If this news caught you off guard, you weren’t alone. This ominous prediction appeared on what might fairly be called a not-well-traveled corner of the internet, but it certainly wasn’t a secret. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its regional partners on Wednesday issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for particulate matter (PM 2.5) for Thursday, Nov. 5 for the Liberty-Clairton area (composed of Clairton, Glassport, Lincoln, Liberty, and Port Vue). On Thursday DEP issued an identical Action Day alert for Friday. While ACHD is not responsible for issuing official Code Orange warnings, the County’s “Allegheny Alerts” system only broadcast the Friday warning – no such broadcast occurred in advance of today’s poor air quality. “Residents in the Liberty-Clairton area woke up Thursday to worse than code orange air quality – the AQI peaked into the red, unhealthy-for-everyone range early Thursday,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “GASP continues to call on ACHD to be more responsible stewards of public health by notifying residents when these events are expected to take place.” It is GASP’s position that ACHD must now make good on its promise to draft regulations substantially limiting air pollution when atmospheric conditions are expected to exacerbate the area’s already notoriously poor air quality. In fact, GASP just this week provided comments to the County’s Board of Health imploring it to make those regulations a priority, especially as we head into the winter months when there are more frequent days with poor air dispersion. Local residents might recall that last year’s holiday season was marred by eight days of unrelenting air pollution during which county residents were forced to endure air quality so poor that AirNow.gov ranked local air quality as the worst in the nation. ACHD initially issued a statement that largely blamed the weather for the poor air quality, merely relaying to the public that U.S. Steel’s and other Mon Valley facilities were operating within permit limits. “That was less than encouraging, considering U.S. Steel is permitted literally to emit hundreds of tons of air pollution each year,” Filippini noted. After widespread outrage from GASP, fellow environmental groups, and residents, ACHD announced in early January a new effort to fight weather-related air pollution events with officials noting, “We must also explore new regulations that would impose corrective action requirements on industry during short-term pollution events…These extended exceedances and higher pollution levels are a clear threat to the health of the county’s residents, but ACHD’s current regulations do not provide options to address this issue.” GASP couldn’t agree more. “ACHD’s current episodic air pollution regulations are woefully outdated – so old in fact that they do not even list an action level for PM2.5,” GASP senior staff attorney John Baillie added. While GASP initially was heartened to learn ACHD was planning to propose new air quality regulations aimed at emission mitigation requirements for industries operating during weather-related pollution episodes, sadly, no such proposal ever materialized. “Now more than ever ACHD needs an emission-reduction plan in place that could be implemented within 24 hours of notice that a public health hazard exists. So, the question is: Where is the draft plan?” Filippini asked. “Are we prepared should there be a repeat of last December? And what is U.S. Steel doing to prepare?” GASP earlier this year wrote an open letter to U.S. Steel urging it to communicate to the public how it will protect local residents if – and when – our area experiences another spate of poor air dispersion days. This is more important now than ever as communities also deal with COVID-19. “We believe the question needs to again be asked: Is the company prepared to extend coking times or dial down production during a future episodic weather event?” Filippini asked. “If nothing else, 2020 has taught us that U.S. Steel can indeed operate at a reduced production rate when market conditions demand it. Are they willing to be proactive about protecting public health and operate less when stagnant air is predicted, as well?” These questions need to be answered, and our front-line communities deserve better. That’s why GASP is again formally calling on ACHD and Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald to follow up on its promise to address this issue ASAP. Editor’s Note: You can read the ACHD air dispersion report here. Need more info on Friday’s Code Orange Action Day? Here’s the alert from DEP: #PM25 #airpollution #USSteel #LibertyClairton #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #episodicairpollutionregulations #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include a table listing all of the H2S exceedances in Allegheny County so far this year. Allegheny County on Nov. 4 experienced yet another air quality exceedance, with another expected today. According to initial data from the Allegheny County Health Department, the 24-hour average concentration of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at the Liberty monitor was .007 ppm, exceeding the state air quality standard of .005 ppm. Another H2S exceedance is also guaranteed today: The average h2s concentration at the Liberty monitor from 12 a.m. through 11 a.m. today was 0.013 ppm, making it mathematically impossible for the 24-hour average to be less than 0.006 ppm. It’s worth noting that data since 11 a.m. also show elevated H2S levels, which means the final 24-hour concentration at the Liberty monitor for today might be well above the 0.006 ppm state standard. Here’s a breakdown of 2020 H2S exceedances:

