The Group Against Smog and Pollution is mourning the loss of our longtime friend and ally, Bernard “Bernie” Bloom – an environmental engineer and stalwart air quality advocate who not only helped usher in Pittsburgh’s clean air movement but also helped GASP find its footing in our infancy. Bernie died May 19 from stomach cancer. He was 76. Bernie’s obituary can be read in its entirety here, but we wanted to share an excerpt that spoke to our hearts: “He believed love is action. From cleaning up the steel mills of Pittsburgh to helping to build the International Space Station; from gleefully sharing literature to championing local parks; from mentoring younger generations to bonding with new friends late in life, he made the world a better place. His intelligence was fierce and his love was abundant right to the end. It never occurred to Bernie Bloom not to care. Nobody who met Bernie Bloom will ever forget him.” We know we certainly won’t forget him. We last saw Bernie back in October for our 50th-anniversary gala. We had the pleasure of interviewing him about GASP’s humble beginnings. He told us: “GASP changed my life. It gave me a purpose.” We say: Bernie was just as instrumental to GASP’s mission and purpose. “GASP was so fortunate to have a friend in Bernie. It was heartwarming to see him reminisce about the old days with Karenlin Madoff – our founder Michelle Madoff’s daughter – at the gala,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “GASP owes a great deal of gratitude to Bernie for his help, passion, and grit in those early days.” GASP President Jonathan Nadle agreed. “It was a pleasure getting to know Bernie through our email exchanges and his letter on GASP’s beginnings,” he said.“ It was a true honor meeting him in person at our 50th-anniversary party.” Because of COVID-19 social distancing and other safety measures, Bernie’s family is celebrating his life with a live online memorial at 2 p.m. this Saturday, June 6. You can join family and friends in saying goodbye by tuning in here. Those who would like to honor him are invited to plant a tree in his memory – one that will benefit a forest in need.

U.S. Steel on June 1 appealed three installation permits issued by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) regarding Reasonable Available Control Technology (RACT) at its Mon Valley Works facilities. In its appeal, U.S. Steel argues that the facilities cannot meet the emission limits that ACHD determined to be RACT. Among other things, U.S. Steel alleged that: ACHD issued the permit without first receiving a complete application as required. The terms and conditions of the permit issued April 21 were “substantially different” than what was presented in the preliminary draft, which did not afford U.S. Steel the opportunity to comment on them. ACHD issued the installation permit even though U.S. Steel did not request to “install, modify, replace, reconstruct or reactivate any source of air pollution control equipment at the facility.” Editor’s Note: You can read the appeals (which were consolidated) here, here, and here. #ACHD #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #EdgarThomasPlant #USSteel

Allegheny County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a long-sought ‘clean construction’ ordinance that will help reduce diesel emissions and improve local air quality. The ordinance, introduced by Councilwoman Anita Prizio earlier this year, was approved by a vote 13-0. All 13 members present at Tuesday’s meeting asked to be named as co-sponsors. “I think this is great legislation – it will help clean our air. It’s pretty easy to figure out: Clean air is better than dirty air,” Council Vice President Robert Macey said prior to the vote. “We just thought this is a no-brainer.” GASP, which has been advocating for “clean construction” policies locally for years, lauded council for taking this step – one that will provide a boost to local air quality. GASP played a key role in the passage of the “Clean Construction” law passed by the city in 2016 – one the county ordinance closely mirrors. The ordinance requires Allegheny County government construction projects that cost $2.5 million or more to utilize both ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and diesel emission control strategies on construction vehicles. These guidelines also require the use of best-available control technology – like diesel particulate filters – on all on-road equipment and off-road equipment involved in those projects. “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. “This policy will have a positive impact on our local air quality, helping to lessen the amount of toxic diesel pollution to which both communities and construction workers are subjected.” #AnitaPrizio #AlleghenyCountyCouncil #airpollution #RachelFilippini #diesel #CleanConstruction #dieselemissions #airquality

