1. Group Against Smog and Pollution, Inc. (GASP)
Founded in 1969, GASP is a non-profit citizens’ group in Southwestern PA working for a healthy, sustainable environment.

2. Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) www.gasp-pgh.org
Watchdog
Smoke Reading
Educate
Community Outreach
Events
Drive Cleaner Drive Greener
Speakers

3. GASPer Air Monitor Program
An opportunity for you to learn about what you are breathing!
Monitor both indoor and outdoor air quality using portable, easy to use equipment

4. Smokestacks Pittsburgh 1906 from top of Union Station
Herbert Spencer, an English Philosopher
 "A month in Pittsburgh would justify anyone in committing suicide." (Hadley 228)
James Parton, An American Biographer
"Every street appears to end in a big, black cloud. Pittsburgh is smoke, smoke, smoke—everywhere smoke—by night, it was Hell wi the lid taken off."
1908 Researcher for Russell Sage Foundation
The common laborer in and around the mills works seventy-two hours a week…The congested condition of most of the plants in Pittsburgh adds to the physical discomforts for an out-of-doors people; while their ignorance of language and of modern machinery increases the risk. How many of the Slavs, Lithuanians, and Italians are injured in Pittsburgh in one year is not known. No reliable statistic are compiled; in their absence people guess. When I mentioned a plant that had a bad reputation to a priest, he said, "Oh, that is a slaughterhouse; they kill them there every day". I quote him not for accuracy, but to show how the rumors circulate and are real to the people themselves
"Pittsburgh itself escaped the episode primarily because it had just begun to enforce a smoke control ordinance and was cutting back on the use of bituminous coal as a fuel source.

5. DID YOU KNOW?
The Pittsburgh area was recently ranked 2nd worse air quality, for fine particulates, after L.A. – American Lung Association, 2007 State of the Air Report
Our region is not meeting federal health standards for fine particulates

6. Clear Day in Pittsburgh
Air Quality Action Day

7. Why is Pittsburgh’s Air Polluted?
Wind generally moves from west to east; pollution from the Ohio Valley
Coal fired power plants
Clairton coke works – turning coal into coke for steel making process
Geography
Diesel Pollution

8. Criteria Air Pollutants
EPA identifies 6 air pollutants as common throughout the US and able to harm human health and the environment.
-Ozone
-Particulate Matter
-Carbon Monoxide
-Nitrogen Dioxide
-Sulfur Dioxide
-Lead

9. What is particulate matter? a.k.a. “soot”
Particulate matter (PM) includes both solid and liquid droplets of various sizes suspended in air.
Primary PM – emitted directly, as in wind blown soil, salt from the ocean, or emissions of elemental carbon from combustion activities.
ex. Construction sites, unpaved roads, forest fires, smokestacks
Secondary PM – formed when gases from power plants, industries & automobiles react in the air
ex. sulfate particles formed from sulfur dioxide emitted by combustion.

10. How small are these particles?
 Particles between 10 µm and 2.5 µm are often described as coarse particles (PM10), and are associated with primary PM such as road dust and salt.
Particles with diameter equal to or less than 2.5 µm are referred to as fine particles (PM2.5). Commonly result from combustion activities and chemical reactions taking place in the air, for example, sulfate formation.
~1/30th the size of human hair. Found in smoke & haze.
 Particles with diameter less than 0.1 μm, a subset of fine particles, are referred to as ultrafine particles (UFP). Diesel emissions are a significant source of ultrafine particles in the atmosphere.

11. Particles
A micrometer is a millionth of a meter, so PM10 is 10 micrometers-roughly the same size as bacteria — and like bacteria, PM10 is invisible to the naked eye
PM2.5 – approximately 1/30th the size of an average human hair. PM 2.5 and smaller are referred to as fine particulates
“Ultrafine” particles are a subset of PM2.5, measuring less than 0.1 µm in diameter.

12. Why are we so concerned about these tiny particles anyway?
Too small to be filtered by the nose/mouth
Can be inhaled deeply into the lungs where they can cross directly into blood stream like oxygen
Asthma attacks (possible asthma onset)
Heart attacks
Strokes
Premature death (crib death in children)
Cancer
Bullet 1 – As much as 20% of diesel particulate matter is comprised of ultrafine particles, so small they can invade lung tissue and even enter the bloodstream. While in the bloodstream this fine PM can initiate an inflammatory response, disrupting heart rate and increasing blood clotting.

13. Mystery Solved Study at Northwestern University (2007)
Microscopic air pollution causes an increased tendency for blot to clot
Raises risk of fatal heart attack/stroke in people with cardiovascular disease
Previous studies have linked PM and cardiovascular death/disease
This is the first study to show how it actually happens

14. Healthy Lungs vs. Polluted Lungs

15. Non-attainment
Locality where air pollution levels persistently exceed National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area are in non-attainment for PM 2.5 & Ozone

17. Can I reduce my exposure to particulate matter?
Avoid exposure where possible to sources of airborne particles such as tobacco smoke, wood smoke and vehicle exhaust.
Avoid prolonged outdoor exertion near high-traffic areas especially if it is a higher pollution day.
Stay informed about the daily air pollution levels and the associated health implications. You can sign up to receive an AQI forecast by each day here
Use high quality filters for heating and air conditioners. Change filters frequently. Consider using a room, car and/or house air cleaner. There are a variety of types so research your needs and follow proper maintenance recommendations. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are better for smaller particles.

18. Diesel: Did you know?
Today in the U.S. more than 13 million diesel vehicles help to build our cities and towns, transport our food and goods, and take us to and from work and school.
Trucks, buses, farm equipment, construction equipment, locomotives and ships are all common diesel vehicles.
More than ¾ of all Americans live near intersections, bus stops, highways, bus and truck depots, or construction sites with heavy equipment – all of which are concentrated sources of diesel exhaust.
The lifespan of the average diesel vehicle is nearly 30 years.

19. School Bus Idling Regulation
(as of 10/10/04)
*School Buses cannot idle more than 5 minutes.
*If you see a school bus idling for more than the allotted time contact the Allegheny County Health Department at or the police.
Pittsburgh Healthy School Bus Fund

20. Diesel Powered Motor Vehicle Idling Regulation
* limits idling of city buses, trucks, waste haulers and tour buses to FIVE MINUTES!

21. Pittsburgh Healthy School Bus Fund
Heinz Foundation provided initial $500,000
Retrofit all pre-2007 engine buses serving Pgh School District - approx. 350
Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) for the tailpipe and closed crankcase system for the engine
Reduces diesel emissions by at least 85%
Partnership between Clean Water Action, GASP, and Clean Air Task Force
Innovative -Provides a model for other cities

22. Allegheny Partnership to Reduce Diesel Pollution
Clean Water Action and GASP
Aims to reduce toxic diesel emissions from all sectors
Currently working with City of Pittsburgh to secure EPA funds to retrofit municipal waste haulers

23. Coal Power: what goes on behind the light switch
Most people think that coal went out of fashion with top hats and corsets
In fact, we burn more than a billion tons a year
About 20 lbs/day for every man, woman and child
Coal power plants generate about half the electric power in the country

24. Coal is not Clean & Green
Annual emissions from a typical coal plant:
10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide
10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide
500 tons of small particles
225 pounds of arsenic
114 pounds of lead & 48 tons of mercury
For every ton of coal burned, 2-3 tons of carbon dioxide are created

25. Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP)
Wightman School Community Building
5604 Solway St., #204
Pittsburgh, PA
Phone:
Lee Szymkiewicz, Education Coordinator