Breathe Project
@breathe-project
A coalition of residents, environmental advocates, public health professionals and academics using the best available science and technology to improve air quality, eliminate climate pollution and make our region a healthy, prosperous place to live.
Before you head out this weekend, check the air quality! Even better - sign up for Allegheny Alerts and get notified of any air pollution automatically. Sign up here: alleghenycounty.us/alerts
“What I am concerned about is harm on a lot of different levels — air pollution harm, public health harm, social-psychological harm,” - Edith Abeyta, North Braddock resident. Read the full story from Pittsburgh's Public Source here: tinyurl.com/Braddock...
Red? Maroon? Purple? Air Quality Index colors can be confusing. Here's a quick breakdown - and who's affected at each level. Bookmark this for your next AQI check. 🟢🟡🟠🔴🟣🟤
🟪CODE PURPLE — Very Unhealthy air quality today, Fri 7/17. DEP issued the alert as wildfire smoke continues. Sensitive groups: avoid all outdoor activity. Everyone: avoid long/intense outdoor activity. Thanks to ACHD for invoking the Mon Valley Rule, cutting polluter emissions.
CODE MAROON (as bad as it gets) - hazardous air quality today & possibly tomorrow. ACHD upgraded the alert as smoke from Canada/MN worsens. Everyone: avoid outdoor activity. No relief until Sat; Code Purple's already issued for Friday. ACHD has invoked the Mon Valley Rule to cut emissions.
🚨 CODE RED air quality today — wildfire smoke from Canada & Minnesota has pushed unhealthy air across PA. Limit time outside. Sensitive groups: avoid outdoor exertion, wear N95s if out. Days like today show why the Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule matters. Check AirNow.gov
Nippon/U.S. Steel is hosting a community open house tomorrow - Braddock residents should be there asking questions. Join us for a press conference at 2:45 PM in front of the library before the open house. This is our community. We deserve real answers.
"As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it's my responsibility to take action and lead." - New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Read the full Reuters story here: tinyurl.com/ReutersNY
Summer means cookouts - and community! Join in on the fun this month: 📍 July 14 - Mellon Park 📍 July 17 – Clairton Park 📍 July 25 – Schenley Park Good food, good people, and the fight for clean air. More details and RSVP: breatheproject.org/u...
They're trying to take the "public" out of public comment. A proposed EPA rule would let states skip notice and comment for "minor" polluters near your neighborhood. Submit a comment by August 21 or attend the virtual public hearing. Register here: tinyurl.com/EPAVoice
"We're just fodder to the industry." - Nathan Mallory, North Braddock council member. Read the full story from The Guardian here: www.theguardian.com/...
250 years of America. This weekend, we celebrate democracy - together. Wishing you a safe, joyful Independence Day from the Breathe Project family!
16 cars derailed. 3 carrying hazardous materials. An entire neighborhood evacuated. Zero leaks...this time. Toxic cargo shouldn't be a game of chance running through our communities. Pass the Railway Safety Act of 2026. Read the full story here: tinyurl.com/6abcderail
New peer-reviewed research shows East Palestine residents' immune systems were still "responding to toxic chemical exposures" six months after the 2023 derailment - fighting off an attack or repairing their bodies. Read the full story from The Guardian here: tinyurl.com/Guardian...
TOWN HALL #19: Tomorrow, 7/1 @ 7PM ET. USS plans a new hot strip mill at Edgar Thomson in Braddock - more pollution for a community already overburdened. Hear from health experts, CSB updates on the Clairton explosion, & Braddock residents. Register: tinyurl.com/SWPATownHall
WIN FOR AIR QUALITY! Court rules against the Trump EPA and justifies tighter controls on fine particulate matter, a deadly air pollutant that endangers human health. Read the full story here: tinyurl.com/WPostWin
As temperatures rise into the 90s this week, CitiParks has opened 5 Cooling Centers around the city. Stay cool, hydrated and safe!
"These aren't the fundamental transformational changes that are going to keep the industry relevant for future generations. These are stopgap things to make U.S. Steel profitable in the short term." - Roger Smith, Steelwatch. Read the full story: tinyurl.com/Alleghen...
“We are the people who have made Gary Works what it is today, and we have paid the price for that," - Kwabena Rasuli, GARD. Read the full story from the Post-Tribune here: tinyurl.com/PostTribune
Congratulations to BCMAC on earning the 2026 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence - recognized for their AirSense Project, which put air quality monitors around Beaver County. Now we need the DEP to match that energy and rein in the continuing pollution from the Shell Plastics Plant.
Opening a hot strip mill in Braddock means more pollution - in a community that already breathes air worse than 86% of the U.S. Tune into SteelWatch's press conference this evening at 7pm: tinyurl.com/SteelWat...
From Harrisburg to Monessen to Burgettstown - a lot is happening this week. More details are at breatheproject.org/upcoming-events
Happy Juneteenth! We honor the history of resilience of this day and thank all environmental advocates near and far for their commitment and resolve.
660 times the EPA limit. That's the radium-226 level found in waste at a Cecil Township pipe yard - and to a kid, it just looks like somewhere to explore. No fence, no warning signs. Just radioactive waste sitting in the open. Read the full story here: tinyurl.com/DeSmogNews
"The region's steel industry is not getting the upgrades it needs." - Matthew Mehalik, Breathe Project Read the full story on Nippon's acquisition of U.S. Steel: tinyurl.com/BizJourn...
"People are probably going to leave or get sick." says North Braddock resident Edith Abeyta on what a new hot strip mill at Edgar Thomson means for her community. Read the full story from WESA here: tinyurl.com/WESA2
North Braddock has already carried more than its share of industrial pollution. Tomorrow night's council meeting is a chance to show up before decisions get made - not after. Come to learn about the hot strip mill's preliminary steps and what comes next.
"Despite promises from state authorities and fossil fuel companies, the refining and petrochemical-related industrial sector in Pennsylvania has shed jobs, not generated them." Read the full article from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis here: tinyurl.com/IEEFAShell
Today's a hot one! Make sure you stay cool and hydrated, and take some breaks from the outdoors.
One proposed data center site is in the Springdale area - a community that already bears one of the highest pollution burdens in the state. We're calling on local leadership to put real safeguards in place before this moves forward. Follow the link to read our letter. tinyurl.com/Springda...