Group wants Allegheny County Health Department to talk more about air quality
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The weather's beautiful, but one group says the air quality's anything but.
Patrick Campbell, executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution, says since Oct. 4, we've breathed in "good air" 16 percent of the time. He says that stinks.
"Only 16 percent of the time of the last 8 1/5 days have we, in this area, not been experiencing a hydrogen sulfide exceedance," Campbell said.
That's the rotten egg smell that he says can lead to headaches, balance problems, eye irritation or worsen asthma. That's why Campbell wants more communication from the Allegheny County Health Department, saying the alerts aren't cutting it.
"Those two alerts that I mentioned earlier contained no public health information on symptoms for residents to look out for if they are exposed to hydrogen sulfide in the air," Campbell said. "We just wish the health department would act like the health department."
But Campbell's blaming the recent high levels of hydrogen sulfide on U.S. Steel's Clairton plant, something U.S. Steel refutes.
U.S. Steel told KDKA-TV that "there were no abnormal operations or issues at the Clairton plant. The Liberty air monitor collects data from ambient air that is comprised of background emissions from multiple sources, most of which have no relation to U.S. Steel's operations."
Campbell said he knows there's a very hardworking team at the Allegheny County Health Department, but says he wants clearer communication when it comes to getting those findings out to the people in the community.