When you hear the word “ozone” do you automatically think of the kind way up in the Earth’s stratosphere? If so, did you know that’s the good kind of ozone? Naturally occurring, atmospheric ozone creates a protective layer that helps shield us from ultraviolet rays. Ground-level ozone, on the other hand? It’s the damaging kind. Why? At ground level, ozone is a harmful type of air pollution that is classified as a criteria pollutant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because its level in outdoor air needs to be limited based on health criteria. Heard of the term smog? Ozone is its main ingredient. For those who might not be familiar: Ground-level ozone is created by chemical reactions occurring between nitrogen oxides (Nox) and volatile organic compounds (otherwise known as VOCs). This happens when sunlight chemically reacts with pollutants emitted by: Cars Power plants Industrial boilers Refineries and Chemical plants And even some species of trees Ozone is most prevalent – and most likely to reach unhealthy levels – during the warm-weather months and in urban environments. And while it may be initially created in an urban area, ozone can travel long distances and accumulate to high concentrations far away from the original sources. Starting 2016, the ozone season for Allegheny County extends from March 1 through Oct. 31. In the most recent American Lung Association State of the Air report, Allegheny County received an F grade for the number of days with high levels of ozone. So, clearly we’ve got work to do to reduce sources of NOx and VOCs contributing to our region’s formation of ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone takes a human toll: Inhaling ozone can cause everything from throat irritation and coughing to chest pain and airway inflammation that makes it difficult to breathe. Ozone can even reduce lung function and harm lung tissue, and exposure can exacerbate conditions like asthma and other breathing issues. Some scientists have compared ozone-caused lung damage to a sunburn. People most at risk from breathing air containing ozone include people with asthma, children, older adults, and people who are active outdoors, especially outdoor workers. In addition, people with certain genetic characteristics, and people with reduced intake of certain nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, are at greater risk from ozone exposure. During the growing season, ozone also impacts myriad plants. You can learn more about those by watching this video put together by our Education and Events Coordinator Chelsea Hilty.

If you live in the Liberty-Clairton area and were greeted by a foul odor when you opened your windows or walked outside, the culprit was likely hydrogen-sulfide (H2S) – a type of air pollution that smells like rotten eggs. According to initial Allegheny County Health Department data, the average H2S concentration was 0.015 ppm from midnight to 10 a.m. Thursday at the Liberty monitor – a level so high that it’s mathematically impossible for today’s 24-hr average NOT to exceed the state standard of 0.005 ppm. For those keeping track, this will be the 13th such exceedance so far this year. Prior to today, the last exceedance was noted at the Liberty monitor on Saturday with an average H2S concentration of 0.006 ppm. We also wanted to note that fine particulate matter PM2.5 was also up for a few hours early this morning at the Liberty monitor- reaching the orange, unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups range. Editor’s Note: Want to take a deeper dive into the air quality data? We graphed it for you: #H2S #airpollution #hydrogensulfide #exceedance #hydrogensulfideexceedance

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) in a press release Monday announced it is requesting public comment on its 2021 Air Monitoring Network Plan, an annual report which provides a detailed description of how and where air pollution is monitored in Allegheny County. The 2021 Air Monitoring Network Plan is a document required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It provides the specific location of each monitoring station, siting criteria, monitoring methods and objectives, frequency of sampling, pollutants measured at each station, and aerial photographs showing their physical location. The network includes the following 13 locations within the county: Avalon, Clairton, Flag Plaza (Downtown), Glassport, Harrison, Lawrenceville, Liberty, Lincoln, Manchester, North Braddock, North Park, Parkway East (Wilkinsburg) and South Fayette. One or more of the following pollutants is measured at each site: Sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, total reactive nitrogen, ozone, PM10, PM2.5, and other air toxics. All correspondence must include first and last names and a complete mailing address. Comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to david.good@alleghenycounty.us or by mail to: Allegheny County Health Department Attention: David D. Good Air Quality Program 301 39th Street Pittsburgh, PA 15201 Editor’s Note: GASP is currently reviewing the plan. Check back for more info. #PM25 #airmonitoring #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality

