On July 28, an air quality alert was in effect for the Pittsburgh region stemming from a sweltering heat wave across the U.S. This "code orange" alert is a warning to those sensitive to exposure such as children, people with respiratory diseases, and those who are active outdoors. During these extremely hot days, smog is a main health concern and can have detrimental effects on our lungs by irritating the respiratory system, reducing lung functioning, and aggravating asthma.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), smog is ground-level ozone that forms when harmful air pollutants, usually emitted from industrial and chemical plants as well as cars, chemically react with sunlight. This damaging chemical reaction, when trapped close to the earth’s surface, forms “bad ozone” (not all ozone is bad - that which is higher in the atmosphere protects us from damaging UV rays). Bad ozone is most often seen in cities around the country where air pollution emissions - and populations exposed to air pollution - are greatest. Numerous power plants and factories - including U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke processing facility in the nation - are still operating in the Pittsburgh region and adding smog-forming pollution to our air.
Fortunately, on Monday, August 3, 2015, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power Plan as a vital effort to tackle climate change by cutting carbon emissions. This pollution, emitted from power plants along with other toxins, contributes to soot and smog. With more hot days on the horizon, smog will have a greater effect on all of us, particularly vulnerable populations.
The Clean Power Plan represents the action needed to minimize air pollution.
For more information on air pollution, take a look at this video on air quality and climate from our good friends at Communitopia.
Nikole Baker is a PennFuture intern based in Pittsburgh.
