Pittsburgh region loses title of worst air in U.S.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There will not be a three-peat.

After holding the title of worst air in the nation for two years, the Pittsburgh metropolitan area has fallen to third place for daily soot pollution, behind Bakersfield and Fresno, Calif., according to the American Lung Association's "State of the Air 2010" report.

The Pittsburgh area also dropped from second to fifth place for year-round soot pollution, behind Phoenix, Ariz., and Bakersfield, Los Angeles and Visalia, all in California.

But despite measurable improvements in air quality noted in the Lung Association's 11th annual report released this morning, the Pittsburgh region still received failing grades for both short-term and annual fine particle soot pollution and ozone smog.

Short-term pollution measures fine particulates in the air over a 24-hour period in micrograms per cubic meter. The long-term rankings use annual averages calculated and reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"People in Allegheny County breathe air that is too often dangerous, a public health issue that impacts even healthy, vibrant individuals as well as those most at risk -- children, the elderly and people with chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart and lung disease," said Deborah Brown, acting chief executive officer at the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10118/1053857-114.stm