When a Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode alert is issued, whose air is at risk?

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Air Pollution in the Mon Valley

Introduction

Every time air pollution spikes in the Mon Valley — whether it be from wildfires or industrial emissions — the Allegheny County Health Department issues an alert. This year alone, at least 20 watches or warnings have been issued for the region so far.

The Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode rule — created by the health department in 2021 — specifically targets air pollution in the Mon Valley. When a warning is in effect, industrial facilities there must limit their activities, and residents, especially vulnerable ones, are discouraged from spending time outdoors.

Defining the Mon Valley

To figure out whether Hartnett should heed those air quality warnings, it’s helpful to address a different question first: Where exactly is the Mon Valley?

Johnna Pro with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development says asking the locals could yield you 10 different definitions. For the purposes of this story, we’ll go with hers.

“I define the Mon Valley as those communities that are located between the City of Pittsburgh and Elizabeth Borough,” Pro said. “Those are communities like Homestead, West Homestead, Duquesne, Clairton, McKeesport. All of those communities that are on either bank of the Monongahela River, but they are all located within Allegheny County.”

Air Pollution in the Mon Valley

Municipalities in the Mon Valley, Pro said, were known for the steel mills that once dotted the banks of the Mon River south and east of Pittsburgh. In the cases of Clairton and Braddock, some are still home to active steel or steel-related facilities.

The Allegheny County Health Department applies similar boundaries to its map of municipalities subject to the Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode rule. The measure required 17 facilities, from Braddock to Elizabeth, to submit mitigation plans to ACHD for approval.

Anytime an air pollution episode warning is in effect, the plants are expected to put those plans into effect, modifying their work practices in an effort to reduce industrial emissions of fine particle pollution.

Regulators say that, in turn, should lower the risk to public health. Breathing unhealthy levels of fine particle pollution has been linked to respiratory illnesses like asthma, as well as low infant birth weight and cardiovascular disease.

Why apply this rule to only a specific section of Allegheny County?

The Mon Valley is not alone in experiencing hours or days of poor air quality. Residents throughout Allegheny County — and across Pennsylvania — have been subject to Code Orange air quality warnings this week, which are issued by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to denote high concentrations of fine particulate matter.

And yet, according to the health department’s Jason Maranche, a few factors differentiate air quality issues in the Mon Valley. For one, the area’s river valleys create topographic barriers to pollutants trying to escape.

Maranche said that’s especially true on days with temperature inversions, when the air closer to the ground is cooler than the air above it.

“We experience temperature inversions everywhere in the county. Actually, everywhere in America, you can have a temperature inversion,” he said. “It’s really exaggerated, though, at specific locations in the river valley. The bottom of the valley cools a lot quicker than the air just above the valleys.”

On top of that, communities in the Mon Valley are in close proximity to many industrial sources of fine particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5, that is easy to breathe in.

“The largest presence of those currently in Allegheny County is at the facilities in that Mon Valley region,” Maranche added.

That includes U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the single-largest coke plant in the country, and by far the largest source of particle pollution in Allegheny County.

Maranche said communities in Liberty, Glassport and Lincoln tend to get the highest downwind impacts from the plant in the Mon Valley, and while emissions can escape to other areas over several miles, they won’t be dispersed “at the same concentration that they would be in the Mon Valley region.”

That is to say, Maranche continued, that South Siders and other Pittsburgh residents see far less air pollution on days when the Mon Valley Episode Rule is in place

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
   • Indicator 3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution.
   • Indicator 3.9.2: Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation, and lack of hygiene (exposure to air pollution).

2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
   • Indicator 11.6.2: Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population-weighted).

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets identified are:

– Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.

– Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, there are indicators mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

– Indicator 3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution.

– Indicator 3.9.2: Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation, and lack of hygiene (exposure to air pollution).

– Indicator 11.6.2: Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population-weighted).

These indicators can be used to measure the impact of air pollution on health and the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce pollution levels.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: wesa.fm

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