Air Pollution From Natural Gas Production In Pennsylvania Up Significantly In 2013

Air pollution from natural gas sites in Pennsylvania increased significantly in 2013, the state Department of Environmental Protection says.

Emissions from sulfur dioxide, a precursor of acid rain, was up 57 percent from 2012, DEP said. Volatile organic compounds increased 19 percent. Methane gas, a greenhouse gas, was up 13 percent. Particulate matter (also called soot) was up 12 percent and nitrogen oxides, which form soot, increased 8 percent.

The increased emissions were not unexpected as natural gas production and related processing operations were up in the state as compared to 2012, said John Quigley, DEP secretary.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/air-pollution-from-natural-gas-production-in-pennsylvania-up-significantly/article_d368fe3a-e776-11e4-921a-7f24d012610e.html

After Decades, Dirty Indiana County Power Plant To Get Clean

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Indiana County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(AP) Three years ago, the operators of one of the nation’s dirtiest coal-fired power plants warned of “immediate and devastating” consequences from the Obama administration’s push to clean up pollution from coal.

Faced with cutting sulfur dioxide pollution blowing into downwind states by 80 percent in less than a year, lawyers for EME Homer City Generation L.P. sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block the rule, saying it would cause it grave harm and bring a painful spike in electricity bills.

None of those dire predictions came to pass.

Instead, the massive western Pennsylvania power plant is expected in a few years to turn from one of the worst polluters in the country to a model for how coal-fired power plants can slash pollution.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/appanews/531925697423954165349272/After-decades-dirty-power-plant-to-get-clean

Air Quality Alerts Issued Across Broad Swath Of Pennsylvania

Stagnant weather patterns in recent days have caused high air pollution levels in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania and nearly all of the eastern half of the state, prompting health concerns and the issuance of air quality alerts that more commonly occur in the summer.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has declared Air Quality Action Day alerts due to high concentrations of airborne particles over a broad swath of the eastern half of Pennsylvania this week, and predicted lesser but still elevated air pollution levels for Pittsburgh and the southwestern corner of the state.

Eric Shirk, a DEP spokesman, said the high pollution readings have been caused by a stationary front that has controlled the state’s weather for most of the week.

“The winter tends to have much more wind, which prevents the stagnation of the often damp air,” he said. “When there is less or no wind, as has been the case in the past several days, it allows the moisture and particulate matter to build to a level that warrants an Air Quality Action Day.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/12/05/Air-quality-alerts-issued-across-broad-swath-of-Pa/stories/201312050220#ixzz2md5redaD

Many Weapons In ‘War On Coal’ Deployed Long Before Obama Took Office

The coal industry can be excused for thinking there’s a massive, organized, palm-rubbing effort to make its life difficult — the war on coal, in short.

It’s a “war” that’s been decades in the making, with few regulations actually originating with the Obama administration.  Yet the current swarm of actions also underscores the extent to which the White House can influence which rules get written, enforced or buried by delays and litigation.

“It’s not a war on coal for warring on coal’s sake,” said David Spence, associate professor of law, politics and regulation at the University of Texas.

Rather, it’s kind of a perfect storm of actions that have been simmering for a long time.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/many-weapons-in-war-on-coal-deployed-long-before-obama-took-office-698992/#ixzz2blfnoFXX

‘Code Orange’ Issued As Air Quality Expected To Be Poor Today

The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast an orange air quality action day for ozone on Thursday, July 18, for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

On air quality action days, young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130718/NEWS01/130719364/-code-orange-issued-as-air-quality-expected-to-be-poor-today#full_story

U.S. Steel Seeks More Time To Cut Clairton Emissions

POLLUTANTS HANG IN THE AIR ALONG THE MONONGAHELA RIVER AT CLAIRTON, PENNSYLVANIA, 20 MILES SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH. THE… – NARA – 557219 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

More than six months after firing up a new battery of coke ovens designed to reduce emissions from one of the region’s most common sources of air quality complaints, U.S. Steel is still trying to bring the new equipment at its Clairton plant into compliance with county emissions requirements.

The Pittsburgh steel producer has asked the Allegheny County Health Department to give the company more time to comply with those standards.

“They have asked to extend the shakedown period,” said Jim Thompson, manager of the department’s air quality program.  “As far as the plant itself, emissions are way down from where they were five years ago.”

The new battery cost $500 million and was designed to enable the plant, a perennial source of air quality complaints, to significantly reduce emissions and meet certain air quality standards months earlier than government officials targeted.  When U.S. Steel held a ceremony at the new battery in January, United Steelworkers union president Leo Gerard hailed it as “the most environmentally sound, emission-reducing coke plant probably anywhere in the world.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/us-steel-seeks-more-time-to-cut-clairton-emissions-692184/#ixzz2Wi8rPcF4

Report: Air Gets Clearer In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metro Area

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Air quality in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region has showed marked improvement — to the point that a report card to be issued today will reveal the region’s best grades in the 14-year history of the annual survey.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2013” report finds that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area has cut year-round and daily particle (soot) pollution levels since the 2012 report, in keeping with a trend seen across the nation. Along with improvements in particle pollution, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone or smog.

Overall, the report shows the air quality in the region, and nationwide, continues the long-term trend to improving.

“The air in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is certainly cleaner than when we started the ‘State of the Air’ report 14 years ago,” said Deb Brown, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. “Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has experienced a great year for air quality, all of the findings this year were in a positive direction.  But the work is not done, and we must set stronger health standards for pollutants and clean up sources of pollution in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to protect the health of our citizens.”