A peer-reviewed study conducted by a local doctor shows children in Allegheny County living near major pollution sources had nearly triple the prevalence of asthma as compared to the national average. The study was published in the Journal of Asthma and documents serious public health concerns about children residing near sources of pollution, especially African American children and those living in poverty in Allegheny County. The article presents the findings of the Surveillance and Tracking of Asthma in our Region’s Schoolchildren (STARS) from 2014-2017 and was conducted by Community Partners in Asthma Care Medical Director Dr. Deborah A. Gentile when she was with the Allegheny Health Network. STARS screened more than 1,200 children at 15 elementary schools, including schools in Clairton and Braddock. The findings showed that the overall presence of asthma was 22.5 percent, nearly triple the national rate of 8.5 percent reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The study also noted the highest rate of asthma – 26.8 percent – was among African American children in these communities. The study indicates that children living near smokestack pollution bear a disproportionate burden of exposure and negative health impacts: These children experienced much higher rates of pollution exposure than the national averages and above thresholds recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). About 70 percent of children studied were exposed to PM 2.5 fine particle pollution at an annual mean level greater than 10 ug/m3, which is WHO’s recommended upper limit of annual average exposure. This compares with 3.1 percent rate of exposure nationally at this same level. This rate of exposure is alarmingly high. Children exposed to pollution levels above this 10ug/m3 threshold increased their odds of having asthma by 58 percent as compared to those exposed to lower pollution limits. Of this same sample, 38.9 percent of the participating children were exposed to PM 2.5 fine particle pollution at an annual mean level greater than 12 ug/m3, which is the U.S. EPA’s compliance limit (averaged over three years). Children in the study lived in Clairton, Woodland Hills, Allegheny Valley, Northgate, and Gateway school districts, with many living in environmental justice communities populated with a high percentage of low-income and African American families. The study spotlights the health inequalities that exist between African Americans and other children: Overall prevalence of asthma in the study was highest among African Americans (26.8 percent) and those 10-12 years of age (26.7 percent) on public health insurance. “The persistence of inequities across our region show up in the most vulnerable populations, our children,” said Jamil Bey, director of the UrbanKind Institute and convener of the Black Environmental Collective. “The children of families in closest proximity to the polluters, with fewer resources to relocate, make regular doctor’s visits, and proactively manage asthma – these children bear the burden of the region’s lax pollution control and enforcement laws.” The study also documented that 59.3 percent of children suffered from uncontrolled asthma, experiencing symptoms throughout the day and night, and preventing them from performing daily activities, including exercise, without shortness of breath, coughing, or wheezing. Female children whose pollution exposure exceeded the 10ug/m3 standard were nearly five times more likely to have uncontrolled asthma than females whose exposure was less than the standard. “It’s not just the children, but the effects of pollution generationally,” said Cheryl Hurt, a lifelong resident of Clairton who runs a daycare center in the community. “We need to reduce the hazardous particles that are making it harder for us to breathe and are killing us. It starts at the top, the federal, state and local governments are not doing enough about this age-old problem.” The authors attempted to find a control group that matched the demographic profile of the group of children included in the study but were not exposed to large point source outdoor air pollution sources. However, no such communities existed in Allegheny County. All residential locations within Allegheny County whose demographic profile was similar to that of the study resided in close proximity to outdoor air pollution sites. This finding further documents that African Americans in Allegheny County are much more likely to reside near outdoor air pollution sites. “Pittsburgh remains a challenging region in which to live with asthma due to both the high disease prevalence and exposure to high levels of outdoor air pollution,” said Dr. Gentile, who also serves as the medical director of Allergy and Asthma Wellness Centers. At the time of the study, air pollution affecting the communities came from the U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, the now-shuttered DTE Energy Shenango Coke Works on Neville Island, as well as the NRG Cheswick Generating Station and the Monroeville