Today, we want to put the spotlight on our staff attorney Ned Mulcahy, who was interviewed recently by the Consortium for Public Education as part of its Career Journeys video series. In this Q&A, Ned gave an inside look into not only what it’s like to be an environmental law attorney, but what it takes to be a good one. Among the skills necessary to do the job well? “You have to have thick skin and believe in the cause,” he said. See what else he had to say: Editor’s Note: Legal watchdog work is at the center of our work here at GASP. Ned is one of two full-time attorneys we have on staff to review permits, comment on pending regulations, as well as help analyze complex air quality data and package it in a way that’s easily digestible for everyday people. You can support their work by making a one-time or recurring donation to GASP.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 1:57 p.m. Monday to reflect the re-issued alert from the Allegheny County Health Department. The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating what caused its air quality monitor in Liberty to report erroneous data on Sunday and into Monday. Here’s the information ACHD included in a public alert Monday morning following an inquiry from GASP about the missing data: The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating what caused its air quality monitor in Liberty to report erroneous data on Sunday and into Monday.The data during this time is not consistent with expected values. Readings for PM-10 have remained low, as was expected, and as PM-10 (particulates sized 0 .1 to 10 µm) includes PM-2.5 (particulates 0.1to 2.5 µm), the PM-10 value should always be greater than or equal to the PM-2.5 value. The PM-2.5 should have been in the green range based on the PM-10 values, not the high values being recorded.The Health Department sent a data quality analyst to the site to diagnose and hopefully repair the monitor. The monitor will be taken offline until it is repaired.The Liberty site continues to measure daily, filter-based PM-2.5 samples through a different monitor, so no data loss is expected from this temporary outage. We will continue to follow the issue and will update you as more information becomes available. #ACHD #airquality #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #LibertyMonitor

Longtime Clairton resident Cheryl Hurt on Friday asked people to imagine all the things they are worried about – the pandemic, the election, finances – and then add to that list the fear and anxiety that comes with wondering if the air you’re breathing is making you sick. With everything that’s going on in the world, she said, that’s an additional burden Mon Valley residents must bear thanks to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works. Glassport resident David Meckle agreed. “Even when it’s a nice sunny day, U.S. Steel manages to ruin it. We have to put up with low-grade headaches, eyes watering and a little burn in the nasal passages,” he said. “You have to be like a little turtle and go inside and hide. I’m not a turtle and I don’t like living in my shell.” Hurt and Meckle were among a slate of residents who spoke out at a virtual rally Friday co-hosted by a collaborative of environmental advocacy groups including GASP. Their message: Enough is enough – U.S. Steel and county officials must take decisive action to address unacceptable air quality exceedances. The protest came in the wake of a seven-day stretch when concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) – a pollutant closely associated with coking operations – exceeded the state standard. So far this year, the H2S standard has been exceeded 23 times at the Liberty air quality monitoring site according to preliminary ACHD data. Those exceedances coincided with increased temperatures and prolonged stagnant weather conditions that exacerbated industrial pollution problems. During this period, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) exceeded the federal health-based standard for three days in a row at the Liberty monitor in the Mon Valley and two days in a row at the Avalon monitor. emissions. This level of pollution places an unfair burden on the residents of Allegheny, including many who live in environmental justice communities that surround the Clairton Coke Works and Edgar Thomson Works operations. Of immediate concern: These incidents are occurring despite an ongoing pandemic where it is well-documented that increased particle pollution results in increased negative impacts on disease prevalence and outcomes. A recently published study shows children in Allegheny County living near major pollution sources had nearly triple the prevalence of asthma as compared with the national average rate of asthma in children. According to the American Lung Association, “First, short-term exposure to particle pollution can kill. Peaks or spikes in particle pollution can last from hours to days. Premature deaths from breathing these particles can occur on the very day that particle levels are high, or within one to two months afterward. Particle pollution does not just make people die a few days earlier than they might otherwise—these deaths would not have occurred so early if the air were cleaner.” Residents reported more than 1,300 odor complaints on the SmellPGH app during this Nov. 4-10 period of time because of the rotten-egg smell associated with emissions of hydrogen sulfide gas from coking operations. You can read more about the rally here: Allegheny County Residents Demand Stronger Pollution Regulations for U.S. Steel Plant, published by StateImpact After 7 Days of Exceedances, Mon Valley’s Air Pollution Still a Big Problem, published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette #CherylHurt #airpollution #USSteel #EdgarThomsonWorks #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #Clairton #airquality #MonValleyWorks