Mark your calendars: The world premier of “Unbreathable: The Fight For Healthy Air” is slated for Thursday, June 18 – and you’re invited. “Unbreathable: The Fight for Healthy Air” is a documentary that spotlights the ongoing struggle for clean air in the United States. Over the past 50 years, there has been major progress in significantly reducing air pollution across the nation thanks to the Clean Air Act. Still, almost half of Americans across the country today are still impacted by unhealthy air – folks right here in Pittsburgh among them. “This 30-minute film premiers at a critical time. Asthma is the number one health issue for children, and recent research links air pollution to higher cases and deaths from COVID-19. Environmental regulations and enforcement of existing laws are being stripped away when the need for renewable energy is more urgent than ever,” event organizers note. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Maggie Burnette Stogner, “Unbreathable” is sponsored by American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking in partnership with the American Lung Association, AU’s Center for Environmental Policy, and the Hanley Foundation. Informative and inspiring, the film is an excellent catalyst for engagement and action designed to reach a wide range of audiences. Premiere: June 18th with the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. You can find more information at www.dceff.org. We invite you to watch the film in advance and then join us live at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 18 for a moderated panel discussion with the filmmaker and policy experts. Registrants will be sent more instructions about how to view the film a few days before the event. More details on the panelists and how to register can be found online. Editor’s Note: Stay tuned, plans will soon be in the works for a local showing. #CleanAirAct #MaggieBurnetteStogner #Unbreathable

The Group Against Smog and Pollution on Wednesday submitted comments on the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD’s) draft 2021 air monitoring network. Here are some of the highlights: GASP supports the establishment of a National Air Toxics Trends Station in Lawrenceville but noted that ACHD must address ancillary issues regarding the move. GASP expressed concern over access to data and noted that there should be an analysis of the need for continued air toxics monitoring downtown. We also questioned whether the methodology used to collect data at the Lawrenceville monitor will be mirrored at the Liberty monitor. GASP recommended that ACHD undertake a comprehensive air monitoring program at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. “Despite over forty years of regulations and research aimed at reducing human exposure to benzene, EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory data show U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke facility emitted over 30,000 pounds of benzene via stack and fugitive emissions in 2018, making it far and away the largest stationary source in Allegheny County,” GASP’s legal counsel noted. “Not coincidentally, ACHD reported that the average benzene concentration and 24-hour maximum benzene concentration at the Liberty monitor site in 2018 were both 19 times higher than the levels at the Avalon monitoring site. That same report showed that through August 10, 2019, the average benzene concentration for 2019 at Liberty was 60 percent higher than it was in 2018. GASP recommended the department implement something similar to DEP’s benzene monitoring program around the now-shuttered Erie Coke plant. GASP is supportive of Avalon’s hydrogen sulfide monitor being redeployed in North Braddock. Hydrogen Sulfide is a regular problem in the Mon Valley and we believe this move will provide useful data. GASP maintained that ACHD must post its 2020 five-year monitoring network assessment and make it available for public comment and extend public comment on both it and the 2021 Air Monitoring Network draft. #ErieCoke #benzene #USSteel #airqualitymonitoring #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality

Air pollution from sources like traffic and industry impacts every corner of Allegheny County – but it doesn’t impact them equally. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh confirms what many have long suspected: Air pollution disproportionately affects minority and low-income residents of Allegheny County, and those people are also at a higher risk of associated health risks. You can read the full study here. Pittsburgh Quarterly interviewed Jim Fabisiak, director of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities at the University of Pittsburgh, which conducted the study. Here’s an excerpt from that story: Hardest hit (by air pollution) are “environmental justice” communities, defined as places where at least 20 percent of residents live in poverty or 30 percent or more are non-white minorities, or both. In Allegheny County, such communities are 20 times more likely to endure the highest concentrations of NO2 pollution than places with more white residents and households with higher incomes, the study reports.And 40 percent of the estimated pollution-related coronary heart disease deaths were among residents of environmental justice communities, even though those neighborhoods account for only 27 percent of the county population. Coronary heart disease isn’t the only elevated health concern residents of those neighborhoods face disproportionately. Black carbon and NO2 contribute to other air pollutants, such as fine particulates and ground-level ozone. And the list of health problems associated with them include asthma and other respiratory diseases, stroke, adverse birth outcomes and others. GASP congratulates Fabisiak – who also serves as one of our board members – and his team for the publication of this important study. “Now more than ever, organizations like us need to focus on environmental injustice issues impacting our local communities,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Studies like this show us that we still have so much work to do. We’re so thankful to have Jim on our board – his knowledge and expertise help us be better warriors for the communities that need the most help.” Here’s more local news coverage of the study: Environmental Justice in Pittsburgh: Poor, Minority Neighborhoods See Higher Rates of Deaths from Air Pollution, published by Environmental Health News What if the Most Polluted Parts of Allegheny County Resembled the Least Polluted? Study Links Air Pollution to 100 Excess Deaths Per Year From Heart Disease, published by NEXTPittsburgh #airpollution #AlleghenyCounty #JImFabisiak #RachelFilippini

