Public Input Needed For Air Toxicity Guidelines

The Allegheny Board of Health is seeking public input as it updates its air toxics standards and guidelines.

The guidelines have not been restructured since their creation in 1988 and Guillermo Cole, public information officer for ACHD, says the standards need updating with the advancements in understanding over the last two decades.

“Whether it’s a regulation or a guideline that is used for evaluating the issuance of permits, you have to keep these up to date with the state of knowledge and the science.”

The public meeting with be held Wednesday, May 4, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the Avalon Borough Building, 640 California Ave. The meeting will cover a number of topics and include a question and answer session between the public and the air toxics committee of ACHD.

“There will be discussion of why the new guidelines are being developed, how we calculate risk for air toxics pollutants, and ways to address hot spots, areas where toxic air pollutants are emitted from a cluster or groups of sources,” Cole says. Participants from the public may sign up at the meeting to speak during a one-hour public statement period.