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) on Friday is now seeking public comment on its proposed coke oven regulations, according to a press release issued Friday. The proposed regulation changes were presented to the Board of Health on Nov. 4, when members voted to approve ACHD’s request to open a 60-day public comment period. In the release, ACHD wrote: Coke making is a process by which coal is baked at very high temperatures in an air-free oven to create a fuel that is used to make steel. The process produces coke oven gas which contains volatile products such as benzene, tar, sulfur compounds, ammonia and methane. The Health Department has authority to regulate this process under Article XXI, which pertains to air pollution control. The only coke facility in Allegheny County is at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Works. The Health Department has met with U.S. Steel 11 times since June 2020 to discuss the proposed regulation changes. The regulation changes will: Incorporate coke oven inspection procedures into the regulations; Address issues of stringency with federal and Pennsylvania regulations; Correct coke oven gas standards, and Remove outdated language.The proposed revisions and changes are available on the Health Department’s Air Quality web site at www.alleghenycounty.us/regs-sips. Written copies may be obtained by contacting Paulette Poullet, at paulette.poullet@alleghenycounty.us or 412-578-8103. Comments will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on January 21. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to aqcomments@alleghenycounty.us or by mail to:Allegheny County Health DepartmentAttention: Paulette Poullet301 39th Street, Bldg. 7Pittsburgh, PA 15201-1811 All correspondence must include first and last name and a complete mailing address. A public hearing will be held virtually on Jan. 20 at 5 p.m.  in compliance with safety precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing will be live streamed on the Health Department’s Facebook page. You do not need a Facebook account to watch the hearing. To view the live stream, visit: https://www.facebook.com/AlleghenyCountyHealth/. People who wish to present testimony at the hearing must register by going to the ACHD’s Air Quality website at www.alleghenycounty.us/regs-sips. Those who do not have access to the internet may register by contacting Paulette Poullet, at 412-578-8103. You must register to present testimony at least 24 hours in advance of the virtual hearing. Testimony is limited to three minutes. Witnesses are requested to submit written copies of the testimony by email to aqcomments@alleghenycounty.us. GASP will be submitting public comments on these regulations – stay tuned.

For the seventh straight day, Allegheny County on Tuesday tallied another air quality exceedance – the 24-hour concentration of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at the health department’s Liberty monitor exceeded Pennsylvania’s air quality standard of .005 ppm with an average concentration of .006 ppm, according to preliminary data from the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). But that’s not all: Allegheny County also experienced three straight days where concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeded federal health-based regulations, initial data show. The county was plagued by poor air dispersion for the past week, but ACHD said gusty winds Tuesday and rain today would help “clean” the air, giving residents a respite from subpar air quality. GASP has been tracking the air quality implications of this latest prolonged period of stagnant air, renewing its call for ACHD to update its episodic weather regulations to help better protect public health during inversions and other conditions expected to exacerbate poor air quality. “We are again calling on U.S. Steel to voluntarily reduce operations during weather events that are forecast to cause a public health hazard,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said Wednesday. “The company has repeatedly talked about its commitment to the surrounding communities, its workers, and union members it employs, but talk is cheap and these kinds of empty corporate promises are getting old.” GASP encourages our members to reach out directly to U.S. Steel and tell them to do the right thing and voluntarily reduce production to protect public health during periods of poor air dispersion. You can write, call, or email:  https://www.ussteel.com/newsroom. #airqualityexceedances #PM25 #H2S #hydrogensulfide #RachelFilippini #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality

Here at GASP, we’re all about giving credit where credit is due. To that end, we thank the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) for finally issuing a public update regarding the recent bout of horrific air quality exacerbated by nearly a week of stagnant weather conditions. Yes, the department provided the public with a statement that indicated that air quality was expected to improve as weather conditions more conducive to clean air were rolling in. Yes, the department sympathized with local residents who were forced to stay indoors on an otherwise beautiful, sunshiny day. And yes, they responded to the calls from GASP, fellow grassroots groups, and residents for updated episodic weather regulations – reiterating that they “remain a priority” for the department. Unfortunately, though, ACHD did what it always seems to do: It largely blamed the weather and placed a disproportionate amount of the responsibility for mitigating air pollution during Code Orange Air Quality Action Days on residents instead of industrial pollution. ACHD wrote: “The air quality issues recently faced by Allegheny County were experienced in communities across the region. Industrial pollution across the region contributed to the recent poor air quality but so did personal pollution from individual actions such as burning firewood or leaves or using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment like a leaf blower.” Its message also explicitly asked residents to do their part to reduce air pollutants on days with poor dispersion, writing: “The Health Department asks that residents refrain from these activities during periods of poor air quality.” There was no such explicit public call to action for industrial polluters. There was also no mention of air quality being so lousy that the county experienced nine air quality exceedances in the past week – six for hydrogen sulfide concentrations and three for high levels of fine particulate matter. Why is that important? Because when it comes to hydrogen sulfide concentrations, there’s practically nothing that residents can do to make a marked increase. But U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works can: Not only is it the largest emitter of hydrogen sulfide in the county, but the entire state.  