Pittsburgh Air Quality Called Second-Worst In U.S.

The American Lung Association's 2007 "State of the Air" report lists the Pittsburgh area as the second-most polluted metropolitan area in America, behind only the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

The rankings are based on the ozone pollution levels produced when heat and sunlight come into contact with pollutants from power plants, cars, refineries and other sources.

I've been suffering some breathing problems for well over a year but wasn't really able to pin it down to a specific cause until I went to Europe. After 3 days there, suddenly, I could breath again. I could sleep comfortably. I wasn't miserable.

It's stuff like this that has been turning me into an environmentalist.

Hmm..won't be moving there...

I have problems too...I seem to do ok here...but I would like to live out in the boonies....

I certainly didn't seem that way when I was in Pittsburgh.

I certainly didn't seem that way when I was in Pittsburgh.

Both times I've been there in the last 1 1/2 years it was on bright, sunny clear days...I didn't notice smog the way I notice it in LA.

By the way, we're #13 now in the most traffic congested metro areas (Denver)...

I do wonder if my allergies, etal would return if I moved back to that area..I know when I lived in eastern Ohio I tended to have hayfever, various seasonal allergies and a lot of ear infections in the winter. I've had none of that here in dry, sunny Colorado..though I do get nosebleeds from the dry air.

Edited September 21, 200717 yr by moltar

my breathing problems don't seem to change with the seasons. The doctor explained that it was the geography of the city that does it. Wind travels west to east....and pittsburgh is on the western edge of the Allegheny mountains. Apparently all the pollution from other cities gets backed up behind the mountains as it's heading west.

Last time I was in the Pitt it didnt seem bad at all. The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed driving over all the bridges as well as watching the Pirates lose to my beloved Brewers. I thought it was a beautiful city.

Pittsburgh is nothing...

I present TORONTO!

Wow ... I would not have guessed that about Pittsburgh....

Course, I also wouldn't have guessed that Chicago doesn't rank in the Top 10 for most congested in terms of traffic, either....

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Is PA one of the NE states under CA standards?

rant: All manufacturers are perfectly capable of producing CA-clean cars, but they'd rather save the $150 or so and not offer them everywhere. NOx is NOx, and it affects all regions, regardless of their current smog level. It's inexcusable for, say, a Prius in NV to emit 50% more NOx and 3x more HCHO than one in CA.

Edited September 21, 200717 yr by empowah

Is PA one of the NE states under CA standards?

rant: All manufacturers are perfectly capable of producing CA-clean cars, but they'd rather save the $150 or so and not offer them everywhere. NOx is NOx, and it affects all regions, regardless of their current smog level. It's inexcusable for, say, a Prius in NV to emit 50% more NOx and 3x more HCHO than one in CA.

I think the CA standards should be used nationwide..it's dumb for the states not to all have equivalent standards...air quality is equally important anywhere in the country, IMHO..

Is PA one of the NE states under CA standards?

No.... and only Pittsburgh, Philly and some of the surrounding counties even have emission standards.

Hmm... doesn't seem like Pittsburgh was all that bad, I was just there yesterday after being in NYC. Seemed cleaner and clearer.

Dude, that can't be. For years, your city has been vaunted as one that has successfully transitioned from the manufacturing/smoke stack vernacular to the office park/high rise and all that goes with an information/tech/service economy.

Furthermore, it seems to rank very highly on all the "desirable US cities" in which to live polls and, only having been across the PA turnpike, crossing from U of I Champaign over to my uncle's in north Jersey, that part of the country has very nice terrain and vegetation. And pictures of Pittsburgh, and its housing stock, are very flattering.

Isn't living in Pittsburgh mostly good, though? The only thing I couldn't handle is the weather. You know, donde esta la playa?

If that's the case, imagine how it would be if all of the steel mills were still in operation.

I came back about two months ago and it really didn't seem bad at all.

I've been suffering every day since I've been back even though I eat Clariton like they are M&Ms.