Why 2014 Was a Great Year for GASP, Air Quality
GASP is a young organization, but we have achieved significant milestones in our five brief years (including two as Alabama First). Please take a moment to watch our 2014 year in review video below and the infographic detailing just a handful of the work we have done...
Op-Ed: UAB, Public Service Commission operating under same rules
The following op-ed was published on al.com Tuesday, Dec. 22. View it and weigh in here. In following recent local news, I am struck by the similar circumstances between the demise of UAB's football program and the way in which Alabama Power's electricity rates are...
Industrial Pollution May Increase Risk of Adverse Birth Outcomes
Science has for a while now posited that there is a strong correlation between exposure to toxic air pollution and negative birth outcomes. A new cross-sectional study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was recently released. It looked into the...
The Link Between Dirty Air and ADHD
An article in the journal PLOS One concludes that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during pregnancy increases a child's risk of childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public...
Support Adding North Birmingham to National Priorities List
This post has been updated to reflect the EPA's 60-day extension of the public comment period. The previous comment period was set to expire Nov. 22, 2014. The extended comment period will expire Jan. 20, 2015. The EPA recently proposed that the 35th Avenue Superfund...
Study: Want to Save Lives? Cut Carbon Emissions.
Reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants will save lives. So says a new study from scientists at Harvard, Syracuse, and Boston University. The researchers found that the Clean Power Plan (the EPAâs proposal to reduce carbon emissions from existing power...
EPA Hosting Public Meeting for Birmingham Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has scheduled a public meeting Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the sanctuary of Trinity CME Church (3313 Shuttlesworth Dr., Birmingham, AL 35207). The meeting is about the...
EPA Proposes Adding North Birmingham Site to National Priorities List
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing the "35th Avenue Superfund Site" in north Birmingham to the National Priorities List (NPL). According to the EPA, the site poses "risks to human health and the environment." The GASP documentary "Toxic City:...
GASP Petitions Board of Health to Disapprove ABC Coke Permit, Requests Hearing
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Aug. 25, 2014) — GASP, a non-profit health advocacy organization, filed a petition Tuesday with the Jefferson County Board of Health requesting a hearing on ABC Cokes Operating Permit. That permit was issued by the Jefferson County Department of...
Lack of Health Research Stands in the Way of Progress
On Wednesday, July 30, the Jefferson County Department of Health held a press conference in which Jefferson County Health Officer Mark Wilson — our Doctor-in-Chief — presented "cancer data, death rate data and birth outcome data related to residents'...
GASP Challenges Twinkle Cavanaugh on Health Benefits of Clean Power Plan
This morning, AL.com published an op-ed challenging Twinkle Cavanaugh, president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, for comments she made live on Good Day Alabama last week in a debate with Dr. Stephen A. Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy...
Is Indoor CO2 Pollution Hurting Our Brain Function?
Vox, a relatively new, data-driven online media outlet, published an article today with a fascinating headline "The carbon dioxide trapped in your meeting is making you think more slowly" that we thought we would investigate. Reporter Joseph Stromberg explains,...
Sign on to Support the Clean Power Plan
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this summer proposed the Clean Power Plan, which would reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants by 30 percent by 2030. These new standards are a significant step forward in tackling climate change and protecting...
Alabama Power to Close Coal Units
Last Friday, Alabama Power announced that it is closing two small coal units at Plant Gorgas (the oldest units at the plant), as well as reducing or eliminating coal from four others at Plant Barry and Plant Greene County. The company said the move is to comply with...
Alabama Sixth Most Energy Expensive State
Wallet Hub this week published a report that gives Alabama a dubious ranking: the sixth most energy expensive state. The website used data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection...
Dirty Air Won’t Monitor Itself
Makaya Parrish, who appears in our documentary, "Toxic City: Birmingham's Dirty Secret," knows all too well what pollution can do to your health. Makaya has asthma, a debilitating lung condition that keeps her from playing like other kids. Her family lives in the line...
Air Pollution Controls Save Lives
A 17-year longitudinal study by researchers at Duke University released in June shows that air pollution controls implemented in the early 1990s correspond with reductions in death rates from emphysema, asthma and pneumonia. The study, "Long-term dynamics of death...
Eat Your Broccoli
One of the most toxic chemicals found in polluted air is benzene, an aromatic hydrocarbon found in crude oil and petrochemicals such as coal. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), long-term exposure to benzene causes cancer, including...
'Toxic City' Premiere Sparks Fiery Discussion About Pollution, Justice
Hundreds packed into Birmingham's historic Carver Theatre last night for the premiere of our new documentary, "Toxic City: Birmingham's Dirty Secret." The film, directed by Alabama filmmaker Hunter Nichols, evoked an emotional response from those in the audience a...
How-To Guide for Commenting on Walter Coke's Permit
PERMIT BASICS The Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to issue permits known as Title V Operating Permits to sources of hazardous air pollutants. The EPA gives authority to state and local agencies to review and approve permits. In...
Supreme Court Delivers Victory for Clean Air
The Supreme Court today announced a decision hailed by health and environmental advocates as a victory for clean air. The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is a 2011 Environmental Protection Agency regulation that requires certain states to reduce emissions from power...
Infographic on Health, Pollution, and ABC Coke
GASP has created an infographic (below) containing factual information about the health effects of air pollution as well as findings from the ABC Coke draft permit comments. Click here to download the infographic (PDF).
Pollution Affects Poor People, Communities of Color More
Researchers at the University of Minnesota this week published a compelling report in the journal PLOS ONE on the gaps in exposure to NO2 pollution in whites compared to poor communities and people of color. The results are an alarming call to action. The research...
ABC Coke Draft Permit Comments Due Friday, April 18
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Comments on the draft air pollution permit renewal for ABC Coke, a Drummond Company, are due to health department officials by close of business (4:30 p.m.) Friday, April 18. A copy of the draft permit can be found here. The Jefferson County...
Air Pollution Public Hearing Scheduled for Monday, April 14
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Last Month, GASP filed a request to the Jefferson County Department of Health for a public hearing regarding Drummond Company’s Title V operating permit for ABC Coke in Tarrant. JCDH granted that request and has scheduled the hearing for...
Focus Shifts to Public Hearing on ABC Coke Permit
Last month, GASP requested an informational meeting and public hearing from Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) to raise awareness about Drummond Company's Title V operating permit for ABC Coke, which is currently up for renewal. We were particularly...
Issues & Ales: Sustainable Development
On Wednesday, March 12, GASP Executive Director Stacie M. Propst, PhD, was a panelist for WBHM's March Issues & Ales, a monthly event hosted by the radio station's junior board. The event at WorkPlay was packed with engaged citizens interested in the evening's...
GASP Launches Pollution Hotline
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — GASP this week launched 1-866-581-GASP (4277), a hotline for Alabamians who live and/or work near toxic pollution sources such as power plants and industrial facilities to report complaints, especially as related to health issues. The outreach...
EPA Opposes Nucor Permit in Louisiana
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week published its objections to permits for a new Nucor manufacturing plant in Convent, La. The Times-Picayune reported the EPA's conclusions, saying "the plant will violate several provisions of the Clean Air Act." The...
Atlantic Report Highlights Health Risks from Neurotoxins
The Atlantic today published a report titled "The Toxins That Threaten Our Brains" that immediately caught our eye. The article starts by citing 2012 research from Harvard's Dr. David Bellinge, which found that Americans have lost 41 million IQ points due to exposure...