The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) will join fellow local air quality experts, activists, and elected officials in a discussion about Pittsburgh air quality. Join us from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 30 for the virtual kickoff of the Clean Air Project, an initiative spearheaded by the Triboro Ecodistrict and New Sun Rising. During the online event, we will discuss where local pollution comes from, what the health implications are, and most importantly: how you can become more engaged. But that’s not all: Participants will get the opportunity to see – for the first time – the design of new air monitoring stations being installed in Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Those air monitor stations will display the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) in each of the three boroughs. GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini will participate in the event alongside: Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-21st Legislative District Zaheen Hussain, director of sustainability at New Sun Rising Mark Dixon, award-winning filmmaker, activist, and public speaker who is currently developing the documentary, “Inversion, The Unfinished Business of Pittsburgh’s Air.” The event is free and open to the public. You can register to attend virtually here. The kickoff will be followed by three virtual events unveiling air monitoring stations in Millvale on July 22, Etna on Aug. 12, and Sharpsburg on Sept. 1. #airpollution #MarkDixon #airmonitoring #GASP #airquality

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) on Thursday announced that according to preliminary data from the North Braddock air quality monitor, there was a sulfur dioxide exceedance earlier today. It also announced that an emissions plume emanating from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works was due to a valve failure at the plant. Here’s the message ACHD sent out through the Allegheny Alerts system: ACHD has preliminary information that the North Braddock sulfur dioxide (SO2) monitor measured .079 parts per million (ppm) at 2 a.m. this morning. This level exceeds the federal standard for an hourly SO2 exceedance of .075 ppm. ACHD is investigating this potential exceedance, including verifying the data. Additionally, ACHD received many questions and concerns regarding an emission plume observed at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works the evening of June 17. U.S. Steel has told ACHD that a valve failed to open during the startup of a blast furnace after being shut down for routine maintenance. ACHD continues to investigate this incident. #ACHD #airpollution #airquality #AlleghenyCounty

