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GASP
Alert Action and News from
Group Against Smog and
Pollution | |
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JOIN
OUR LIST |
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Community Meeting With Health
Department About Shenango
Coke
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This evening,
please join Allegheny County Clean Air Now
(ACCAN) as they meet with the Health Department
about the Shenango Coke Works. ACCAN formed from
a core group of residents that live near the
coke works who have been working to reduce
emissions at the facility for years. The group
includes many GASP members, Smoke Readers, and
supporters. The meeting is Wednesday, November
19 at 6 p.m. Learn more about how you can have
your voice heard here. |
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Open Burning
Victory!
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Thanks to your support, Allegheny
County Council voted 9-4 on November 5 to
approve the changes to the county's regulations
on open burning. Thank you to all who appeared
at the hearing and to those who called or
emailed your Council member to show support for
the updates. If you'd like to email your representative,
here's the tally:
For:
Baker, Danko, DeFazio, Ellenbogen, Finnerty,
Kress, Macey, Martoni, Palmiere
Against:
Heidelbaugh, Futules, Means, Rea
Absent:
Hawkins, Robinson
The changes will
require a set back of 15' from neighboring
property lines, roads, etc. for the open burning
of wood, providing a minimum of fire safety and
air pollution protection. The changes state only
clean wood or other cleaner fuels like propane,
charcoal, or natural gas can be burned. These
changes also give more power to an inspector to
reduce or prohibit burning activities that are
nuisances to neighbors.
You can see the
current rules and the proposed changes here. (Look in the boxes on the
right and scroll down to "Open
Burning.")
Please contact jamin@gasp-pgh.org to learn
more or to discuss how your municipality can go
beyond these updates to create even stronger
regulations.
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Burning, Part Two:
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand
Words
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The changes mentioned in the section
above only apply to Allegheny County's
regulations, but wood smoke affects citizens
state-wide. The Clean Air Council's "I See Smoke" program has rolled
out a new tool that makes reporting violations
and taking action easy. A new app allows users to share
information and photos of the smoke pollution in
their neighborhood.
By using the app,
community members fill out information about the
pollution they see. That information gets passed
on to the Clean Air Council, the PA Department
of Environmental Protection, and all appropriate
county health agencies. This streamlines the
reporting process and makes sure that all
violations are being reported to the agencies
that oversee air quality enforcement. Try it
today!
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Outdoor Particles--How Many Enter
Your Home?
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How much of the particulate
matter in outdoor air gets inside? Are there
inexpensive ways to predict indoor
concentrations of outdoor particle pollution
based on simple house characteristics and
building operation? Brent Stephens,
Director of The Built Environment Research
Group at Illinois Institute of Technology,
will discuss his work on pathways that
allow outdoor particulate matter to infiltrate
into living spaces in a webinar this Friday at 2
p.m. He has investigated the link between
building envelope airtightness and outdoor
particle penetration. Participants will gain a
better understanding of variables and the
magnitude of their impact.
Learn
more and register here.
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We
appreciate your participation on the GASP Alert
email list. Together, we can make a
difference in our region's environment. We won't
trade or sell your email address with other
organizations or inundate you with messages.
Visit our website at gasp-pgh.org or call us at
(412) 924-0604 for more information. Thank
you! | | | |
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