Study ranks PA on pollution 

A new study released by PennEnvironment this spring, entitled “Toxic Pollution and Health,” showed that many of Pennsylvania’s communities are home to some of the highest emission levels of toxic pollution in the nation, often ranking in the worst 1 percent of communities nationwide.

To make matters worse, these contaminants are linked to serious health problems such as cancer, birth defects and neurological damage.

The study uncovered troubling data that ranked Pennsylvania’s Armstrong County as having the second highest emissions of air releases of known respiratory toxicants, and ranked Indiana County 16th worst out of nearly 3,000 counties nationwide.