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Pittsburghers know the smell of sulfur dioxide emissions all too well, but it’s invisible. Now residents can better see how air pollutants float in the area on a daily basis.
Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab has started PlumePGH, a new map from the makers of the lab’s popular SmellPGH app, which allows users to track the origin of pollution and its correlation with reports of smelly air.
The map shows Allegheny County’s four largest emitters of SO2 and other sulfur oxides: US Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the Irvin Works and Edgar Thomson Works, and the Cheswick Generating Station.
Each emitter is identified by a different color. Users can follow points that represent emissions flowing through the region in a 24-hour period. Scatter the dots when the pollution becomes less dense. The springs follow weather models from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Above these springs are crowd-sourcing reports from CREATE Lab’s SmellPGH app. Triangles represent individual reports with colors that correspond to the severity of the odor. Users can also add data from air quality monitors to further validate the modeling and SmellPGH reports.
The colorful feathers correlate strongly with odor reports from SmellPGH users. The map contains data dating back to 2019.
Ana Hoffman, director of Air Quality Engagement at CREATE Lab, said the card’s eye-catching design allows people to feel connected to others who are experiencing the same air quality issues.
“It’s hard to imagine how far industrial pollution goes, so this weaving confirms the human experience,” Hoffman said.
US Steel’s Clairton facility, the largest coking plant in North America, is located in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania
Airway irritation from sulfur dioxide exposure can cause symptoms such as sneezing, sore throat, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and choking, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“SmellPGH gives people the ability to utter something that was previously in the realm of conspiracy theory. When you smell something … you can often say to yourself, “Oh, I thought I smelled something, but I really didn’t,” Hoffman said.
PlumePGH goes a step further by allowing users to see how many reports have been submitted in their area and how those reports match NOAA models.
On the map, users can see how emissions remain concentrated in the air miles from one source.
This is especially evident on days when the ground is colder than the atmosphere in the upper level and becomes trapped concentrated air pollution near the ground. This is known as inversion.
There are a significant number of inversion days in the greater Pittsburgh area. 157 per year, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.
“Aligning these independent data sources can help us understand whose health may be affected by this industrial pollution,” said Randy Sargent, director of visualization at CREATE Lab.
The website provides an Take Action tab with resources that users can use to report air quality concerns in their communities. Hoffman also hopes that users can learn that when they smell bad air, they are not alone.
“I hope this website can be a way for regulators and the community to use a common data language to open lines of communication,” said Hoffman. “We want this to be a technical resource – similar to SmellPGH and the Breathe Cams – where someone experiencing a pollution incident can add data to support their concern.”
