shenango for Clean Air Act violations at the coke plant. Participating in today’s teleconference were residents from areas near the plant, representatives of GASP and health professionals. The action is part of a multi-group collaborative effort to reduce emissions from the Shenango facility. Participants in the cooperative effort include: individuals living near the Shenango facility, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, Group Against Smog and Pollution, and Women for a Healthy Environment. The notice of intent to sue focuses on violations from July 26, 2012 to Sept. 30, 2013. This 432-day period includes: · at least 264 days when emissions from Shenango’s combustion stack violated opacity standards, · at least 81 days when emissions from pushing operations violated opacity standards, · at least 39 days when emissions from coke oven battery doors violated visible emission standards, · at least 30 days when emissions from charging operations violated visible emission standards, and · at least 12 days when combusted coke oven gas exceeded hydrogen sulfide limits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) describes coke oven emissions as “among the most toxic of all air pollutants.”[2] Emissions from coke plants include benzene and other carcinogens, hydrogen sulfide, and significant quantities of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. The violations at Shenango result in increased emissions of these harmful pollutants. Preventing future air quality violations at this facility is particularly important given its location: The facility is less than one mile from the densely populated communities of Ben Avon, Avalon, Bellevue, and Emsworth and less than five miles from Point State Park. “Residents’ concerns about how the Shenango coke works is affecting their health should be the top priority for everyone. Obviously, that is not the case since the company continues to pollute the air they breathe and get away with it,” said Tom Hoffman, Western PA Director for Clean Water Action. “We’re very pleased GASP is taking the first step in filing legal action to protect public health.” “Considering the potential human health impact pollution from this plant may pose, Shenango should be doing everything in its power to minimize emissions and prevent violations. Based on the plant’s recent compliance record, we don’t believe that’s happening,” said GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini. “As western PA’s vibrant tech and service industries continue to expand, dismal air quality reports listing Allegheny County among the worst polluted in the country, are bad for business. The health department is responsible for enforcing air laws in order to stop Shenango from releasing toxic chemicals into our air, which continues to pollute the lungs of area citizens. Failure to enforce air quality standards puts both our health and our economy at risk,” said Cindy Dunn, President and CEO at PennFuture. “From my perspective, the Shenango coke plant is out of control. It is a danger to the health and wellbeing of its workers and nearby residents,” said Ben Avon resident Ted Popovich. “Both Shenango and the Allegheny County Health Department need to seriously address the chronic pollution from the plant. For community members to be adequately protected from harmful air pollution, both entities must agree to substantially reduce the toxic air emissions that have been going on since the July 2012 consent decree,” said Joe Minott, Executive Director, Clean Air Council. “Living right across the river from Shenango with an 8-year-old son who has asthma, I’m extremely concerned about the illegal air pollution coming from the facility,” said Angela Garcia, a resident of Bellevue. “We need the regulatory agencies and environmental groups to do everything within their power to stop the coke works from continuing to pollute the air my family and I breathe.” The notice of intent to sue is the first step in initiating a citizen lawsuit to enforce emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. If the violations remain unresolved 60 days after giving notice, the citizen suit can proceed in federal district court. [1] Produced from coal, metallurgical coke is a key ingredient in the iron and steel production process. [2] http://www.epa.gov/airtoxics/coke/cokefact.pdf The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) is a Pittsburgh-based environmental non-profit founded in 1969 and dedicated to improving air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization founded in 1998 with staff in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre. The organization’s activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state, and federal courts; advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level; public education; and assisting citizens in public advocacy. Clean Water Action has more than 100,000 members statewide in Pennsylvania and is the nation’s largest grassroots group focused on water, energy and environmental health.  Clean Water Action’s 1 million members work for clean, safe and affordable water, prevention of health-threatening pollution, and creation of environmentally-safe jobs and businesses. Clean Water Action’s nonpartisan campaigns empower people to make democracy work. Clean Air Council is a non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Council has members throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. For more than 40 years, the Council has fought to improve air quality across the region. The Council’s mission is to protect everyone’s right to breathe clean air. #airpollution #ShenangoCokeWorks #NoticeofIntent #emissions #airquality

