Penn Environment, local leaders push for clean air in Pittsburgh
There were 90 days when the air quality was unhealthy in Pittsburgh in 2018, according a new report by Penn Environment. They say it is harming our health and economy.
Watch the full report in the video player above.
Penn Environment and two local leaders gathered outside Pittsburgh City Council chambers with this message on Tuesday: Pittsburgh loves clean air.
"People here in Allegheny County are fed up and are ready to be able to breathe without putting their health at risk," said Allegheny County Council member Bethany Hallam.
Hallam said the results from the 2018 report on air quality from Penn Environment are not OK. She said 90 days of bad air is 90 too many. Hallam is advocating for a more environmentally-minded county board of health and more money for the county health department.
Dr. Deborah Gentile, an asthma researcher with years of experience working with children, also spoke on Tuesday. She said it is children, including those with asthma, who are suffering from this. She also said this is especially true for those living near Clairton Coke Works and Edgar Thomson Steel Mill.
"This is more than double the rate we see in the country and across the state. Additionally, those children with identified asthma, 60% of them are poorly controlled, meaning they are symptomatic and sick often," Gentile said.
To combat this, the speakers said greener solutions are key, such as electric buses and energy efficient buildings. Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger said she is advocating those solutions. She said her child was sick recently, not from poor air quality, but the scenario was enough to wake her up.
"While that was caused by a virus, that's when it clicked for me exactly what it would feel like to have a child with asthma, to be going to the emergency room, week after week, year after year," Strassburger said.
The speakers also acknowledged that creating a cleaner air quality won't be cheap or easy -- but it will be worth it for children, people with respiratory challenges and all of western Pennsylvania.