And it should be mentioned that currently, U.S. Steel is actively fighting any new regulations to control H2S emissions. GASP thinks that’s a fairly significant omission. “Alerts like the one issued by ACHD Monday are frustrating to residents and watchdog groups alike,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said Tuesday morning. “The fact is, you can’t blame the weather. Poor air dispersion doesn’t create pollution, it just traps it.” She added that ACHD must do more than tell the public that the regs are in progress. “We need to know exactly what progress has been made because our area will be dealing with more of these poor air dispersion days as winter approaches,” Filippini said. “GASP sits on three ACHD air quality subcommittees and attends every board of health meeting. These regulations have not been brought up during any of those public meetings that we can recall.” GASP renews its call to ACHD for it to be more proactive and specific in its messaging – and asks that it explicitly and publicly call on U.S. Steel to voluntarily limit production when a bout of poor weather expected to cause a public health hazard occurs. #episodicweatherregulations #H2S #airqualityexeedances #USSteel #ACHD

The Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) recently published a proposed rulemaking that would establish a cap-and-trade program in the keystone state for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units. This proposed rulemaking would also enable Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – or RGGI – a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide emissions that includes 10 other states in the northeastern United States. The EQB anticipates that Pennsylvania’s participation in the RGGI would lead to a 31 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from sources in the commonwealth by 2030, relative to 2019 emission levels. The EQB also anticipates that the proposed rules would lead to significantly reduced emissions of other air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, and ground level ozone. You can learn more about those pollutants and how they impact human health and the environment on GASP’s Resources Page. A copy of the proposed rulemaking is available here.  You can learn more about RGGI here. The EQB is accepting comments from the public on the proposed rules through Jan. 14, 2021. “We are reviewing the proposed rules and will provide updates on any developments regarding them as they occur,” GASP senior staff attorney John Baillie said. Editor’s Note: Get the latest on air quality issues by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In air quality warnings issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) over the past few days, you might have noticed both agencies predicted air quality would improve in the afternoons. GASP is pointing this out because it could provide citizens with one small step toward minimizing their exposure to harmful air pollution. We graphed ACHD’s monitor data for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations since Nov. 3 and found that the agencies’ predictions were very accurate. The takeaway? Spending time outside at 3 p.m. versus most of the late-night hours would likely result in lower exposure to those pollutants. Of course, needing to schedule your day around air pollution in a first-world nation during a pandemic is appalling on many levels. And yes, regulations meant to control emissions during periods of stagnant air in our region absolutely are lacking and must be updated. Unfortunately, relief from those issues won’t happen overnight. In the meantime, and if possible, spending time outside when pollution levels are lowest is one way to protect your health. But of course, “if possible” invokes an entirely separate set of concerns: The reality is that many among us cannot schedule our time outdoors to avoid higher levels of pollution. Jobs, errands, children (human and fur kids alike) all might require time outdoors irrespective of the air quality at a given time. When that is the case, it’s worth noting that the same masks that departments of health around the world are encouraging individuals to wear to slow the spread of COVID-19 might also provide some protection from high PM2.5. As much as we wish we could, please understand we cannot say how much of an impact any of these steps would have. Indoor air can have its own sets of issues and masks can’t catch 100 percent of airborne pollutants. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have a one-hour concentration standard for fine particle pollution so there isn’t clear guidance on the harm of a few bad hours. Currently, EPA requires that the annual average concentration for fine particulate matter is less than 12 ug/m3, averaged over three years and that no more than eight days per year, averaged over three years, have a concentration exceeding 35 ug/m3. Over the past few days, daily concentrations at monitors in Liberty and Avalon exceeded EPA’s daily standard and several hourly concentrations were more than double the limit. That said, the lack of an hourly standard and the eight-days-per-year clause in the daily standard mean these “exceedances” of the limit might still comply with the EPA rules. Our point? That within the 24 hours composing those daily exceedances, some hours were much better than others. Taking steps to avoid the worst hours could provide some relief if you’ve been affected or are concerned about the potential health impacts. Finally, we’d like to note that this pattern of pollutant levels increasing overnight and decreasing during the day is somewhat common for fine particulate matter and hydrogen sulfide but NOT ozone. In fact, when ground-level ozone levels get close to exceeding health-based air quality standards, the highest concentrations will be late in the afternoon. We are entering a period of the year when ozone isn’t a problem but it’s worth pointing out the pattern of pollution we’ve seen the past few days isn’t a universal rule for all pollutants. Editor’s Note: We will keep you updated as we review air quality data. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates. #airqualityexceedances #PM25 #H2S #airpollution #hydrogensulfide #fineparticulatematter #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #DEP #ACHD #EPA #airquality

