Briefly Noted: Good Neighbor Day, Air Quality Alert
(News)
The city's recreation department and local businesses and non-profit organizations hosted the annual Good Neighbor Day celebration on Thursday.
Because of construction on Fifth Avenue between Market and Walnut streets, booths --- which offered crafts, food, free information and games for kids --- were moved to the street's 300 block.
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Almanac photos)
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Air-Quality Action Day in Valley: An air-quality alert has been issued for the city's southwest suburbs and Clairton through 12 a.m. Sunday.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has announced that the air in
Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln and Port Vue boroughs and the city of Clairton may contain unhealthy levels of small particles of soot that can aggravate breathing conditions such as asthma.
The alert is due to an air-inversion --- an area of high pressure --- over the Mon Valley, which traps pollution, generally from U.S. Steel's coke works in Clairton.
Soot particles about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair can get deep into the lungs and can cause significant health problems, according to the DEP. People with chronic lung conditions, small children and the elderly are advised to avoid strenuous outdoor activities during these alerts.
Wind and rain are expected to move through the valley Saturday afternoon and Sunday, dissipating the so-called PM 2.5 pollution, a state DEP official said.
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