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Liberty-Clairton will get separate ratings
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Allison M. Heinrichs can be reached via e-mail or at 412-380-5607.
They decided Tuesday, at the annual Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership meeting, to separate air forecasts for Liberty-Clairton from forecasts for the rest of the seven-county Pittsburgh region.
Lincoln-Clairton in southern Allegheny County has some of the worst air in the nation, said state Department of Environmental Protection meteorologist Sean Nolan. The DEP issues air-quality forecasts for Western Pennsylvania.
"We have bad air quality throughout the region, but the Liberty area is a notch higher," Nolan said. "There's something different going on there."
Southern Allegheny County's geography and industry both contribute to the poor air quality. The Monongahela River valley creates weather inversions that trap pollution from the area's coke, chemical and power plants.
Separating the Liberty-Clairton area will allow officials to give the rest of Western Pennsylvania a more accurate forecast, Nolan said. The new method probably will raise the number of air-quality action days in Liberty-Clairton while lowering them for the rest of the region, he said.
The daily air-quality forecast ranks the region's air pollution from good to unhealthy, based on expected ozone and soot levels. People can plan their activities based on the forecast.
In 2005, the region had 11 air-quality action days -- nine more than in 2004. The annual average over the last 25 years is 17.5 days.
On air-quality action days, young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are advised to limit outdoor activities.
Temperatures were up and precipitation was down last summer -- the third warmest on record.
Rain and cooler weather both help clear air pollution, Nolan said.
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