April 14, 2025
Next week, the American Lung Association will be releasing its State of the Air report. No group has done more to mislead the public about the condition of air quality in Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region overall.
Thanks to the Lung Association making up its own grading criteria and relying on flawed methodology, it routinely paints Allegheny County – and the 12 county metro region – as having failing air which puts more than 2 million people’s health at risk, despite being in compliance with federal Clean Air Act standards.
This upcoming report, which for the first time will include the Summer 2023 data result from the widespread Canadian wildfires, will illustrate the problems. I understand this is an Allegheny County committee, but bear with me a moment as Washington County best illustrates the report’s technical flaws.
Even by ALA’s own standards, Washington County is one of the cleanest in the country for daily PM2.5 levels. Over the course of 8 years, there was just one single day when the 24-hour reading exceeded the federal limit of 35.
Then in a five week stretch during the summer of 2023, the Canadian wildfire smoke pushed the county over the 35 threshold eight times, once reaching 212.
Since July 17, 2023, not a single day has been above 35. The EPA disregards unusual and uncontrollable events from their data. Not the Lung Association.
So, in next week’s report, Washington County will be labeled as failing, one of the worst counties in the country for daily PM2.5 pollution, with its residents’ health at serious risk. And, because of the methodology, that failing grade will stick around for the next two reports after that, regardless of the cleanliness of the air in Washington County.
Clearly, this is not a report that should be taken seriously and I would urge committee members to relay that sentiment if any of your neighbors or colleagues should ask you about the region’s so-called failing grades.
In closing, I will quote from a Post-Gazette editorial from 16 years ago, which indicated how long the community has been being misled:
“For the ALA, ranking only the worst monitors is what’s best. We say that based on the common marketing strategy that a group stands to raise millions more dollars through fear than fact. Politicians do it and advocacy groups do it, manipulating the public and distorting their view of reality. Talk about fouling the air.”
Pittsburgh Works Together is a business-organized labor-workforce-economic development alliance working to grow jobs and expand the industries that are the foundation of our economy, including energy, manufacturing, and construction, to provide opportunity for all residents. To learn more, please visit pghworks.com.
Ken Zapinski
412-352-4364; ken@pghworks.com