Pennsylvania Turnpike Junction. “The results of this study emphasize the importance of primary prevention – interventions before health effects occur – specifically, reductions in exposure to air pollution, to decrease the disparities in asthma prevalence in our region,” she continued. “Disparate children in our region, particularly African American children, are exposed to harmful levels of air pollution that are associated with increased asthma prevalence. We must stop these harmful levels of pollution.” Grant Oliphant, president of The Heinz Foundation that funded the study, agreed. “This data should shock everyone in our community out of any sense of complacency about the damage caused by industrial pollution,” he said. “There is no excuse for continuing to expose our children to this level of harm when it could be so easily reduced through more stringent regulation, stronger enforcement and better compliance. We need to demand better.” “Our local leaders, regulators, industry – all of us – have a role to play in protecting the most vulnerable members of society,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “This report is damning and underscores the need to act quickly.” The accepted manuscript of the article can be accessed: https://bit.ly/34U3LQa Editor’s Note: Did you know that GASP last year honored study author Dr. Gentile with a Michelle Madoff Award of Environmental Excellence. You can read more about that on our blog. #PM25 #asthma #airpollution #USSteel #DrDeborahGentile #AlleghenyCounty #fineparticulatematter #EdgarThomsonPlant #ClairtonCokeWorks #Clairton #airquality

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Wednesday issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for particulate matter (PM 2.5) for Thursday, Nov. 5 for the Liberty-Clairton area of Allegheny County. The Air Quality Action Day is based on DEP’s Thursday forecast: A strong temperature inversion expected in the morning coupled with calm winds will produce poor air quality in the code ORANGE range with respect to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) Thursday morning. Orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people (whereas red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all). Why is PM2.5 worrisome? Fine particulate matter penetrates deeper into the lungs and causes heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and bronchitis, as well as premature death from heart ailments, lung disease, and cancer. DEP indicated that further action days are possible this week and that warnings will be issued as warranted. An Air Quality Action Day is issued when the AQI is forecasted to be code orange or higher. On air quality action days, young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities. To help keep the air healthy, residents and business are encouraged to voluntarily restrict certain pollution-producing activities by: • Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use. • Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment. • Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials. This forecast is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and the Southwest PA Air Quality Partnership, Inc. Editor’s Note: For more information, visit DEP at www.dep.pa.gov, EPA’s AirNow at www.airnow.gov

After a lengthy and sometimes contentious back-and-forth discussion, the Allegheny County Health Department’s Air Advisory Committee on Monday voted 5-4 to recommend that the Board of Health send revisions to its coke oven gas regulations out for public comment. GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini serves on the committee and was among the yes votes. While some members of the advisory committee who have industry or U.S. Steel ties suggested that the two parties meet again to hash out their differences, representatives from both parties were clear: they were at an impasse. Representatives of U.S. Steel – the sole coke oven operator in Allegheny County – said they were “disappointed” in the proposed changes. At issue? The company said it felt the revisions were “too stringent.” If approved, ACHD’s proposed revisions to the coke oven gas regulations included would, among other things: Immediately lower the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) grain-loading standard from 40 to 35 grains per 100 dry standard cubic feet of air (dscf) and then (in 2025) further lowering the standard to 23 grains per 100 dscf. Add six sulfur compounds to the calculation for determining compliance with the H2S standard Clarify technical language and definitions to mirror state Department of Environmental Protection regulations. Remove specific inspection and observation methods. Representatives from U.S. Steel contended that ACHD failed to provide justification for many of the revisions as required by the high-profile 2019 settlement agreement. GASP late last year petitioned ACHD to keep its 2018 promise to tighten up its coke oven regs to reduce hydrogen sulfide – an air toxin that smells like rotten eggs – and stave off associated exceedances of the state standard. “It’s important to remember why these regulations are so important: Coke-making is a primary source of hydrogen sulfide in Allegheny County – and U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works is the largest emitter of H2S not only locally, but in the entire state,” said Rachel Filippini, GASP’s executive director. So far this year there have been 19 days during which H2S concentrations at ACHD’s Liberty monitor mathematically exceeded the state standard. The Board of Health will vote on whether or not to take the committee’s recommendation and approve the revisions to go out to public comment at its Nov. 4 meeting. You can read the draft revisions here. Editor’s Note: The purpose of the Air Pollution Control Advisory Committee is to make recommendations to the Board of Health regarding additions and/or changes to the air quality rules and regulations for Allegheny County. The committee also advises both the Health Department and the Board of Health on the management of air quality in Allegheny County. The committee’s next meeting is slated for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14. The meeting will be held virtually. GASP will publish information on the agenda and how to attend when that information becomes available. #cokeovenregulations #H2S #airpollution #USSteel #emissions #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality

These fees are critical to the operation of DEP’s Air Quality Program, which works to protect public health and Pennsylvania’s environment by administering and enforcing air pollution laws. DEP’s Title V fees haven’t been raised since 2013 and the account will run a deficit beginning in the fiscal year 2023-24 if fees are not increased. Its non-Title V fees were last increased in 2005, with that account expected to run at a deficit in 2020-21 if action is not taken. That resolution from the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, chaired by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, unveiled the concurrent resolution to disapprove the revisions on Sept. 28. “That resolution prevents the revisions from being published in final form, and thus from taking final effect, while the process spelled out by Pennsylvania’s Regulatory Review Act occurs,” GASP senior staff attorney John Baillie said. Here’s what he said the process looks like: First, the resolution will head to the full House and Senate for votes that must occur within 10 legislative session days or 30 calendar days – whichever one is longer. If both chambers reject the proposed revisions by voting to approve the concurrent resolution, the matter then goes to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. “If the concurrent resolution is not approved by both houses, the revisions may be published and can become effective,” Baillie explained. “If the Governor signs the approved concurrent resolution or does not act on it, the revisions may not be published and will not become effective.” Wolf could opt to veto the concurrent resolution, which would pave the way for the new fee schedule to be published and go into effect, but procedurally, the General Assembly could then work to override that veto. “All of this should play out in the next month or two according to the timelines established by the Regulatory Review Act, provided that an outbreak of COVID-19 does not prevent the General Assembly from meeting,” he added. GASP will keep you posted on this developing story. But in the meantime, YOU can help. Contact your state representatives and let them know you support the fee schedule changes. Not sure who your rep/senator is or need their contact info? No problem, you can type in your mailing address here to find that information. You can copy, paste, and personalize this message when you do: Dear Rep./Senator, My name is __________ and I live in ____________. I am writing today to urge you to support the fee schedule proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Program and vote AGAINST House Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution #3. Air quality remains a serious public health issue in Pennsylvania, where all residents have a right to clean air. It is imperative that DEP’s Air Quality Program have sufficient funding to do its job. Thank you, #AirQualityProgram #DEP #feeschedule

Childhood cancer is the number one cause of death by disease for children in the United States, killing more children than pediatric AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy combined. In fact, a 34 percent increase in childhood cancers since 1975 has led a group of scientists, health professionals, businesses, and advocates to ignite a call to action to highlight preventable environmental factors that threaten our children. This coalition seeks to establish a National Childhood Cancer Prevention Research Agenda and National Childhood Cancer Prevention Plan to eradicate non-hereditary Childhood Cancers through a dramatic reduction of toxic chemicals with a strong “all hands-on deck” cross-sector approach to childhood cancer prevention. The group’s report, “Childhood Cancer: Cross-Sector Strategies for Prevention,” includes contributions from American Sustainable Business Council, Cancer Free Economy Network, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Clean and Healthy New York, Clean Production Action, UMass Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, Max Cure Foundation and Made Safe. The report calls for a cross-sector approach to reduce use and emissions of toxic chemicals at a time when rates of new cancers in children are climbing. Based on a comprehensive review of the science, the report finds sufficient evidence to warrant preventative actions for a number of risk factors in the environment to which children are exposed, including air pollutants, pesticides and solvents. Meanwhile, hazardous air pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde, diesel particulate, and coke oven emissions that are known to cause cancer put Allegheny County residents at high risk relative to other counties in the country for cancer. “Resistance to tough enforcement of environmental laws has been particularly strong in our region,” said GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini. You can download the entire report here. You can watch the news conference on Facebook. This story will be updated with media links as they become available. #airpollution #benzene #childhoodcancer #RachelFilippini

Here’s some good news on the air quality front: Pennsylvania’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) on Sept. 17 approved the final revisions to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Program fee schedule. The revisions were approved by a 4-1 vote. GASP previously submitted comments in support of fee schedule changes, which are designed to ensure that DEP’s Air Quality Program has adequate funds to operate for the foreseeable future. It’s important to note that the approval was not a foregone conclusion. “In 2019, the IRRC rejected the Environmental Quality Board proposed revisions to the Air Quality’s Program’s fee schedule by a 3-2 vote, purportedly because it was not clear that Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act gave the EQB the legal authority to make all of the proposed revisions,” GASP’s senior staff attorney John Baillie said. “Presumably, the legal analysis that the EQB provided with the final form revisions helped change minds at the IRRC and secured its approval of the final form revisions.” However, the IRRC vote is not the final step in the approval process: The final form revisions must also be greenlighted by the state Senate’s Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, as well the House’s Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy. “If they also approve the final form revisions, the revisions will be submitted to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for approval,” Baillie said. “After such approval, the revisions will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and become law.” The new fee schedule, if finally approved, will directly impact facilities where DEP administers the air pollution laws, specifically, all areas of Pennsylvania outside of Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties. Facilities in Allegheny County will be impacted indirectly because Allegheny County has restructured the fee schedule used by the Air Program at the Allegheny County Health Department. “We expect that the County will set fee amounts that are similar, if not identical, to those charged by DEP once DEP’s new fee schedule is finalized,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. Editor’s Note: You can read our comments on the proposed fee schedule here. #EnvironmentalResourcesandEnergyCommittee #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #feeschedule #DEP #ACHD #airquality

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has issued an enforcement order against U.S. Steel for opacity violations at its Edgar Thomson facility. The enforcement order, which is dated June 1, was posted to the ACHD website today, Aug. 13, and addresses two instances — one on Oct. 24, 2019, and the other on April 23 of this year –when visible emissions exceeded applicable limits. The county’s air quality regulations prohibit the opacity of visible emissions from a flue or process fugitive emissions from a source equaling or exceeding 60 percent at any time. Regulations also prohibit opacity equaling or exceeding 20 percent for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any 60-minute period. According to the enforcement orders, visible emissions observed on Oct. 24, 2019, exceeded 60 percent opacity during two observations made by a certified observer. On April 23, emissions were observed with as high as 90 percent opacity. The order demanded that U.S. Steel submit to ACHD all documents and communications related to both incidents within 30 days. The order also indicates that a $25,000-a-day fine could be assessed if the company does not comply with the terms of the order. It was not immediately clear if U.S. Steel had complied with the order, as no further information was available on the ACHD website. The enforcement order comes as GASP is calling on ACHD to release a substantive public update on emissions issues at Edgar Thomson, as well as a compliance report the public was promised nearly three years ago. You can read more about those issues and sign our petition here. You can read the enforcement order here. #EdgarThomson #enforcementorder #USSteel #emissions #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #opacity #ACHD #airquality

A recording of our Making the Connection: Fast Fashion & the Environment event is now available for those who wanted to attend but could not: Don’t miss out on the latest air quality news and events subscribe to our YouTube channel and join us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. To learn more about Pittsburgh’s green fashion finds, check out our recent blog. #fastfashion #greenfashion