<p>[Pittsburgh</a> surpasses Los Angeles as nation’s sootiest city (AP) : Yahoo! Green](<a href=“http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080501/ap_on_re_us/polluted_cities.html]Pittsburgh”>http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080501/ap_on_re_us/polluted_cities.html)</p>
<p>Having gone to CMU for four years and now attend school in LA, I can say that I feel Pittsburgh’s air was much cleaner feeling than LA’s. When I get off an airplane in LA, I can taste the air. It’s not that good, clean, crisp taste you get in a rural area, it’s a pretty gross pollution-y taste that’s one of my least favorite things whenever I fly into here (the traffic on the 110 through downtown LA at all hours of the day being the least favorite).</p>
<p>Also, didn’t Pittsburgh just rank in the Top 10 Greenest Cities in the World a year or two ago?</p>
<p>I developed asthma after moving to the Pittsburgh area after college.</p>
<p>This is scaring me!!!</p>
<p>Weird, cause Forbes said it was one of the cleanest in the world.</p>
<p>To clear things up, the air in Pittsburgh is just fine. However, there are areas near Pittsburgh with heavy pollution. I’d give CMU’s air quality 5/10. It really is just average. I doubt anyone would notice or will notice.</p>
<p>I visited Pittsburgh for 3 days and developed a nasty cough for a week right after my trip…</p>
<p>I’m hoping it’s not because of the air…</p>
<p>Oh man… Did I make a wrong decision.</p>
<p>What contributes to this pollution?</p>
<p>Didn’t they stop the steel mills years ago?</p>
<p>I’d agree with cmonyuk that the air isn’t great or terrible… it just is. I think it might be better than Houston.</p>
<p>hrm… I thought the air hear was actually cleaner ? There are a lot of trees close-by to school</p>
<p>On the flip-side my allergies have been way better than they were in DC…</p>
<p>For people that were having coughing problems, it might be due to allergies. I found there were certain times of the year in Pittsburgh where I was always sneezing/coughing, and I know it was from allergies.</p>
<p>homesizzle, some of it is from coal fired power plants west of the city along the Ohio River watershed, there are something like 40 power plants that direction, and the soot blows our way. Then the topography of the city keeps the pollution hanging over us. I have always had allergies, but never asthma before coming here. It’s not a reason to avoid the city, but something to be aware of.</p>