Editor’s Note: The following is from a press release issued by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Links to associated media reports are at the bottom of the story. Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced the findings and recommendations of Pennsylvania’s 43rd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury report on the unconventional oil and gas industry. The Grand Jury’s two-year investigation uncovered systematic failure by government agencies in overseeing the fracking industry and fulfilling their responsibility to protect Pennsylvanians from the inherent risks of industry operations. In addition to exposing failures on the part of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health, the Grand Jury made eight recommendations to create a more comprehensive legal framework that would better protect Pennsylvanians from the realities of industry operations. “This report is about preventing the failures of our past from continuing into our future,” said Attorney General Shapiro in a press conference Thursday. “It’s about the big fights we must take on to protect Pennsylvanians — to ensure that their voices are not drowned out by those with bigger wallets and better connections. There remains a profound gap between our Constitutional mandate for clean air and pure water, and the realities facing Pennsylvanians who live in the shadow of fracking giants and their investors.” This report follows the findings of the Grand Jury’s previous criminal presentments against two fracking companies — Range Resources and Cabot Oil & Gas — for their repeated and systematic violation of Pennsylvania environmental law. Range has since pleaded no contest to environmental crimes committed in Washington County, Pennsylvania. These cases were referred to the Office of Attorney General by local District Attorneys. The report details the initial failure of the Department of Environmental Protection to adequately respond to the unconventional oil and gas industry and also points out that missteps continue to this day. These failures harmed Pennsylvanians living in close proximity to this industry. The grand jurors found that, while the Wolf administration has forced through some improvements at the agency, there continues to be room for meaningful change to occur. The Grand Jury also heard from many Pennsylvania residents who suffered severe health consequences and lived near unconventional drilling sites. Residents testified that their well water was “black sludge,” “cloudy,” and using the contaminated water caused “problems with breathing whenever we were in the shower.” Pennsylvania farmers testified that their livestock, which used the same water source as the families, would sometimes become violently ill, infertile, and die. Other residents spoke of problems with their air, which became so polluted from stray gas or other chemicals used during industry operations that they could not leave windows open or let their children play outside. Parents testified that their children would repeatedly wake up at night with severe nosebleeds caused by increased levels of gas in the air around the fracking sites. In response to the failures of government oversight and in order to ensure that the regulators have the tools necessary to hold this industry accountable, the Grand Jury’s report details eight recommendations. These recommendations would better protect Pennsylvanians from the risk posed by fracking operations and confront the culture of inadequate oversight in the unconventional gas industry and government agencies that oversee their activities: Expanding no-drill zones in Pennsylvania from the required 500 feet to 2,500 feet; Requiring fracking companies to publicly disclose all chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing before they are used on-site; Requiring the regulation of gathering lines, used to transport unconventional gas hundreds of miles; Adding up all sources of air pollution in a given area to accurately assess air quality; Requiring safer transport of the contaminated waste created from fracking sites; Conducting a comprehensive health response to the effects of living near unconventional drilling sites; Limiting the ability of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection employees to be employed in the private sector immediately after leaving the Department; Allowing the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General original criminal jurisdiction over unconventional oil and gas companies. “Our government has a duty to set, and enforce, ground rules that protect public health and safety. We are the referees, we are here to prevent big corporations and the powerful industries from harming our communities or running over the rights of citizens,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “When it comes to fracking, Pennsylvania failed. Now it’s time to face the facts, and do what we can to protect the people of this commonwealth by encouraging the Department of Environmental Protection to partner with us and by passing the Grand Jurors’ common-sense reforms.” A copy of the report can be found here. Fact sheets and press kit available here. Associated Media links: Grand Jury Report Blasts DEP, Health Department Over Fracking Failures in PA, published by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review State AG Shapiro: Grand Jury Report Reveals PA’s Systemic Failure to Regulate Shale Gas Industry, published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Grand Jury Report on Fracking: DEP Failed to Protect Public Health, published by State Impact #DEP #DepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection #JoshShapiro #RangeResources

The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) was recently awarded a $17,497 grant through the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop and distribute climate change and air quality education tool kits for middle school students. “It’s crucial that our children, who are the next generation of decision-makers, understand the importance of clean air. One thing we’ve learned is it’s difficult to expect community members to care about – and advocate for – improved air quality if they don’t know how air pollution can negatively impact their health and quality of life,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “This grant will allow us to help more kids make the connection between air pollution, adverse health effects, and environmental impacts, and what they can do to make a difference.” GASP’s was one of 55 projects funded through Environmental Education Grants that will engage youth and adults in environmental justice, climate change, and/or water quality improvement, expanding their understanding of these issues in Pennsylvania and providing skills to take responsible action to protect their environment. “This impressive list of funded projects speaks to the innovation and dedication of Pennsylvania’s environmental educators and their significant reach in helping to develop environmental stewards among Pennsylvanians of all ages and backgrounds,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “We’re especially excited that not only is every region of the state represented, but 77 percent of the grant funding supports 33 projects that will engage Pennsylvanians who live or work in EJ areas, as DEP continues to strengthen its outreach and partnership with EJ communities.” Grants were awarded to schools and colleges, environmental and community organizations, and conservation district offices who applied in 2019 and met project criteria for funding. The Environmental Education Grants Program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside five percent of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania. Since 1993 DEP has awarded 2,020 Environmental Education Grants totaling more than $11 million. #DepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection #airpollution #ClimateChange #grant #DEP #airquality