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Clean Water Action Pushes For Better Air Quality

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Oct 13, 2009 9:18 pm US/Eastern

Clean Water Action Pushes For Better Air Quality

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The air quality in the Pittsburgh area has improved in recent years, but an environmental group says much more needs to be done.

Clean Water Action wants leaders in Allegheny County to do more.

They say toxic emissions are a problem all over the area, but they say the Mon Valley and Neville Island are particularly bad hot spots.

"With the high concentration of industry in one area, the Neville Island area, the residents of that area … they suffer a larger burden of the pollution in the area because of all of the industry being concentrated in one spot," Colleen Wilson, a Neville Island resident, said.

Clean Water Action called on Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to explain what he plans to do about air quality.

"We think that the county should take some leadership on this issue, the air toxic guidelines would be a really good place to start and update and strengthen them," Tom Hoffman, from Clean Water Action, said.

The Allegheny County Board of Health indefinitely tabled a new policy on airborne toxic chemicals in July.

Environmentalists went to Onorato's office to find out why and what his plan is now.

Onorato's office says last year the county executive put a clean air task force in place to look at air guidelines.

"Clean air is obviously a very important issue to the county executive and we have been making great strides over the last several years in improving air quality and the standards that we have in place," Megan Dardanell, a spokesperson for Onorato, said.

The county executive's office says it expects the task force's report within a month and plans to use the recommendations to improve air quality.

Clean Water Action asked Onorato to attend a community meeting on Nov. 3 to further discuss the issue.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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