emissions inventory statements from facilities, and how these factors were used to determine the source of H2S exceedances. To improve transparency and provide residents more information about the region’s air quality, the Allegheny County Health Department launched two new dashboards in 2023, one of which is dedicated to tracking hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The H2S Dashboard, which was created in partnership with CountyStat, displays up-to- date information from the county’s two H2S monitoring sites located in North Braddock and Liberty. Other information on the webpage explains the state’s H2S regulations and what the Health Department’s Air Quality Program is doing to monitor and enforce Pennsylvania’s H2S standards. The Allegheny County H2S Dashboard is available on the county website (https:// www. alleghenycounty.us/Services/Health- Department/Air-Quality/Air-Quality-Dashboards/ Hydrogen-Sulfide) The Emissions Inventory Dashboard, which was also created in partnership with CountyStat, is another tool for the residents and interested parties to gauge air quality in Allegheny County. The dashboard includes emission data collected by ACHD from 2010 to 2021 for 168 permitted facilities. It allows for the visualization in a line graph, as a data table, or on a map. It also allows the viewer to view emissions by pollutant or pollutant category, individual facilities and individual years. The goal is to provide residents particularly with a better understanding of the distribution of point source pollution across the county. The Emissions Inventory Dashboard can be found here (https://www.alleghenycounty. us/Services/Health-Department/Air-Quality/Air- Quality-Dashboards/Emissions-Inventory)
New H2S and Emissions Inventory Dashboards Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a colorless gas with a rotten egg-like smell. The most common sources of H2S are from industrial processes like oil and natural gas refineries, kraft paper production, coke ovens and tanneries. It is also released at sewage treatment facilities, landfills, as well as during bacterial breakdown of human and animal waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have federal air quality standards for H2S. Pennsylvania is one of a few states with a hydrogen sulfide regulation. In 1971, ACHD incorporated the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) H2S regulations into its Air Quality Rules and Regulations. The Air Quality Program enforces the Pennsylvania H2S odor control standard and has issued enforcement orders based on it. In 2022, to better understand H2S and where it is originating from in the county, the Health Department authored a study entitled Analysis and Attribution of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Exceedances at the Liberty Monitoring Site from January 1, 2020 through March 1, 2022. This study looked at data from its permanent H2S monitors and portable H2S sensors, weather conditions,
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