Heat, Air Quality Alerts For Philly Area Friday

Heat and air quality alerts are in effect in the Philadelphia region Friday, as the area swelters on what’s likely to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Forecasters say high temperatures Friday are expected to reach the mid 90s, potentially flirting with the record for the date of 95 degrees and prompting some schools to announce early closings.

A National Weather Service heat advisory, in effect from noon through 8 p.m., says heat index values could reach 100 due to the warm temperatures and high humidity.

The most intense heat is expected between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150613_Heat__air_quality_alerts_for_Philly_area_Friday.html#FVZOYskTSZBOl7FC.99

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

Southwest Pa. Is Safe, Prosperous — Struggles With Poor Air Quality, Obesity, Report Finds

Southwestern Pennsylvania has low unemployment, a plethora of high school and college graduates and relatively safe streets, but residents are more likely to smoke cigarettes and be overweight compared to a group other major U.S. metro areas, according to a University of Pittsburgh report released Wednesday.

The “2015 Pittsburgh Today & Tomorrow Report” from Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research compared 11 quality-of-life factors in Southwestern Pennsylvania to 14 other metro areas.

Researchers found that while the region “continues to be a national model for economic recovery and public safety, the region still has major deficiencies in overcoming issues related to the environment, infrastructure, public health, and other matters that are key to the quality of life for most Americans.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8130203-74/percent-residents-report#ixzz3WjladgL5
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Details Emerge On Jessup Natural Gas Plant

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

Jessup may soon be home to one of the state’s largest natural gas power plants.

Chicago-based Invenergy LLC plans to place its Lackawanna Energy Center on 80 acres bounded by Valley View Drive and Sunnyside Road, according to a permit application the company filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Invenergy plans to begin construction in June and finish by 2017, Invenergy spokeswoman Alissa Krinsky said in an email. The company will employ a workforce of 600 during the two-year construction phase.

During regular operations, the plant will provide about 30 jobs, she said.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/details-emerge-on-jessup-natural-gas-plant-1.1779840

Another Bad Air Report For Lancaster County

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

The air Lancaster County residents breathe continues to be among the worst in the nation, according to the American Lung Association.

In the ALA’s annual “State of the Air” report, which examined federal pollution records from 2010-2012, Lancaster County ranked as the 18th-worst metropolitan area out of 217 in the United States for average daily levels of particle pollution, which is composed of soot, dust particles and aerosols.

The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon metro area was tied with Lancaster.

Lancaster County had an average of 4.7 unhealthy days per year over the three-year period, compared to three unhealthy days in last year’s report.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/another-bad-air-report-for-lancaster-county/article_4126c060-d094-11e3-a95e-001a4bcf6878.html

Diana Nelson Jones’ Walkabout: Pittsburgh Is Tops Again As A Great Home For Big Crop Of Trees

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the flurry of national press Pittsburgh has been getting, we’d better step up the pace of hotel construction, get our spare bedrooms advertised on AirB&B and send a buzz through the network of couch surfers. We’re sure to get more company in the coming years.

Our little gem of a city has been at or near the top of lists of places to invest in and raise a family and that have the most public art, best housing prices, best cost of living, best view, most breathtaking entry point and best (and maybe most) neighborhoods.

But of all the lists I’ve seen, Pittsburgh’s status in a recent report by National Geographic makes me the proudest.

Of the cities featured in an article headlined “Nine Cities That Love Their Trees,” Pittsburgh was cited as having the greatest canopy among New York, Philadelphia, Austin, Detroit, Washington, Baltimore, Portland and Tampa.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/diana-nelson-jones/2014/04/29/City-is-tops-again-as-a-great-home-for-big-crop-of-trees/stories/201404290060#ixzz30KFQnaue

Corbett: Coal Is Working

States and the energy industry should work together to improve carbon-capturing technology to save coal-burning power plants and coal-related jobs threatened by federal clean air regulations, Gov. Tom Corbett said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a coal industry conference at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Fayette County, the Shaler Republican joined a chorus of voices complaining that environmental regulations will push coal out as an electricity source.

“If you take one energy source out of the mix, you just know the cost of electricity will go up,” Corbett told about 100 people at the Nemacolin Energy Institute gathering.

He later announced he would work with Wyoming Gov. Matthew H. Mead and other coal-producing states on research and eventually build a joint testing center for affordable emission-control technology.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/5983934-74/coal-power-corbett#ixzz2zlWO7oig
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Heat Wave Forecast To End Saturday Night

The National Weather Service is again calling for an excessively hot day today, with temperatures for the Pottstown area expected to reach 96 but feel like 108 thanks to the high humidity.  There is a 40 percent chance of scattered showers or thunderstorms this afternoon with more rain expected tonight.

An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for the area through 8 p.m. tonight.  Montgomery and Chester counties have issued Code Red hot weather advisories each day of this week through Saturday from noon until 8 p.m., the hottest parts of the day.  Area residents who are without air conditioning should seek shelter in a cool place and pets and children should not be left in hot cars, the weather service and counties advised.

“A cold front from the Northwest is expected to arrive on Saturday night and it should bring an end to the heat wave,” the weather service wrote in its latest advisory.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130719/NEWS01/130719219/heat-wave-forecast-to-end-saturday-night-(live-blog)#full_story

‘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 Touts Coke Plant Project As Good For Jobs, Air

UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION COKE PLANT IN A VALLEY SURROUNDED BY HOMES AT CLAIRTON, PENNSYLVANIA. LOCATED 20… – NARA – 557213 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

U.S. Steel today formally commissioned a new battery of ovens at its Clairton coke plant, a $500 million project the company said will preserve steelmaking jobs in the Mon Valley and improve the region’s air quality.

The project is a scaled back version of the $1 billion proposal the Pittsburgh steelmaker announced in late 2007, before the global recession decimated steel demand and caused the industry to retrench.

President and CEO John P. Surma said even after the scope was reduced, the project was the largest in the history of the Clairton plant and one of the largest in U.S. Steel’s 112-year history.  He said it secures the jobs of 1,300 Clairton employees as well as the 1,400 who work at the company’s Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock and the Irvin plant in West Mifflin.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/breaking/us-steel-touts-coke-plant-project-as-good-for-jobs-air-672843/#ixzz2Jb0uFLsx

Berks County Takes No Delight In Exide Workers’ Plight

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In two years, the Berks County commissioners have positioned themselves squarely against Exide Technologies lead smelting plant in Laureldale.

But a day after Exide announced plans to idle the plant and lay off 150 employees by March 31, the commissioners said Friday that they were not celebrating the news.

“We take no joy in the loss of jobs in Berks County,” Commissioner Mark C. Scott said, “but I don’t think we’re willing to trade public health for jobs.”

In the past two years, the county has appealed two separate permits issued to Exide.  According to the commissioners, the permits fell short of what is needed to comply with national air standards and do not require the company to continue operating a network of air monitors around the plant.

Read more:   http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=426525

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

Image via Wikipedia

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...