“Marcellus shale” are two words that have electrified our region, as wastewater pits, towering drilling rigs, and giant balls of flame from flaring have become everyday sights for some. New rigs are being raised all over Pennsylvania and other states in the Marcellus play. Marcellus shale gas development itself might soon be overshadowed by gas found in other shale plays, like the Utica, or by using the same hydrofracturing technologies to extract oil as well. Open, honest discussion is needed for citizens to make up their mind on these issues, and for community leaders to know how best to protect their citizens while also considering their economies. Many citizens demand an outright ban on drilling, until we have better understanding about the potential for hydrofracturing to cause harm to our water supplies and air quality,  stronger regulations to protect our communities should drilling proceed, and stronger safeguards in place to prevent accidents like yesterday’s explosion and fire in Avella. Some would favor Marcellus and other shale gas development, as natural gas burns more cleanly than coal, but many safety questions remain. It often seems like the industry isn’t understanding what concerned citizens are saying. Maybe they understand perfectly, but act like they don’t. One PR firm’s President is recommending industry do just that. Greg Matusky, founder of Gregory FCA, a PR firm based in Ardmore, PA, recently posted “Are we winning or losing the public relations battle on Marcellus Shale?” Mr. Matusky looks at recent online data to suggest that public opinion on Marcellus drilling is becoming less positive overall and has fallen dramatically in the last year. So what does Mr. Matusky recommend to turn around public opinion? “Never respond to the supposed negatives” is #2 on his list.  “Too often, the industry only amplifies the criticism of the lunatic fringe by addressing falsehoods.” This advice is dead wrong and is the key failing of the drilling industry’s communications strategy.  Homeowners have had water supplies contaminated, so that they now get water delivered to them, tracked in by drillers. Some have had livestock die from drinking contaminated water.  When asked to respond, industry puts on a stone face and merely repeats the same sentence, with little variation: “In the 60 years of hydrofracturing, (your state here) has never found one instance where hydrofracturing has contaminated water supplies.” Homeowners gasp and almost faint at hearing this, since they know their water is ruined. Where does the truth lie? Oil and gas drilling has and will continue to contaminate water supplies.  It happens almost always due to failures of cement well casings, surface contamination, or improper wastewater disposal, not from the actual fracking practice itself. Instead of admitting this, and explaining to citizens what went wrong and what they’re doing to make it right, the industry listens to Mr. Matusky’s advice and only further infuriates those who have been harmed. Not all of what Mr. Matusky says is bad advice.  He should listen more to his own first point, “Beat them on the facts[.]”  You can respond to the “supposed negatives” if you have facts on your side.  You will win over level-headed, open-minded citizens if you have the truth in your corner. He’s right that if done correctly, this industry can bring large benefits to many citizens and states that lie in the shale play.  But it can also bring fireballs, dirty air, fouled water, ripped-apart roads, and environmental damage that will take decades to heal.  The public doesn’t need pretty billboards or slick commercials to make everything look and sound nice—we need an open, honest dialogue about the risks and benefits of this industry. Dismissing legitimate environmental concerns by characterizing them as misinformed statements from the “lunatic fringe” won’t win this industry any friends.  In fact, as drilling activity increases in the Marcellus, the negative impacts on our communities, our air, and our water become increasingly difficult to ignore, and this industry’s denial of these very real problems becomes increasingly ridiculous. This is probably the real reason for any increase in negative public opinion. Far from winning over the public, Mr. Matusky’s strategy of denying the problems, ignoring the criticism, and insulting the critics will only serve to increase public skepticism and reduce this industry’s credibility. If you wonder why some people just won’t listen to your concerns, it might be because they’re listening to Mr. Matusky instead. #fracking #Avella #explosion #MarcellusShale

