Dear Fellow Breathers,
Meet Ted Popovich. For 40 years he worked around the globe in India, Brazil, and beyond. He was the China Operations Manager for Corning and an instructor at a Rochester Institute of Technology school in Kosovo. These days, he’s a clean air warrior in Pittsburgh—and a heart bypass survivor.
He often developed bronchitis and other ailments in his travels due to pollution-generated inflammation. When he came to Pittsburgh, he never imagined the air here would harm him as well. However, he moved to a house overlooking the Ohio River and soon discovered Pittsburgh’s pollution problem. “In my neighborhood, people can’t open their windows without fear of letting in pollutants that smell nasty and damage our health.” Emissions from the industrialized end of Neville Island regularly saturate Ted’s community. “I began to realize the scope of the problem when I volunteered to become an opacity evaluator, or Smoke Reader.”
Through GASP, Ted learned how to observe smoke stack emissions and note violations. He made readings of the Shenango Coke works, a source of many of the foul odors he and his neighbors suffer through. He took photographs and called complaints in to the county Health Department.
“I mastered a whole new vocabulary, with phrases like ‘continuous opacity monitor’ and ‘inhalation cancer risk.’ I learned about the complex relationship between the polluters, the regulators, the legal system, and the political system.”
As Ted’s knowledge of air pollution grew, so did his clean air activism. He joined GASP’s board in 2009 and worked with many other local environmental groups. He instructed T’ai Chi and Group Exercise at the YMCA. And then in May his efforts screeched to a halt after his doctor handed him worrying test results. In June, Ted had quintuple bypass surgery.
“My cardiovascular system has been compromised, in part, by the pollution from industrial sources near my home. Our region has some of the worst air in the nation. We need clean air now!”
Thankfully, Ted is solidly on the road to recovery and more active than ever. He co-founded Allegheny County Clean Air Now, which brought 150 citizens last month to meet with county Health Department officials about continuing problems at Shenango Coke. He works daily to improve air quality for the community. “GASP was a catalyst for me. They know our health is jeopardized by dirty air, and they’re fighting to clean it up. Will you support them today as I do?”
On behalf of residents like Ted, GASP recently sued Shenango for hundreds of violations over the last few years. The case awaits a judge’s decision. But Ted is right—you don’t have to wait to support GASP today!
Your gift will fund our future work to reduce industrial pollution; increase compliance with PA’s idling law by bus drivers and Pittsburgh Public Schools; and teach hundreds of school children about air quality and how they can help, even at their young age. We will review permit applications of new sources of pollution, train more Smoke Readers, and continue to loan air monitors to concerned citizens so they can understand conditions in their neighborhoods.
Without the support of our members, our work wouldn’t be possible. Please join or renew your membership in GASP or make an additional gift today by visiting gasp-pgh.org. Thank you!
For clean air, Jonathan Nadle, President, and Rachel Filippini, Executive Director
All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Group Against Smog & Pollution, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working for a healthy environment. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution. Visit our website at www._gasp-pgh.org_ (http://www.gasp-pgh.org/) or call us at (412) 924-0604 for more information. Thank you!