Awful air quality is expected to persist through Tuesday morning in Allegheny County, with health department officials warning of increased air pollution overnight as exceedances of air quality standards mount. For the fourth day in a row, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Code Orange Action Day for the county Monday. In the past week, hydrogen sulfide concentrations have soared at the Liberty monitor, with Allegheny County experiencing five straight days of exceedances of the state standard – bringing the annual total to 25 so far, according to preliminary data from ACHD. And expect another today: The H2S concentration was so high from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Monday that it’s numerically impossible for today’s 24-average concentration to stay below the state standard, meaning we are guaranteed six days in a row over the limit. But that’s not all: The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeded the federal health-based standard for the past three days in a row at Liberty, and two days in a row at the Avalon monitor. “It’s shameful that residents who live in a city touted as one of America’s most livable have to shutter their doors and windows to keep out dirty air on what might be one of the last good-weather weekends of the year,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini. “While poor air quality was widespread in Allegheny County this past weekend, it was especially unacceptable in the Mon Valley, an area long plagued by industrial polluters.” She stressed that it was well past time for ACHD to make good on its commitment to retooling its episodic weather regulations to help safeguard public health during periods when poor air dispersion is expected. For those following along: The current regulations are so old that they do not even list an action level for PM2.5, a substance the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating in 1997. “While we thank ACHD for sharing some of DEP’s air quality alerts, we implore officials to publish public health warnings that reflect the stricter standards we have in place locally,” Filippini said. “At a time when COVID rates are soaring and there is mounting medical evidence that exposure to air pollution leads to more serious outcomes for those who contract the virus, it’s irresponsible for ACHD not to reiterate to the public that open and recreational burning is prohibited during Code Orange Action Days. She added: “And it’s downright offensive that while ACHD provides specific guidance to residents on how they can mitigate air pollution during these periods, it still has no plan in place for getting industrial polluters to dial down production when weather conditions are expected to exacerbate poor air quality, putting public health at risk.” GASP encourages everyone to take a stand: Call or write to Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald, your county councilperson, and U.S. Steel to let them know that we demand – and deserve – clean air, and ask them to prioritize the development of an updated episodic weather regulations. “Last year we wrote an open letter to U.S. Steel asking them to update the public on what it is doing to protect its neighbors from undue industrial emissions during these weather episodes. Unsurprisingly, we heard nothing back,” Filippini said. “It’s telling that a company with a paid public relations staff can utilize its communications capabilities to mount a campaign to fight against updated coke oven regulations, but it can’t craft a statement telling the community how it is prepared to protect residents and indeed their own workers. At this point, they don’t seem to even pretend to care about the possible health implications from its Mon Valley operations.” You can view ACHD’s latest air dispersion report here. Editor’s Note: We graphed/charted the data for those who’d like to take a deeper dive: #airqualityexceedances #PM25 #H2S #USSteel #airdispersion #RachelFilippini #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 4:10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7 to reflect updated air quality data and table. Levels of hydrogen sulfide were so high through 8 a.m. Saturday at the Liberty monitor that it’s mathematically impossible NOT to exceed the state’s 24-hour standard – the fourth such exceedance this week and the 24th of the year in Allegheny County, according to preliminary data from the health department. The county experienced two air quality exceedances Friday when the concentration of hydrogen sulfide at the Liberty monitor was more than double the state limit. The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the Liberty monitor also exceeded the federal health-based regulatory standard.  There were also H2S exceedances on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Thursday, Nov. 5. Adding insult to injury, the highest one-hour concentration of H2S at the Liberty monitor for all of 2020 — 0.056 ppm — occurred between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday. And health officials said not to expect a reprieve from poor air quality until early next week: Stagnant conditions causing poor air dispersion exacerbating air pollution is expected to persist through at least Tuesday. Saturday also marks the third consecutive Code Orange Air Quality Action Day, according to a press release issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection. “The concentrations of these air pollutants at the Liberty monitor are alarmingly high and reinforce the need for ACHD to make good on its commitment to draft new episodic weather regulations,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Residents in the Mon Valley are suffering and need real leadership and swift action from Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald, ACHD, and industrial polluters like U.S. Steel.” She added: “ACHD strongly encouraged residents and businesses to voluntarily help reduce air pollution. U.S. Steel needs to tell the public what steps its taking to protect local residents’ health.” #H2S #H2Sexceedance #RachelFilippini #fineparticulatematter #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #airdispersionreport #RichFitzgerald #ACHD #airquality