Pittsburgh's air was unsafe to breathe for 3 months in 2018
Flickr/Mark Dixon

Pittsburgh's air was unsafe to breathe for 3 months in 2018

"There's at least one day a week where just breathing the air in Pittsburgh while you're just going about your day puts your health at risk"

PITTSBURGH—The air in Pittsburgh was unsafe to breathe for three months in 2018, according to a new report from the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center.


The study, published today, looks at national air quality data from 2018 in both urban and rural regions. There were 90 days in which half or more air monitoring locations reported levels of particulate matter or ozone pollution above levels that pose "little to no risk" to human health according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Ozone and particulate matter pollution can trigger a host of respiratory and heart issues including heart attacks, asthma and COPD. Particulate matter pollution has also been linked to cancer, premature births and heightened risk of autism. The Pittsburgh region has higher than average rates of asthma and certain types of cancer linked to air pollution.

"Having 90 days of unhealthy air means there's at least one day a week where just breathing the air in Pittsburgh while you're just going about your day puts your health at risk," Zachary Barber, a Pittsburgh-based clean air advocate with PennEnvironment, told EHN. "That is completely unacceptable."

The greater Pittsburgh region also scored all F's on the American Lung Association's air quality report card for 2018, and the region had some of the stinkiest and most polluted air in the country at the end of 2019. Previous research has shown that traffic and industrial emissions are the region's largest sources of air pollution.

​Some modest regional improvement

Flickr/ctj71081

While having unsafe air for a quarter of the year poses serious threats to public health, this report does point to some improvements: The organization's last report on national air quality, which came out in 2018 and looked at 2016 data, found that Pittsburgh had 121 days of unsafe air—so the region had 31 days of cleaner air this time around.

In 2018, Pittsburgh had 39 days in which half or more monitoring locations reported elevated levels of ozone pollution and 72 days with elevated levels of particulate matter pollution, according to the report. In 2016, there were 46 days with elevated ozone pollution and 97 days with elevated particulate matter pollution.

"It's hard to draw an overarching trend from just two years of data on unhealthy air days," Barber said. "We do know that in general over the past several decades, the trend has been toward improvements in air quality, though it has often been a little slower in Pittsburgh than the rest of the country."

National numbers worsen

Air quality remains a problem in much of the U.S. According to the report, 108 million Americans lived in areas that experienced more than 100 days of degraded air quality in 2018, and another 157 million Americans saw at least 31 days—a month or more—of elevated ozone and/or particulate matter pollution, including Pittsburghers.

Nationally, air pollution actually got worse from 2016 to 2018 after seven years of steady improvement, and the United States saw 9,700 premature deaths as a result of air pollution in 2018, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

The PennEnvironment report also notes that levels of air pollution that meet current federal air quality standards can still be harmful to health, especially with prolonged exposure. Research shows increased numbers of premature deaths in people exposed to pollution at levels the EPA considers "good" or "moderate," and current federal standards are less stringent than those recommended by the World Health Organization.

"Just because we're seeing some improvement," Barber said, "that doesn't mean we can sit back and rest on our laurels. There's a lot of hard work that needs to be done to clean up the air in the region to protect our health, especially when it comes to curbing industrial pollution."

A greyhound dog resting in a small swimming pool filled with water and tennis balls.

Extreme heat events are growing more frequent, widespread and underestimated

A record-breaking heat wave sweeping across the U.S. and Europe is being driven by fossil fuel pollution and made more dangerous by nighttime temperatures that offer little relief.

Andrew Freedman reports for CNN.

Keep reading...Show less
The Golden Gate Bridge viewed on a smoky day.

EPA budget cuts may weaken wildfire smoke protections as air pollution worsens

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed budget cuts and restructuring could reduce air monitoring capacity and delay public health responses to increasingly toxic wildfire smoke across the U.S.

Izzy Ross and Matt Simon report for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Pregnant woman on sofa holding stuffed toy.

Wildfire smoke and heat exposure before pregnancy linked to lower birth weights

Pregnant people exposed to wildfire smoke and extreme heat in the weeks before or during early pregnancy may face a higher risk of delivering smaller-than-expected babies, according to a new study.

Sharon Udasin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Oil pumps sitting on a green field.

Republican tax plan would expand oil industry subsidies and cut clean energy support

Senate Republicans are advancing a tax bill that would provide $18 billion in new benefits to oil and gas companies while stripping or weakening key incentives for renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Nicholas Kusnetz reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
a group of tall trees standing next to each other.

Trump administration moves to reopen 59 million acres of protected national forests to logging

The Trump administration announced it will begin dismantling a rule that has preserved tens of millions of acres of roadless national forest from logging and roadbuilding for over two decades.

Anna Phillips and Jake Spring report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Four towers in a nuclear energy plant.

New York plans new nuclear plant to meet growing power demand

New York will build a new nuclear power plant to supply electricity to up to one million homes, part of a broader pivot back to nuclear energy amid growing demand and grid reliability concerns.

Patrick McGeehan and Brad Plumer report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Amazon river with lush forest viewed from above.

California weighs Amazon oil imports after Indigenous leaders raise alarm

Ecuadorian Indigenous leaders recently traveled to California to protest Amazon crude imports, prompting state lawmakers to consider a resolution examining the environmental and human rights impact of this oil trade.

Steven Grattan and Godofredo Vasquez report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.