While billowing smoke emanating from industrial complexes and trucks belching diesel emissions might be what people most closely associate with air pollution, they certainly aren’t the only culprits. Since it’s Clean Air Month, we wanted to put the spotlight on some sources of air pollution that might surprise you. Today, we want to focus on the impact of agricultural operations like corporate animal farms on air quality and fill you in on these six quick facts about the problem: Believe it or not, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said that the production of livestock accounts for nearly 15 percent of global greenhouse gases. But that’s the conservative estimate: Other groups such as Worldwatch Institute have said it could be as high as 51 percent (more than all the vehicles in the world). The air pollution problem from animal farms is two-fold: In addition to harmful gases, the decomposition of farm waste also produces airborne particulate matter – one of the most harmful types of air pollution because of its ability to deeply penetrate and irritate the lungs. Actually, researchers now estimate that emissions from farms “outweigh all other human sources of fine-particulate matter” in not only the United States but also Europe, Russia, and China.  How many harmful gases are caused by livestock farms? Literally hundreds – with ammonia being among the most harmful. In fact, a whopping 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the United States comes from animal waste. And all that ammonia spurs bacteria, which mingles with other air pollutants to form nitric acid. That nitric acid then builds up in the atmosphere, causing damaging acid rain. But alas, ammonia isn’t the only problematic gas originating from livestock production: It’s estimated that animal farms account for as much as 9 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Experts estimate they also make up as much as 40 percent of global methane emissions and 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. But all that carbon can’t be blamed just on animal waste – it also comes from transportation-related to those operations. Consider the trucks needed to transport the meat to the market, for one. Now that we know all this, it’s important to remember: When you opt for vegetarian and vegan meals instead of meat-heavy ones, you’re playing a small role in reducing the demand for those products, and, in turn, air pollution. Editor’s Note: For advice on how to cut out meat from your diet, check out these helpful tips. #ammonia #airpollution #CleanAirMonth #emissions #particulatematter #methaneemissions #airquality

Allegheny County Council’s Public Works committee on Wednesday advanced long-sought “Clean Construction” legislation to the full council for consideration, recommending that it be approved. The ordinance, introduced last month by Councilwoman Anita Prizio, mirrors guidelines passed by the City of Pittsburgh in 2016. It requires all county government construction projects that cost $2.5 million or more to use diesel emission control strategies on construction vehicles, including the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. These clean construction guidelines require the use of the best available control technology, such as a diesel particulate filter, on all on-road vehicles (think dump trucks), as well as off-road equipment (like backhoes and bulldozers) involved in the projects. GASP, which has long advocated for the expansion of clean construction policies and was instrumental in getting similar ordinances passed, thanked the Public Works committee for advancing the legislation. “The National Emissions Inventory estimated that diesel-powered construction equipment emitted more than 123 tons of fine particulate matter in 2017 in Allegheny County. To put that in perspective, it’s more than a third of all fine particulate matter produced by mobile diesel-powered sources and about 58 percent of fine particulate matter produced by all mobile non-road diesel equipment in the county,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “If approved, this policy could have a huge positive impact on our local air quality.” Filippini also submitted written public comment to the committee: Good afternoon. My name is Rachel Filippini and I’m the Executive Director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution. Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments today. While we have made significant progress on reducing air pollution in our region over the last several decades, we still have a considerable way to go before we can claim to have clean, healthy air for all to breathe. The Pittsburgh region struggles with poor air quality, ranking as one of the top 10 most polluted cities in the nation with regard to year-round particle pollution. While stationary sources like power plants and coke-making facilities certainly must clean up, diesel vehicles and equipment have an equally important role to play in improving our region’s air quality. Diesel particulate matter poses one of the greatest cancer risks from any toxic outdoor air pollutant in the region. In addition to causing cancer, diesel emissions cause asthma, heart attacks, strokes, reduced brain function, and diabetes. Beyond being a public health risk, the black carbon found in diesel pollution is a potent global warming agent. Minimizing black carbon is directly in line with the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative. As you are likely aware, the City of Pittsburgh passed clean construction legislation in the summer of 2016 and the Urban Redevelopment Authority passed its own policy in 2019. The county clean construction ordinance in front of you mirrors these policies. In addition, UPMC, Chatham University, and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy have their own similar voluntary policies, so the County will be in good company. The more institutions and municipalities to implement these important policies, the more likely clean construction activity will become the norm and not the exception. I submit comments today to urge the Committee on Public Works to affirmatively recommend this clean construction ordinance to the full council. We know that diesel emissions contribute to our poor air quality and this is a tangible and proactive step the county can take to reduce air pollution. My organization has expertise in this area and we would be happy to assist in any way possible to answer questions about clean construction, diesel emissions, or air quality in our region. Thank you for your consideration of this request and your time today. Editor’s Note: Pie charts and figures cited in this post were created and calculated using the EPA’s 2017 National Emissions Inventory data (April 2020 version).  As of the date of this post, that data is available online here. #AnitaPrizio #AlleghenyCountyCouncil #CleanConstruction #dieselparticulatefilter #dieselemissions #airquality

