Growth vs. the environment?
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The Heinz Endowments recently unveiled a new initiative for clean air, The Breathe Project, and are to be commended for bringing together all elements of our community in the interest of protecting public health. Though our region has made tremendous strides in improving air quality over several decades, we still face many challenges and it is only through cooperative action that we will be able to continue making lasting improvements to our region's air quality.
As The Breathe Project shows, the Allegheny County Health Department is but one of many organizations committed to this effort to protect public health. However, as the agency responsible for enforcing federal air quality standards, permitting sources of air pollution and monitoring pollution levels, the Health Department is in a unique position not only to serve the residents of our county but also to protect our environmental and economic interests at the same time.
The Health Department's Air Quality Program does not receive any county or state tax dollars and operates solely on funds collected from permit and emission fees, federal grants and enforcement penalties. Our staff of around 50 workers is dedicated to various facets of air pollution control, such as monitoring, planning, data analysis, permitting and enforcement. We also maintain programs dealing with asbestos abatement, abrasive blasting and emergency response.
Our offices are open during normal business hours, but we deal with air quality issues 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Though we take on many special tasks, including air pollution studies and voluntary pollution reduction projects, our daily duties are perhaps our most important.
We operate one of the most extensive countywide air monitoring networks in the nation. Most of the monitors record levels of six criteria pollutants designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: fine particulates, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead. We also use specialized monitors to measure numerous air toxins which have known adverse effects on human health. Hourly data from several monitors are available to the public at www.achd.net/air/.
We investigate citizen complaints, inspect facilities and ensure compliance with air quality standards. Over the past five years, roughly 450 tons of pollution was removed from the air we breathe as a result of these efforts. Our inspectors respond to complaints about illegal burning, excess industrial emissions, malodors, unlicensed asbestos removal and anything else that may be harmful to maintaining clean, healthy air.
First Published November 22, 2011 12:00 am
