Officials say air quality in the county around Pittsburgh met federal standards for fine soot pollution for the first time in 2013.
Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Karen Hacker says in a Friday statement that the news marks "a huge leap forward" in efforts to improve air quality. All eight monitoring sites in the county met standards for fine particulate pollution, which can come from coal-fired power plants, autos and trucks, and plants that produce coke for steel mills.
Jamin Bogi from the Group Against Smog and Pollution says it is "great news" and that reasons for the decline in pollution could include coal power plants that closed, the slow economy, and favorable weather conditions.
