2022 Health Department Program Spotlights
AIR QUALITY Monitoring Network Improvement
The ACHD updated and installed nine new devices and systems to increase monitoring, identification, and tracking of overall air quality. These devices and systems include a passive volatile organic compound (VOCs) monitor and lab analysis, portable hydrogen sulfide (H2S) analyzers, portable mass flow meters, nasal rangers, CAS automated-gas chromatograph, true nitrogen dioxide (NO2) analyzer, ATEC 8000 air toxics sampler, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) analyzer and PANDORA spectrometer. The Air Quality Program was selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to install a new spectrometer as part of the Pandora Global Network. This monitor is one of just over 100 fixed locations globally observing concentrations of trace gases, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O2), and VOCs. The monitor collects daily data about the behavior of these gases in the atmosphere. The selection of the ACHD’s Air Quality Program demonstrates both the program’s commitment to excellence and its leadership in the environmental health community. Progress made on Particulate Matter Pollution In the fall of 2022, the ACHD submitted redesignation materials to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for PM2.5. Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) is a criteria pollutant listed in the Clean Air Act. It is made of a mixture of solids and liquid droplets suspended in air that are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller, about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Health studies have shown an association between exposure to PM2.5 and premature death from heart or lung disease. Individuals that may be particularly sensitive to PM2.5 exposure include people with existing heart or lung disease, older adults and children. The submitted redesignation documentation demonstrates that for the past three years, Allegheny County met the national air quality standard for PM2.5. If approved, the EPA will change Allegheny County’s status from a nonattainment area to an attainment area. Based on previous attainment redesignation requests, the ACHD anticipates an approval from the EPA in the first half of 2023.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
COVID For the third calendar year, the Health Department continued to respond to COVID, including: providing testing, vaccination, data analysis, and data sharing; supporting community health workers in federally qualified health centers, other healthcare facilities, and community-based organizations; and providing community education and outreach. From the start of the pandemic through December 31, 2022, in Allegheny County there were: • 4,115,901 tests (3,197,495 PCR, 918,406 antigen) administered by laboratories or clinical facilities • 332,150 infections identified • 16,672 hospitalizations for COVID infection • 3,605 COVID related deaths • 4,597 COVID shots (primary series and boosters) administered by ACHD Most county residents have been vaccinated; by November 2022, 83.1 percent of the population five years
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