CREATE Lab’s Yen-Chia Hsu trains volunteers to label smoke at GASP HQ. Congratulations are in order for Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab and project leader Yen-Chia Hsu on the successful launch of its smoke reading tool – one that can label industrial emissions. The project involved months of work – six setting up the infrastructure and 12 more working with volunteers to refine the system and label videos depicting industrial emissions in an effort to train an artificial intelligence system to detect smoke automatically. GASP this past fall was proud to partner with CREATE Lab on this project, hosting training sessions and helping to enlist volunteers. Last week, CREATE Lab released the data and code on GitHub, a platform typically used for hosting open-source projects. A technical report was also published. “We have developed a computational model to automatically recognize smoke emissions, using the data that you and others contributed,” Hsu told GASP. “For the next step, I will use the model to visualize air pollution events in Pittsburgh.” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini lauded the work, saying that it will be beneficial for local air quality. “Seeing is believing,” she said. “Being able to visualize local air pollution events will not only help people better understand emissions sources, but it will also add another layer of accountability to industrial polluters and regulators alike because the proof will be right there for all to see.” #airpollution #YenChaiHsu #CREATELab #emissions #airquality

After months of advocacy, an important piece of legislation that will help bolster local air quality has just one more step to go before being enacted: A county council vote on June 9. The “Clean Construction” ordinance introduced by Councilwoman Anita Prizio earlier this year was sent from the public works committee to the full council for consideration on May 20 – along with the recommendation that it be approved. The legislation would require all county government construction projects costing $2.5 million or more to use diesel emission control strategies on construction vehicles, including the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. The guidelines require the use of the best available control technology (think diesel particulate filters) on all on-road vehicles and off-road equipment involved in those projects. GASP has long-advocated for the legislation, playing a key role in the passage of the “Clean Construction” law passed by the city in 2016. Diesel emissions are a significant source of harmful air pollutants like particulate matter that cause cancer and a host of other health risks. Additionally, black carbon found in diesel emissions affects climate. “We’re hopeful this ordinance will be approved by Council because it’s a real, tangible way to help improve air quality at the local level,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “We encourage folks who’d like to see the ‘Clean Construction’ ordinance passed to contact their county councilperson and ask them to vote yes.” You can find contact info for your county councilperson here. You can learn more about the dangers of diesel and the importance of this “Clean Construction” legislation below: #AnitaPrizio #airpollution #AlleghenyCounty #diesel #CleanConstruction #particulatematter #dieselemissions #airquality