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/457076/Report:-Air-gets-clearer-in-area

Berks County Gets Failing Air-Quality Grade

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Berks County has again flunked an air-quality test because of smog levels, but progress is being made, according to the American Lung Association.

In a “State of the Air 2013” report released Tuesday, the association gave Berks an F for smog, even after nearly halving the 23 days with unhealthy smog levels that earned it an F in last year’s report.

The 2013 report is a compilation of air monitoring data collected between 2009 and 2011, exempting 2012 because work on the report began before the year’s end.  It shows that during that period, Berks had a dozen days with smog levels that were unhealthy for sensitive populations, including those with asthma or cardiovascular disease.

“So that’s practically cutting that in half, which is excellent,” said Kevin M. Stewart, director of environmental health for the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic.  “At the same time, it’s kind of like, ‘Mom, I got a better F.’  It’s not the kind of news you want to bring home, but it is progress.”

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=471818

PPL To Hire Thousands, Spend Billions

The PPL Building (seen here in the distance) is the tallest building in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Allentown energy company PPL Corp. will hire thousands of workers to replace retirees and spend billions of dollars to upgrade aging power grids and reduce emissions from coal-fired plants over the next several years, Chief Executive Officer William Spence said Thursday.

Spence, who became CEO last year and company chairman earlier this year, spoke to members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at a lunch at Hotel Bethlehem.  He joined PPL in 2006 as chief operating officer after working for Pepco Holdings for 19 years.

The company expects to hire 300 to 500 workers each year for the foreseeable future to replace retiring engineers, linemen and nuclear power plant operators, Spence said.  About 100 of those positions each year will be in the Lehigh Valley, he said.

“Recruiting and staffing is huge,” Spence said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-ppl-bill-spence-20120920,0,4297746.story

Officials: CO2 Emissions In US Drop Because Of Plentiful Natural Gas

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.

Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, said the shift away from coal is reason for “cautious optimism” about potential ways to deal with climate change.  He said it demonstrates that “ultimately people follow their wallets” on global warming.

“There’s a very clear lesson here.  What it shows is that if you make a cleaner energy source cheaper, you will displace dirtier sources,” said Roger Pielke Jr., a climate expert at the University of Colorado.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/officials-co2-emissions-in-us-drop-because-of-plentiful-natural-gas-1.1359789

Pennsylvania Improves But Remains Near Bottom In Air Quality Rankings

Still one of the most polluted states in the nation, Pennsylvania ranks third behind only Kentucky and Ohio in generation of toxic air pollution, with 78 percent of that total coming from coal-fired power plants.

Toxic air pollution generated by Pennsylvania power plants represents 10 percent of the total from all U.S. power plants.

But some good news can make Pennsylvanians breathe a bit easier: From 2009 to 2010, total toxic air pollution from all sources in the state dropped by 20 percent, including a 24 percent decline in toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants.

On Thursday, the Natural Resources Defense Council released its second annual report, “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate our Air and States,” which lists the 20 states that produce the most toxic pollution. Pennsylvania improved slightly in its ranking, falling from second place in 2011 (based on 2009 data) with 50.5 million pounds of total toxic emissions to third place this year (based on 2010 data) with 40.3 million pounds.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-pa-polluted-20120810,0,1829133.story

Lehigh Valley Air Quality Not Good

Image via Wikipedia

Like Lancaster, the Lehigh Valley does not have good air quality.  The Lehigh Valley was rated 13th on the list of smoggiest mid-sized metropolitan areas in the nation.  Lancaster was ranked 10th. 

Pennsylvania ranks as the sixth smoggiest state in the U.S.  Air pollution is linked to respiratory problems such as asthma and allergies.

Lancaster PA 10th-Smoggiest Midsized Metropolitan Area In The United States

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Despite continuing air-quality improvements, Lancaster was the 10th-smoggiest midsize metropolitan area in the United States during 2010, according to a report.

Using data from government air-quality monitors, the Philadelphia-based group PennEnvironment also found the Lancaster area tied with Pittsburgh for the second-most number of unhealthy smog days among all metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia had the worst smog in the state, according to the report, “Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/463395_Group–Air-here-still-dirty.html#ixzz1YcaawN00

Top 20 States With Toxic Air List

Yet another list, but not a good one.

Which states have the most toxic air?

Ohio leads the pack, followed by Pennsylvania and Florida.  The leading culprit in these states is power generation facilities that are coal and oil-fired.

Electricity generation and chemical processing were the top two offenders for dangerous emissions that cause ailments like asthma and cancer.

Other states rounding out the top 10 are:

Kentucky, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina.

The bottom 10 states are:

South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Iowa

Metropolitan Philadelphia Air Quality Alert!

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IS IN EFFECT FOR TUESDAY, JULY 12...

THE DELAWARE VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION HAS ISSUED
A CODE ORANGE AIR QUALITY ALERT TUESDAY FOR THE PHILADELPHIA
METRO AREA.

A CODE ORANGE AIR QUALITY ALERT MEANS THAT AIR POLLUTION
CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE REGION MAY BECOME UNHEALTHY FOR
SENSITIVE GROUPS. SENSITIVE GROUPS INCLUDE CHILDREN...PEOPLE
SUFFERING FROM ASTHMA... HEART DISEASE OR OTHER LUNG
DISEASES...AND THE ELDERLY. THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION CAN
BE MINIMIZED BY AVOIDING STRENUOUS ACTIVITY OR EXERCISE OUTDOORS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GROUND-LEVEL OZONE AND FINE
PARTICLES...