The state Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will accept written comments on Pennsylvania’s possible entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative through Jan. 14 – so it’s not too late to submit a public comment in support of the initiative. As we’ve said: The Proposed Rulemaking deserves every Pennsylvanian’s support because it will help reduce air pollution, improve public health, and begin to address the problem of global warming brought on by CO2 emissions from sources in Pennsylvania. You can find out everything you need to know about RGGI here. Know you want to support RGGI but not sure exactly what to say? We’ve included some sample language below to use as a guide – copy and paste it or use it as a guide on the form below to have your comments automatically routed to the EQB: Editor's Note: The deadline to submit a comment has passed. Thank you to all who weighed in. #airquality #EQB #RegionalGreenhouseGasInitiative #RGGI

Here at GASP, we are doing our part to “flatten the curve” by practicing social distancing. Like so many other organizations, we have closed our office and asked our staffers to work from home to help slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. But while the coronavirus might have forced us to stay home, it won’t stop us from educating folks on issues related to air pollution and our local air quality – something we’ve been doing for more than 50 years. While our education coordinator Chelsea would much rather be in the classroom, leading fun, interactive exercises to help kiddos better understand air quality issues, she did the next best thing: She adapted some of her most popular activities so they can be done at home using stuff you probably already have on hand. GASP invites parents and caregivers to peruse our education page, which has printable step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions. Check them out today and if you have any questions just email our education guru at laura@gasp-pgh.org. #airquality

The community is coming together to help support Erie Coke Corp. employees who are out of jobs following an abrupt announcement by the company Thursday that it was shutting down operations there following a series of environmental compliance issues that had corporate lawyers sparring with regulators in a protracted legal battle over air emissions, and later, with local authorities over wastewater. On Sunday, the City of Erie tweeted that because of several requests from the community, City Hall would be open and ready to accept donations from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today (Monday, Dec. 23) and from 8:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 24). “You can leave your donations at the greeter’s desk, and we’ll make sure the workers get them,” the city’s tweet read. Checks can be made payable to USW local 3199. Donations of gifts, gift cards, food, or “whatever moves you” will be accepted. City officials said that further questions on how to help support workers can be directed to the USW’s Todd Clary at tclary@usw.org. The announcement from the City of Erie came after a statement was released by Erie Council regarding Erie Coke Corp’s decision to close its doors. Council was clear: There’s no one to blame for the closure except Erie Coke itself. The statement, which was published in its entirety by Erie News Now, read in part: “The decision by Erie Coke to close its doors does not demonstrate the kind of corporate responsibility Erie Countians expect from employers in our region. Municipal governments throughout Erie County have been more than patient in waiting for Erie Coke to comply with basic environmental regulations over the past 22 years. Erie County Council is greatly concerned for the 137 workers who are now out of a job. While some might be tempted to blame municipal governments for this closure, the responsibility is with Erie Coke. Erie County government and all other municipal governments are charged with protecting the health and welfare of our citizens. Demanding the Erie Coke put the health of Erie County citizens before its own profits is not unreasonable, it is moral.” To read more about Erie Council’s response to the closure, click here to read coverage from Erie News Now. To read about why a Pennsylvania judge froze $1 million in Erie Coke Corp.’s assets, click here for coverage from GoErie.com. To read more about how wastewater issues stymied the company, click here for coverage from GoErie.com. To read more about how Erie Coke Corp. will shut down the plant, click here for coverage from GoErie.com. #ErieCoke #ToddClary #ErieCokeCorp #USWPost3199 #GoEriecom #ErieCountyCouncil #CityofErie

Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) officials announced that they took two temporary air quality monitors installed in Clairton and West Mifflin to measure sulfur dioxide levels offline. The department announced the following in an Allegheny Alert issued Friday afternoon: After a fire at the Clairton Coke Works on Dec. 24, 2018, ACHD’s air quality program installed temporary monitors in Clairton and West Mifflin to measure Sulfur dioxide levels (SO2) while the plant’s pollution controls were down. The plant’s pollution controls have been back online since April of 2019. As a result, the air quality program disabled these two monitors during the week of Dec.16. Measurements at both monitors when online were far below the hourly SO2 standard, which is 0.075 parts per million (ppm). #SO2 #sulfurdioxide #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality