afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
Acristickid
Well-known member
Afish- Pittsburgh will probably never win any awards for enviromental issues but from what I understand the ranking is bunk.
Guillermo Cole, an Allegheny County Health Department spokesman, said Pittsburgh doesn't deserve the ranking, which hangs on high soot readings in the Monongahela River Valley caused by emissions from U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works.
"Where the soot levels are high in the Clairton area, we're concerned. But it's a localized issue and the problem area is very small," said Mr. Cole, noting that 25,000 people live in the Liberty-Clairton area, which includes Glassport, Port Vue and Lincoln, while 1.2 million reside in Allegheny County and 2.5 million live in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
"The fact of the matter is that the ranking only applies accurately to the Liberty-Clairton area, and Pittsburgh, the rest of the county and the surrounding counties have much better air," Mr. Cole said. "Liberty-Clairton is a unique situation. We have a large source, the coke works, sitting in a river valley, so it's a real challenge. There's no other area of the U.S. like that."
The Liberty-Clairton area does not meet federal air quality standards for airborne particles, but neither does the surrounding metropolitan area, even though soot levels there are lower.
Mr. Cole said significant improvements to the air quality in Liberty-Clairton are expected to result from U.S. Steel's planned $1 billion upgrade of the coke works. County permits for the first new battery of coke ovens could be issued by the end of June and they could be operational by the end of 2011, with a second battery planned for 2014.
Guillermo Cole, an Allegheny County Health Department spokesman, said Pittsburgh doesn't deserve the ranking, which hangs on high soot readings in the Monongahela River Valley caused by emissions from U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works.
"Where the soot levels are high in the Clairton area, we're concerned. But it's a localized issue and the problem area is very small," said Mr. Cole, noting that 25,000 people live in the Liberty-Clairton area, which includes Glassport, Port Vue and Lincoln, while 1.2 million reside in Allegheny County and 2.5 million live in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
"The fact of the matter is that the ranking only applies accurately to the Liberty-Clairton area, and Pittsburgh, the rest of the county and the surrounding counties have much better air," Mr. Cole said. "Liberty-Clairton is a unique situation. We have a large source, the coke works, sitting in a river valley, so it's a real challenge. There's no other area of the U.S. like that."
The Liberty-Clairton area does not meet federal air quality standards for airborne particles, but neither does the surrounding metropolitan area, even though soot levels there are lower.
Mr. Cole said significant improvements to the air quality in Liberty-Clairton are expected to result from U.S. Steel's planned $1 billion upgrade of the coke works. County permits for the first new battery of coke ovens could be issued by the end of June and they could be operational by the end of 2011, with a second battery planned for 2014.
G
geo
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
- Messages
- 30
I went to Pitt for my undergrad degrees, and very much like the university, but the air in the city is not good IMHO. The air isn't good in most cities, and Pittsburgh is no exception.
Pittsburgh is going to try to put a spin of some kind on getting a bad rating. Look at it from the other side -- do you think that they'll argue about being on the list of most livable cities? I'd never want to live in Pittsburgh, and I consider SWPA my home, despite living in SCPA now.
And for the record, despite not watching much mainstream sports (I prefer get my exercise on the stream), I still root for the Pens, Pirates and Steelers.
Pittsburgh is going to try to put a spin of some kind on getting a bad rating. Look at it from the other side -- do you think that they'll argue about being on the list of most livable cities? I'd never want to live in Pittsburgh, and I consider SWPA my home, despite living in SCPA now.
And for the record, despite not watching much mainstream sports (I prefer get my exercise on the stream), I still root for the Pens, Pirates and Steelers.
