During the last year, four air pollution samples taken in the Mon Valley detected 50 different toxic chemicals. Today, Residents for A Clean & Healthy Mon Valley (REACH Mon Valley) and Clean Water Action are releasing the official results of their sampling at the free public workshop and health fair they are holding at Jefferson Hills Elementary School.

Representatives from the American Lung Association of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Allegheny County Health Department, United Steelworkers, and Neville Island Good Neighbor Committee will address the results of the air sampling and answer residents’ questions about the health effects of these toxic chemicals.

"It's exciting that these experts are coming directly to the residents to provide free, easy-to-understand information about air pollution's effects on our health,” stated Suzie Brindle, Program Organizer for Clean Water Action. “So many Mon Valley residents are affected by cancer and asthma, and this event is a great opportunity for them to come together to get answers and to talk about solutions."

Seven of the 50 chemicals found were detected at levels either above the EPA Region 3’s Risk-Based Concentrations or above ambient levels set by other states. Half of all the chemicals found are neurotoxins and can irritate the respiratory system. Several chemicals are known to cause cancer, birth defects, and reproductive or developmental disorders. The results have prompted ACHD to begin monitoring for five of these chemicals, as well as particulate matter and heavy metals that the bucket samples are not able to detect.

Immediately following the workshop, there will be a health fair available to workshop registrants. Participants include County Councilwoman Joan Cleary, a staff nurse at Allegheny General Hospital, taking blood pressures; Clean Water Action, offering free mercury screenings; the American Lung Association, with an asthma control test and peak flow meters for people previously diagnosed with asthma; and Healthy Home Resources, offering free lead testing kits for the home.