Cutting your car dependence will do more than just save you some cash on gas: Bike riding is also far better for local air quality (not to mention all the health benefits). Bikes are 10 times more carbon efficient than cars, but that’s not all. Check out some these stats that explain how far national emissions could fall if more people opted to ride on two wheels to work: #airquality #CleanAirMonth #emissions

Stay-at-home orders issued by local and state governments this spring have led to more people working and taking classes from home, which means fewer cars on the road. They also spurred business closures or slowdowns that likely reduced industrial emissions. But how much was our local air quality affected since the shutdown began? To answer that question, GASP examined daily average PM2.5 concentrations at the Liberty, Parkway East, and Avalon monitor sites and then compared those numbers to the average concentrations over the past three years.  We used that comparison to account for the fact that particulate matter pollution tends to improve as winter turns to spring. This is what we found: Since the orders first took effect in mid-March, PM2.5 concentrations are about 23 percent lower than the area might expect at the Liberty monitor, and concentrations at the Parkway East air quality monitor are about 13 percent lower than expected. But GASP also found the improvements are not universal. Our math showed that PM2.5 concentrations at Avalon are almost entirely unchanged when adjusted for the usual seasonal improvement. In addition, hydrogen sulfide exceeded the 24-hour state standard twice earlier in May. This should serve as a reminder that even ‘improved’ air still leaves a lot left to be desired on the road to clean air. We hope the data can help shed some light on ways to improve air quality as the economy reopens. One actual bit of good news our research showed was that before this novel coronavirus came to town, Allegheny County air quality was trending toward an improvement in 2020. Specifically, at all the monitor data we looked at, PM2.5 levels from Jan. 1 through March 15 were – on average – lower than they had been the past three years. “While there have been modest improvements to air quality recently, regulators should not take their eye off the ball,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “ACHD committed earlier this year to promulgating new coke oven regulations and to coming up with a plan to impose corrective action requirements on industry during short-term pollution events.” She added: “As the economy reopens and as industry ramps up production, ACHD needs to be prepared and not caught flat-footed like they were during the last significant air inversion event.” For those who would like to take a deeper dive into the data, check out these graphs: #cokeovenregulations #H2S #PM25 #LibertyMonitor #airqualitymonitors #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) in a press release Thursday announced that it has issued $361,400 worth of stipulated penalties against U.S. Steel for Article XXI Air Pollution Control violations and permit violations that occurred at the Clairton Coke Works during the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. Pursuant to the Department’s agreement that was reached with U.S. Steel in June of 2019, ninety percent (90 percent) of penalties ($325,260) will be paid to the Community Benefit Trust for impacted communities while the remaining 10 percent ($36,140) will be paid to the Clean Air Fund. Here’s a breakdown of the stipulated penalties: $109,250 for soaking violations $67,250 for pushing violations $55,500 for door-related violations $43,000 for travel violations $30,250 for charging violations $22,750 for lid violations $21,400 for Continuous Opacity Monitor System (COMS) violations $12,000 for offtake violations To view the May 28 enforcement action and other air quality enforcement actions issued by ACHD, click here. Editor’s Note: GASP staff is reviewing the enforcement action – please check back, this story will be updated with more information and links to associated media links. “Allegheny Co. Health Department Announces Fines Against U.S. Steel for Violations at Clairton Coke Works” published by WTAE-TV “Allegheny County Health Department Issues Penalties to U.S. Steel,” published by the Pittsburgh Business Times “Allegheny Co. Health Dept. Fines US Steel More Than $361K for Violations at Clairton Coke Works” published by KDKA “U.S. Steel Fine of $361,000 for Air Pollution Violations Will Go to Five Communities and the Clean Air Fund,” published by NEXTPittsburgh “County Fines U.S. Steel More Than $360K for Violations at Clairton Plant,” published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Allegheny County Health Department Issues $361K Fine Against U.S. Steel,” published by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review #USSteel #soakingviolations #chargingviolations #pushingviolations #stipulatedpenalties #emissions #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks