Pittsburgh Works Together Releases Clearing the Air Version 4.0 Report

November 15, 2023

Pittsburgh Works Together Releases Clearing the Air Version 4.0 Report

Annual report highlights research on air quality in the Pittsburgh region

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, November 15, 2023 - Pittsburgh Works Together, an economic development alliance of business and organized labor locals, has released its annual air quality report providing valuable insights into the state of the air quality in the Pittsburgh region. This comprehensive report offers a detailed analysis of air pollution levels and trends impacting the local environment. The new report, Clearing the Air 4.0, uses the latest EPA data to assess the region’s air quality, which continues to improve year after year, noting that for the first time ever, Allegheny County has been in compliance with all EPA standards for two consecutive years.

Most significantly, the level of microscopic soot pollution (PM2.5) at the Liberty air monitor which is used by the EPA to measure Allegheny County’s compliance with the Clean Air Act standards declined 7% in 2022 compared to 2021 and has dropped 23.2% over the past decade. It has been in compliance with federal standards since 2020.

Other key findings of Clearing the Air 4.0 include:

• The Seattle, Austin, and San Diego areas have worse air than Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
• The Pittsburgh region is among the big-city regions with the lowest levels of ozone, which can trigger respiratory problems, especially for children, the elderly, and people of all ages with asthma or other lung diseases.
• Air quality in the Pittsburgh region remains fairly typical of a major metropolitan region, better than in some places and worse than in others.
• The American Lung Association continues to mislead the public on the region’s air quality. Data in the Lung Association’s own report shows that many of the counties in the region are among the best in the entire country for peak levels of tiny soot particles (PM2.5), even though the Lung Associations gives the 12-couty Pittsburgh region an “F” grade.

The report notes that while many of the findings shine a light on the positive progress of air quality in the region, there is still further work that can be done to make improvements.

“As our research over the past few years has demonstrated, the air quality in the Pittsburgh region is fairly typical of a major metropolitan region, better than in some places and worse than in others,” said Jeff Nobers, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Works Together. “This is not to say that we don’t have continuing work to do in protecting our environment, but we need our efforts and decisions to be based on facts – not innuendo.”

To learn more and view the full report, please click here. To read the executive summary of the report, please click here.

About Pittsburgh Works Together

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.

Media Contact:

Ken Zapinski; 412-352-4364; ken@pghworks.com