April 22, 2026
The following statement can be attributed to Jeff Nobers, executive director of Pittsburgh Works Together:
The American Lung Association’s new State of the Air report deserves an “F” for “failure.”
It once again assesses our region’s air quality based on its own metrics to achieve a pre-determined outcome. The residents of southwest Pennsylvania continually read and hear the same inaccurate assessments of air quality in our region. What people need to know are the facts.
Each year, Pittsburgh Works Together publishes an assessment of the region’s air quality based on long-accepted EPA data, data that is readily available to anyone. We believe this provides a more accurate picture than the Lung Association’s report. The ALA’s annual misrepresentations of our air quality are counterproductive, create divisiveness, and move us further from viable solutions.
The Pittsburgh Works Together in-depth analysis of the ALA report is here.
The Clearing the Air 6.0 report is available here.
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.
Ken Zapinski
Director of Research & Public Policy
ken@pghworks.com
412-352-4364
